January 28th, 2008 - Water heater update
The first quote on the heater was $1800, which we weren’t expecting. That was to get a direct vent one (so the chimney was no longer used) and move it and the pipes. The heater itself was over $900.
We’re going with a replacement in the same place venting to the chimney. Cost including installation should be about $800. And will probably be done when I get home from work.
Oh, and they won’t install insulation a water heater jacket. The plumber said that they void warranties now so almost no pros will install them. (Given our issues doing the current heater, we thought we might have them do it while they were at it.) So I guess we won’t do it, either. This also means I can’t update y’all on how much we saved due to insulation.
Oh, yeah, we’re getting a 40-gallon tank. Our current one was 66 gallons! I checked … well, can’t find it back. But the page indicated a 40-gal tank for under 1500 sq ft house and a 60+ for something like 3000 sq and 3-4 full baths with multiple showers at once. (I didn’t use US Dept of Energy’s more specific calculator which has you go through actual types of usage in your house.) That alone should decrease our costs. Plus, of course, the greater efficiency of a new one versus one that’s 8 years old.
Update: I used Direct Energy’s PDF about choosing the right size water heater but I don’t know if the link will work as it comes from my search engine. I can’t find the file via the site’s search.