On Feb 17, 12:02*am, "Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coordinator"
wrote:
On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:10:03 -0800 (PST), wrote:
add be prepared to replace drain valve, which may not shut or drip
when closed, espically the plastic ones. some valves will clog replace
tank drain valve with a ball valve at new tank install time

Thank you for all the advice!
You've given us the courage to tackle this ourselves!
Bill and I read *every* post here!

To replace our dripping 40-gallon (65-gallon FHR) home water heater, we
bought the best water heater I could find.

This turned out to be the $450 Sears #33154 (actually manufactured by AO
Smith) 97-gallon First Hour Rating (FHR) and 0.63 Energy Factor (EF),
nominally with a 50-gallon tank and coming with a (rather useless) 12-year
warranty on parts and a slightly useful 1-year warranty on labor.

I don't know why you continue to dismiss a 12 year warranty on the
water heater as useless. You seem to be saying that because that is
about the typical life of a water heater, that the warranty is of no
value. Yet you value a 1 year warranty on labor? No manufacturer is
ever going to give you a warranty for longer than the typical life of
the item. Do auto manufacturers give you a 150,000 mile warranty on
a car? Just because the typical water heater lasts about 13 years
doesn't mean yours will. The biggest difference is in your water,
which can vary greatly. In some areas, tanks frequently fail in only
8 years. And I'd rather have a warranty that is going to cover the
unit itself, regardless of who pays for the labor. Since you're
installing it yourself, there is no labor anyway, so why is that even
an issue?

I have a State water heater. A few years ago, the thermocouple went
when it was maybe 4 years old. I called them up and I had one here
in 2 days, no questions asked. Didn't cost me a cent, not even
shipping. Now the thermocouple is only a $15 part, but it could have
been the valve assembly which is probably 6X or the tank which would
have been $350.

Now, how much extra you may want to pay for a longer warranty is open
to debate. But I don't get how you can dismiss a 12 year warranty on
the unit as nearly useless.