On Feb 1, 4:26*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl --

Apropos of the recent threads on anodes, tank/tankless, etc, what are the
alternatives to running off *to HD/Sears on the day my water heater goes?
Are there water heaters out there that are demonstrably superior to others?
Review sources? Can they be shipped in a timely way?

Consumer reports has ratings... *but they hold them back.... *an otherwise
good discussion.http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/w...ying-guide.htm
Inybody got the ratings?

More discussion hehttp://www.consumersearch.com/water-...-water-heaters

Ahm thinkin electric -- but even with the better thermodynamics, more
expensive, fuel-wise, apparently.
--
EA

If you're in the US, your electric bill is about to take a big hike.
So gas would be my recommendation. As far as which one, there was
only one make and model that fit the utility closet where it lives at
my place, so that was an easy choice. If you get a glass-lined one,
blow it out regularly and it's got more than a skimpy insulation
blanket, you'll probably be happy. Probably a long warranty will cost
more, but might mean that the company put more than tomato can metal
in the tank. Needed capacity is going to be determined by how many
people you've got in the place, how many showers they take and how
many loads of laundry a week you do. I know my folk's gas and water
bill took a steep dive after my sister moved out.

Any ratings you see are NOT going to be about durability, are purely
running costs. Most retail models will have sticker on them at the
store with that info. And they'll be biased towards the high-end
computerized models. They probably won't last long enough to pay off
the replacement of a simple pilot light with all the extra hardware.

Stan