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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

THE WATER HEATER


THE WATER HEATER
This requires a little ground work.  For weeks now we have been researching a new water heater.  Our current water heater is just fine, but we don't know how many years old it is.  It definitely is at least nine years old.  It is probably good for a few more years, but I hate to push it.  Sooner or later water heaters give out and leak.  When they do, if you are not around to shut them down, water will continue to run.  If you are out or even worse on vacation, the damage can be extensive, especially as we have a finished basement.  I’ve had a water heater failure in the past, and it is not pretty.  Anyway, Mrs. Cranky has been in charge of the research.

The other day Mrs. C was paying bills from her PC as we were in bed watching TV.  As she is paying the gas bill she says,

“You won’t believe how much PSE+G wants.”

“What.”

“Over $1400.”

“WHAT, that must be a mistake!”

“Just a minute.”

“What do you mean ‘just a minute’ how are they charging $1400…isn’t the bill usually under $100?”

“Just a minute.”

“Not just a minute, what the hell is going on?”

“Hold on.”

“What!”

“The water heater; PSE+G wants $1400 for a new water heater and that doesn’t include getting the installation up to code. “

“Why didn’t you just say that instead of driving me nuts?  How do I know you’re talking about a water heater while you are paying the gas bill.  Obviously we can get a new heater installed for less, Lowes was way cheaper.

How much just for the unit?”

“There is a 12 year warranty for 12 99, and a 10 year warranty for 10 99.”

“How much are the units?”

“There is a 12 year warranty for 12 99, and a 10 year warranty for 10 99.”

“Holy cow can you explain anything?  Is the warranty 12.99 and 10.99, or are there two different units one for $1299 and one for $1099?”

“Two units, a 12 year warranty and a 10 year warranty…that’s how they describe them.”

“You're driving me crazy.  You mean they have two units one has a 12 year warranty and is obviously a better unit than the other that carries a 10 year warranty?”

“It only describes them as a 12 year warranty and a 10 year warranty.”

“But…but…never mind, you're making my head spin, can we just agree to not buy through PSE+G? And oh yeah, how much is the bill this month?”

“Eighty dollars.”

“You couldn’t have just said that without leaving me hanging thinking this month’s bill was for over $1000?”

“You’re a jerk!”

“I’m a jerk? Why don’t you just cover the bill and the water heater with a towel?*”

And so it goes in the house of cranky.

*The towel reference makes no sense if you are not a regular reader...sorry.

20 comments:

  1. We got a water heater one time when we lived in Montana and the guy wrote the date it was installed in permanent ink on it. I thought it was brilliant.

    I love when you go to the store to buy something like this and they want to sell you the extended warranty; like they will only guarantee it for one year but for $59.00 more you can get it for 3 years. And then you go home and see the manufacturer has it guaranteed for 10 years.

    Another house we lived in, a rental, the water heater did go out. The owner had the audacity not to have it repaired immediately (few days later). We moved at the end of our lease.

    betty

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  2. Like Betty above; when I have something new installed, I write the date on it in permanent marker.
    I prefer the instantaneous gas water heaters, they don't store hot water, but heat it as you use it.There is a small pilot light that stays on (gas flame) and when you turn on the hot tap, all the burners light up and hot water flows. When you turn the tap off again, the main burners shut down. It's cheaper to run and there is no storage tank to rust out.

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  3. I feel your pain but it still beats trying to buy socks with SD (three weeks it took, THREE weeks and he still ended up giving them to me!), I've got a combi boiler like River, it runs the hot water and the heating and only fires up when you use it. Saves having a big tank somewhere and there is always instant hot water, I wouldn't go back to a tank now if I had a choice.

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  4. You could do without all that at bedtime! Too much worry and angst stops the nice dreams.

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  5. We were just figuring, our water heater is at least twenty years old. Then we quit thinking about it.

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  6. Our water heater is 15 years old and it's not leaking yet. We just had it checked. He recommended we not worry about replacing it now. It's in the garage so that's good too.

    I love the goings on at the Cranky house. Never a dull moment.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  7. I have no idea how old our water heater is. It was in our house when we bought it and that is 30 years ago!

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  8. My water heater is part of the central heating and was installed in 1993.

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  9. This is what happens when you conduct business in bed. It ruins your sleep.

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  10. Amazing the technology now, some water heaters heating the water as it flows out of the tap. I remember in my grandmother's house she had this big copper monstrosity behind the bathtub, and the only way to know if there was enough hot water for the bath or dishwashing or whatever was to touch the water heater. If it burned you, there was enough hot water for a full bath. If it was cold, you'd have to wait at least 5 hours for it to heat more water... Pretty sure most of my family in Ireland still use these water heaters.

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  11. Think you should check into the tank-less hot water heaters.They are quicker and more efficient and will definitely be my next one.

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  12. It seems strange, with all our modern technology, to never know when the water heater might decide to flood the basement again. I'm going to look into the tankless heaters again. For some reason we didn't do it last time, but they seem like such a good idea. Your story has me thinking about the fact that I often have to ask someone to repeat themselves, and I usually prompt them by saying I didn't hear, or asking for more detail. But often they just repeat the very same words at the very same volume. Ah, humans are such funny animals.

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  13. The best hot water heaters are the State brand, that's what we got after lots of research. Never heard of a water company being willing to install a water heater.

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  14. I don't know how old our water heater is. Every time I suggest buying a new one because the water isn't getting hot enough, my husband hollers for the boys, and they take the water heater out the basement door and chip all the mineral deposits out of the bottom. The yard looks like we had an isolated snow, but the water gets hot again.

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  15. Our water heater is in the garage, too. If/when we need to replace it, I'd like to get one of the tank-less kind.

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  16. How scary. I know the feeling. We actually had a bit of a problem with our water. There was a leak that happened in our yard and I guess it just was not strong enough for them to see it on their system. We got a water bill for more than 5 thousand dollars. I nearly lost my mind then.

    Ambrose @ Brown & Reaves Services, Inc.

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  17. Yep. I can name that tune in one note. We replaced our last fall after having to swim out of the closet where the water heater is located.
    R

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  18. Water heaters can be a dismal thing to have to purchase. Especially with all these warranty issues. We bought ours recently and had it installed by the same company. They seem to have done a really good job. It has a 12 year warranty so lets hope it lasts. Not keen on buying one every few years. Thanks for sharing.

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