On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:19:50 -0800 (PST), Nexus7 wrote:

I went to the HD and bought one and installed it myself. They
sell a nice self-install kit with steel-braided lines, adapters (if
you need them), etc. They have reasonably priced GE models, priced by
the level of insulation, efficiency and other reasonable criteria.

Hi Nexus,
I took your lead and went to the Home Depot myself.
The guy there was very helpful; he said don't buy there.

He said write down the prices and the models and choose one.
Then, call the 800-HOME-DEPOT number to buy.

The installation is $309 & it changes the warranty period in strange ways.

BTW, according to Consumer Reports, the MOST IMPORTANT figure, the "First
Hour Rating" (FHR) was MISSING at Home Depot. So was the second most
important buying figure, the efficiency rating (EF).

This is disapointing. Home Depot talked about warranty and price and
gallonage but skipped the important criteria (according to my quick
ressearch today). So, I'm trying to put it together now so we can
comparison shop.

You had to open each and every box to get that information right off the
unit - and the orange-vested guy didn't want me to do that so may I ask
WHERE I'm supposed to get the critical numbers missing below in order to do
a proper home hot water heater installation comparison decision?

Here's what they had (price, UPC, FHR, EF, BTU, gal, Warranty):
$280, 514017, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 34K, 40gal, 3yr
$290, 509501, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 36K, 40gal, 6yr
$350, 519005, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 38K, 40gal, 9yr
$350, 431048, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 38K, 50gal, 6yr
$360, 494272, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 40K, 40gal, 6yr
$370, 551821, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 40K, 40gal, 9yr
$380, 569840, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 34K, 40gal, 6yr
$410, 431055, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 38K, 50gal, 9yr
$420, 518411, ??gal FHR, .59EF, 40K, 40gal, 12yr
$420, 494302, 68gal FHR, .??EF, 40K, 50gal, 6yr
$440, 518435, ??gal FHR, .??EF, 40K, 40gal, 12yr

Do you know where I can get the FHR and EF ratings for the Home Depot water
heaters currently on sale? (I'll call the 800 number after this message.)