How to Replace a Water Heater - What You Need To Know

March 04, 2010 | Appliances | 2 comments

tags: water heaters

How to replace a water heater

Trying to replace a water heater? Great! Better to do it before you're forced to - like I was...

I remember when it happened. I went down to my basement on the way to work and came face to face with a steady stream of water merrily tricking out of the water heater and across the floor. Not a good sign.

So now to get a new one. What to get-decisions, decisions, decisions!

Type was easy: Gas. Color was easy: White. But what about the size?

We had a 40 gallon tank but with two growing children I had a feeling that would not be very good much longer - we were already running out and it would only get worse. So how do you know (other than gut feeling) what size is best?

If this story sounds familiar, rest assured Sears can help you out.

First of all, we carry a complete assortment of water heaters, in both gas and electric from small compacts to large commercial sizes, including mobile home models and Energy Star qualified models. Whatever size you need, we can help you out and install it, too!

Now on to the question of water heater size. Water heater size is determined by: 

  1. Size of family and number of bathrooms in your home. Do you have a whirlpool tub? Teenagers? (those water hogs)
  2. Available space for the water heater (height and width) Do you have room for a larger tank if you want to go up in size?

There could be other factors, but these are the two biggest. Your needs are determined by adding these factors together to determine the first hour rating requirements.

The WHAT requirements?

First hour rating requirements are the calculated amounts of hot water that a model can deliver during the first hour of operation.

For example, if you have 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms you would need a model with a minimum 67 gallon first hour rating. This translates to a 40 or 50 gallon model. From my personal experience, I'd go up to the 50 (I did and am glad I did!).

At Sears, we have a customer handout that you can take home that gives you all this information and a complete listing of the models we carry. Don't wait until your water heater leaks to replace it. Check out the warranty on the label and replace it then for your own peace of mind! 

Need service or installation help? Click here for the Blue Crew, or check out this YouTube video for DIY water heater tips.

Got a water heater you love, or hate? Share your water heater reviews with the MySears community!

2 Comments
 
posted on March 08, 2010 at 11:54PM
 

For the DIY folks who intend to be in their houses for many years to come, I'll point out a tip I ran across from a co-worker who replaced his water heater. Your local big-box hardware store will have a variety of pipe connectors designed for use on rigid copper plumbing. One particular variety of these connections carried by both big-box chains requires no soldering, and they can be fairly easily disconnected using a special tool sold alongside the fittings. (with a little finesse, you can disconnect these fittings. Your kids probably won't figure out how to disconnect them accidentally!) You will likely find these "new fangled" fittings are considerably more expensive than an ordinary solder joint fittings, but here's the trick if you're on a really tight budget: As you rough in your new water heater, install two of these removable/reuseable joint devices (one each in the In and Out water pipes). This will allow you to easily disconnect and replace the water heater the next time you need to! I actually used a third expensive removeable fitting in the over-pressure relief pipe. So I can find the key someday to remove the fancy fittings, I clipped it onto the cold water pipe leading to the water heater. Considering the challenge I had unsoldering several existing solder joints to install my new water heater, I should have used more of the fancy "quick connect" fittings, and spent less time soldering for the sake of soldering the pipes.

I did quite a bit of research on the web prior to installing these "new fangled" plumbing joints. I installed my two joints where I can see them easily. It's been over two years since they were installed, and not a drop of water has leaked from either of the fancy fittings that are constantly under pressure.

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posted on March 08, 2010 at 04:48PM
 

The height of the new water heater can be diffrent from the old one which causes a plumbing issue.

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