Who Says There's No Inflation? Hot Water Heater 300% in 10 Years!

[mrlynn]

Our 10-year-old hot water heater (gas A. O. Smith Promax 50 gallon) sprang a leak last night, and had to be replaced—just one month after the 10-year warranty expired! :turbo:

In 2005 we paid $550 for that heater, including installation and disposal. I called the same plumber, and his price was now $1,650, for the current version of the same heater, installed, with 10-year warranty (they go for about $700 on Amazon, so the rest is for labor, parts, disposal, and permit). That's over 300% inflation, or 30% a year.

I called another plumber we have used, and his price was $1,395, or about 250% increase over the 2005 price. Saved me a few bucks, so I went with him.

But I am appalled. This isn't 30 or 40 years; it's only 10!

/Mr Lynn

[Rick-o]

Yeesh! Expensive!

As much as I hate plumbing, I WILL change out my own water heater. It's in a great location, breezeway to the garage. I can haul my new water heater from the store in my pickup, remove the old and install the new in a short time, and roll the old heater out to the street where a special unit of trash collection will haul it out for free. (unless the scrappers grab it first).

No permit required, and it's not that difficult of a job.

[DP]

Next time I'm going with a tankless. There are just two of us here and it makes more sense.

[3d]

Oof. Not sure I would mess around with a gas water heater install.
Electric, water AND GAS line project with no permit required? Where is this?!

[Todd's keyboard]

Sounds like you may be paying a premium for a "hot" water heater. Have you thought of just getting a regular water heater?

Todd's sorry-but-still-couldn't-help-itself-keyboard

[DP]

Not just inflation, it's the Feds! From April 2015:

Your next water heater is going to cost more and take up more space.

Terry Petersen paid $900 for his new water heater. If he had waited another month or two longer it would have cost him $1,100.

"What really has happened is they've taken the old efficiency standard, for high efficiency and made that what the new standard is," said Chuck Gassmann of Bell Brothers Heating and AC.

The new rules go into effect on April 16, but manufactures are allowed to sell out their inventories after that. Once those water heaters are sold then new higher efficiency models will become the norm.

For an average 40-gallong water heater like the Petersen's just bought, the price will increase by 20-25 percent. If you have a larger model you will pay even more.

"If you have a 75-gallon water heater in your home, you can expect to pay as much as 50 percent more," said Gassmann.

If your current water heater is less than five years old or so, you might want to just wait and expect the next one to be quite a bit more expensive. If it's any older than that then you may want to seriously consider buying a new one now, while the older models are still available.


http://www.kcci.com/news/replacing-water...e/32358108

[Bixby]

My plumber told me the extra you pay for a long-warranted water heater basically pays for their insurance against their own failures. Those heaters don't have better parts or thicker insulation. So a unit with a 6-year warranty is mechanically no better than one with a 10-year warranty.

[OWC Jamie]

DP wrote:
Next time I'm going with a tankless. There are just two of us here and it makes more sense.

With relatively low natural gas prices you may save only $100/yr which doesn't quite cover the double to triple outlay cost of the tankless vs storage if it only has a lifetime of 20 years vs 10.

They are (more ) popular and cost effective where fuel costs are high.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwsqEMNuvcY

[Paul F.]

billb wrote:
[quote=DP]
Next time I'm going with a tankless. There are just two of us here and it makes more sense.

With relatively low natural gas prices you may save only $100/yr which doesn't quite cover the double to triple outlay cost of the tankless vs storage if it only has a lifetime of 20 years vs 10.

They are (more ) popular and cost effective where fuel costs are high.
They're no long "double to triple" the cost either.

[rz]

We just went with a gas tankless heater. Takes a bit longer for the water to heat up, but then again, it never "runs out" of hot water. And it freed up the corner of our laundry room where the old tank used to be.