Water Heaters
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Water Heaters
Hot water heater needs to be replaced
April 2011
We really need a new hot water heater and are considering an
on- demand one. After doing some reading it seems like
there are some issues and do not save that much money per
year. Do you have one? Do you love it? Hate it? Also, we
could use a recommendation for a licensed plumber to
relocate and install it.
Many thanks,
Barbie
I highly recommend Brian Borghi of Borghi Plumbing in
Oakland for any hot water heater replacemtn. He alos does
tankless water heaters. Contact 653-6281 very reasonable,
professional and offers great advice too.
Rey Lacayo of Lacayo Colt Plumbing and heating is a
excellent plumber and very good guy. He has done a major
plumbing remodel at my home, including tankless water heater
installation, complete new copper pipes that ties into a 80
year old system, two new bath rooms etc. etc.
He also does small jobs and he is my go to guy when the
furnace stops or the sump pump stops draining completely. He
is easy to reach, returns calls immediately, comes by to do
the work quick, and best, he is efficient, jobs are done
well and quickly and therefore reasonably, certainly in
comparison to the large firms that have a lot more overhead.
I highly recommend Rey for big and small plumbing and
heating jobs. His number is 510-336-3496 office, and
415-726-8549 cell. Larry
May 2010
Our hot water heater is on its last legs so I want to
start looking now for an energy efficient replacement. I
know there's a lot of options out there and find it all a
bit overwhelming. Any suggestions on a good expert/plumber
who can sort through what's available and give us good,
solid advice on what would work best for us and our
budget?
Thanks
Reva
Call Eric/Cal Plumbing, (510)229-8022. My wife and I had
done our research and had our hearts set on a new tankless
water heater to replace our leaking tank heater, mostly
because our friends told us how energy efficient they are.
When Eric from Cal Plumbing came by to look at our house, he
said the layout of our house made us a poor candidate for a
tankless. He advised us that a better choice for us would
be to install a well-insulated tank water heater with a hot
water recirculating pump...this would conserve water and get
us hot water faster. And it was half the cost of a
tankless! Other plumbing companies tried to sell us the
more expensive tankless option, but we felt comfortable with
Eric and knew he would do a good job (he personally
installed the water heater himself, and it passed inspection
easily). We couldn't be happier!
Brian
Jan 2010
We have a 19 year old water heater and feel that we are
pushing our luck by not replacing it now. We are looking
for recommendations for a good, honest and knowledgeble
person/company. Our water heater set up is probably not
up to code any longer so we are assuming it's not a quicky
job. There will most likely be some extra plumbing
work/maneuvering involved.
anon
I highly recommend Justin Aulday of Aulday plumbing. I hire him as a sub
contractor for all the plumbing work on my remodeling projects.
He is very professional, does quality work, runs his own business and does his
own work and is very affordable.
Check him out, you won't regret it.
His phone number is 510 815 0931
Idan
Eric , Cal Plumbing. 510-229-8022. Plumber. As honest as they come. Has done
many plumbing jobs for us, the last being replacing our hot water heater with an
exterior tankless water heater. It ended up being the only legal solution, in
terms of the code requirements for venting, etc. He is great!
CK
You should have an experienced, licensed plumber give you an
estimate. We found out the hard way that even if a company
is licensed, the plumber they send out to do the job may not
know what they're doing. Eric with Cal Plumbing is
knowledgeable about tank and tankless water heaters and does
everything to code. He was effective in communicating what
was involved in replacing our very old (20+ years!) water
heater, and he charged us what he told us he would when he
gave us the bid, even though it turned out to be a more
involved project than anticipated. I highly recommend Eric:
229-8022.
Happy Customer in Oakland
I highly recommend Hank the plumber. Our water heater
stopped working, so I looked on Berkeley Parents Network and
found a good review for Hank. I called him and he came
right over. He recommended a fix, instead of replacing the
heater. He was fast, honest and very reasonably priced. He
is a contractor and can install new water heaters if needed.
I will call him in the future. His phone number, 1 800 411-hank
Michelle
Sept 2009
How much water should a normal hot water heater 'overflow' pipe
be draining? And where should it drain to?
Our hot water heater 'overflow' pipe just juts out the side of
our house now. It seems to me it drains 'a lot'. It fills up a
large-ish watering can every day. Is it supposed to overflow so
much? This seems like a huge waste of water to me.
I don't like it sticking out the side of the house. I'd like to
have it drain to the sewage system, but I'm really wondering if
so much water should be coming out. I mean, if everyone's heater
is doing this, I'm appalled at the amount of waste. It just
doesn't seem right to me.
Where does your hot water heater overflow drain into? Any
plumbers (professional or lay) have a sense of a 'normal' amount
of water draining from the overflow pipe?
Thanks
Your Water Heater should not be overflowing at all! There must be
something wrong with the WH overflow pressure valve. Check with a
plumber. Andus
Dec 2008
Lately, our water heater has been running out of hot water much
sooner than it used to. I don't see a leak, but we want to get it
checked out. The water heater is the original from the house when
it was built in 1985, so replacing it might not be out of the
question in any case (we have lived in the house since 2006). We
are in Walnut Creek and are wondering if folks out there have any
current recommendations for whom we might contact for such work.
Thanks!
The average life of a hot water heater is 15 years!
Brenda
Hi,
I've been repairing and installing hot water heaters for quite
some time now and it sound like you have a broken dip tube. This
is the tube the brings the cold water into the tank all the way
to the bottom. It's usually plastic and over time it degrades and
splits or breaks. This results in having cold water being
released much higher up in the tank than it should be. The hot
water at the top is displaced and suddenly you have a lot less
hot water than you used to. Depending on the head room above the
tank, it's a relatively simple and cheap repair. Most plumbers
will simply tell you to replace the unit, usually for between
$700.00 and $1000.00. Due to the quality of the water in most of
the East Bay, I find that with timely maintenance and some simple
upgrades and repairs, a water heater can last almost
indefinitely.
August 2008
For the last few months, our water heater has been making a
knocking/thumping sound after we've used the sink or shower from
the master bathroom. It doesn't make any noise when we use
water from any other source in the house (kitchen, second
bathroom). Has anyone ever experienced this? Do we need to
take action now?
Linda
Sounds like you have a water hammer problem, not with the water
heater but with the plumbing to the master bath. If this is the case, you
need some risers (or extensions) on your hot water lines above your
sink/shower connections.
Ray
sounds like it's water hammer - pipes vibrating/slamming when the
water is suddenly turned off - as it only occurs at those
fixtures. is the sound AT the water heater? does it sound like
pipes vibrating in the wall near the water heater?
Jeff
2001
I need a recommendation for an energy efficient water heater for my small house; and also
someone to install it -- is this the kind of a job you need a plumber for, or are there
companies that specialize in installing water heaters, or can a regular appliance store
handle it? CD
You might want to try an on-demand heater, which heats the water going
through the pipe only when you turn on the tap, rather than keeping a tank
full of hot water all the time. We installed one; it was easy for us, but
we're pretty handy. They're not cheap ($500) compared to a regular water
heater, but the gas savings are looking pretty sweet right now. Be warned:
this is not a good option if you like to run your dishwasher, washing
machine, and hot shower all at the same time.
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