Had to replace the water heater. We have a 80 gal. heater that started leaking yesterday morning. I shut everything down and tried to find a replacement. To my surprise the EPA has its hand in the water heater market as well. They've basically outlawed residential 80 gal electric water heaters. What a crock!
I finally found one near me. A commercial unit at about 2-1/2 times the price of a residential unit. BUT guess what? it's the same model as the one I replaced. "Commercial" grade means it's wired for simultaneous element activation, but if you just change ONE single wire on the junction block and move to another block, it becomes a normal residential system.
Bottom line is that you can only find commercial grade 80 gal units (which are allowed under the new EPA rules), but these units are basically the same units that were sold before these rules went into effect.
Took me a good day to get the old unit out and the new unit plumbed in -- I'm getting too old for this stuff --LOL
Man, 80 gallon, seriously. Almost closer to boiler than a water heater.
found this out a couple years ago.
had to put in a 50. there is some with 5500 watt elements. that is what put in. so far so good.
Quote from: skfarmer on Aug 04, 2025, 05:17 PMfound this out a couple years ago.
had to put in a 50. there is some with 5500 watt elements. that is what put in. so far so good.
Yes, I just found this out two weeks ago. I'm way behind the curve :)
One of my neighbors actually put in two 55 gal units that are "Daisy Chained" where one feeds into the other. That way he was able to get enough hot water for his family. He has a lot of kids (five) and that household consumes a lot of hot water. You can imagine what it's like with that many teenagers in the house -- bathroom times are at a premium.
I went from a propane water heater to electric a couple of years ago. The old propane unit (40 gallon Rheem) finally died after 30+ years. I needed a new water heater right now. I was looking for a 120V unit, as I have 120V outlets right by the water heater. The only 120V unit that was in stock at HD was a 6 gallon. I thought that would be sufficient, as it is only my wife and I here these days.
Wrong. I think we need at least a 20 gallon. And then, the 120V outlet by the water heater is also on the same breaker as everything in the kitchen. So, I take a (short) shower and then turn on the coffeemaker. Then the breaker trips.
Ughhh.
6 gallon is what we have that only handles 2 hand sinks. It is also the size that the shop used to have that also only handled two hand sinks. After a remodel when it died, the owner of the shop never replaced it and I tried to get him to go with an electric on demand.
In the past days, two people homes in my area, went 30 gallon. Now 40 gallon seems to be the standard since things like dishwashers are more normal. (in the old days hand wash dishes, laundry either early day or before bed, then clothesline)
Quote from: AbiggerGarage on Aug 05, 2025, 04:04 PM6 gallon is what we have that only handles 2 hand sinks. It is also the size that the shop used to have that also only handled two hand sinks. After a remodel when it died, the owner of the shop never replaced it and I tried to get him to go with an electric on demand.
In the past days, two people homes in my area, went 30 gallon. Now 40 gallon seems to be the standard since things like dishwashers are more normal. (in the old days hand wash dishes, laundry either early day or before bed, then clothesline)
40 gallon worked fine when we had 3 kids at home. I think a 20 gallon will be fine for us now. 6 gallons just doesn't quite cut it LOL.
Once they mandated those lo-flo toilets, I knew water heaters were in their sights. Pretty soon they'll outlaw kitchen ranges and force us to use Coleman camp stoves! lol
Quote from: bonneyman on Aug 06, 2025, 01:28 PMOnce they mandated those lo-flo toilets, I knew water heaters were in their sights. Pretty soon they'll outlaw kitchen ranges and force us to use Coleman camp stoves! lol
I have an old 3 burner Coleman stove on the back porch just outside the door. Converted to propane since the original tank rusted out. It is what we used for cooking when I was in the process of remodeling the kitchen several years ago.
Besides that I have one of those cheap butane stoves you can buy anywhere for less than $20 and at least 5 wood/charcoal grills and smokers. I'm not worried about being able to cook food.
No city water here, but I recently bought a new generator so I can run the well pump when the power goes out. The power goes out a lot here. Gas generator sales will soon be banned here in California. It was supposed to happen in June of this year, but I believe they have extended the deadline to 2026.
At this point, you cannot even buy a gas-powered lawnmower, weedwhacker or leaf blower in CA.
I think chainsaws got an extension for another year or so. The loggers are not happy.
I've had a stand alone heat pump water heater for years, hooks to any tank you have. It shit the bed awhile back. Sucks as it works great with my solar on the roof. So now I have a Rheem water heater, works OK, plenty of hot water for the 2 of us. 1 unit of energy in leads to 3 units out. Big money saver here where electrical rates are astronomical