My hot water heater* has been acting funny for a couple weeks. The pressure is low and it's not as hot as it was. So when the plumbers came to the condos yesterday I asked them about it. They ran water through the hot water line and it was fine. They were replacing hot water heaters and said that would likely solve my problem. How lucky am I?

There goes the vacation money I was saving up.

Not that I really get to go on vacations in this pandemic-infused haze we got going on.

Given that my hot water heater is 26 years old and well past its warranty, it was probably time to replace it. The thing was here when I moved in seven years ago, so I wasn't mad about it. Just disappointed...

Although I really shouldn't be disappointed, because the nightmare scenario is that it ruptured and my garage got flooded. I'm so paranoid about it that I installed a water sensor at the base that would ping my phone if it got wet. Then I went to Antarctica and realized that since I had no internet, my tank could have busted wide open and I wouldn't even know it.

The plumbers had three models in their truck and could install one immediately. Since I was already home working because Dropbox was down and I couldn't get to my files at the office, I told them to go for it.

The first model was pretty much the same as what I had. The more expensive one had a longer 10-year warranty and better hardware. The most expensive model had a 12-year warranty, built-in leak detection, an automated shut-off valve that triggers if a leak is detected, and there was an app to set a temperature schedule and notify you directly if there's a problem.

I think we all know which model I went for...

Some interesting things to note...

1. What I really wanted was hybrid water heater with a heat pump. The local utility district was offering a $900 rebate, and I liked the idea of having a cool garage in Summer. Unfortunately, it would have cost me thousands of dollars because the unit was too tall to fit under the stairwell, and all the plumbing and electrical would have to be move.
2. And speaking of height... note that my old hot water heater* is sitting on a little wooden box. The new one sits on the floor (on an insulation pad). They are both 50 gallon tanks. No idea why the new one is a foot taller... isn't technology supposed to get smaller? I can only guess that it's better insulated, because the Energy Guide has a lower annual cost even though the electricity cost they use to determine it was higher. It will be interesting to see if I save money on my power bill not.
3. Modern standards require all kinds of additional crap which drove the cost up by hundreds of dollars. The most expensive addition was an "overflow tank" (which is tucked up behind the tank in the corner there). Apparently it relieves some of the pressure off the main tank because of heat expansion. This prevents stress on your plumbing, which is something I am *very* interested in having. The last thing I want is to have to tear open my walls to fix a bunch of leaks.

The plumbers did a very nice job with the installation (they always do great work), but oh boy was this expensive. $2,600 for everything (the tank by itself is $800 at Home Depot!)... with cash discount! I really should have been a plumber, because they make serious bank.

The Rheem EcoNet app is pretty basic, but it does everything you need. And then some. Not only will it tell you if there's a water leak, but it will also tell you when you've run out of hot water. It also tracks energy usage and allows you to set a schedule so that you are not wasting energy heating water if you're not home. You can even turn the thing off remotely...

Interesting to note that I didn't realize how terrible my old hot water heater• had gotten until I got a new one. Water is hotter. Hot water arrives faster. And the pressure is just as strong as my cold water! Nice!

And so there you have it. I'm drowning in hot water now!

Even if I had to almost wipe out my vacation fun to get it.

   
*"Hot Water Heater" is a weird term. It's actually a COLD water heater. It turns cold water into hot. I know that technically they are just "water heaters," but that seems even weirder to me because everybody here says "hot water heater."