Joseph Meehan wrote:
rob wrote:
I'm in the houston, texas area (hard water) and want to get an idea
what is a good brand for gas hot water heaters? I think my current is
two 52 gallon size. My house is about 8 years old. Any idea what a
plumber charges for parts and labor (for 2 of them)?

And does consumer reports have anything on best brands?

thanks.

You must use a lot of hot water. BTW you don't heat hot water so you
can call them "water heaters" :-)

Do you really need two water heaters?

If your home is only 8 years old, I wonder if you need to worry about
replacements yet. Are your neighbors with the same water supply and same
age water heaters starting to have problems?


I bought a new house in CA in 1998. The water heater installed by the
builder had a 3 year warranty. It failed after about 3.5 years in
service, leaking badly at the bottom of the tank.

The brand was something like cheapasspieceofcrap, inc.

That same evening I trekked down to Home Despot, bought a GE (the model
with the 9 year warranty, I think) and installed it myself. It was
working fine last year when we sold the house...

It wasn't a complicated job at all. Just water supply, hot water output,
and gas supply. I called the gas co. next day, they came over and
inspected it at no charge, the guy said "looks professional!".

-jav