Mitchell-DIY-Guy
Well-Known Member
My friend and neighbor up the street just had a water heater failure in his home. New home, (2018 build). Electric water heater in attic. $850,000 home.
Pan overflowed, ceiling, and insulation damage.
Gas service at house, but builder likes electric because they are cheap. No venting. Who cares about the homeowner? Not the builder.
Homeowner investigated a tankless for the crawlspace. Estimates around $7K with all the needed work.
Either not enough gas in the attic to replace with a gas heater, or plumber didn't like the idea, or some code prevents it. (Plenty of combustion air available with a properly vented attic, and high quality units are spark ignition, not pilot)
So, the plumber replaced with another electric...same place.
...this time with a water alarm. Hopefully will give enough warning next failure to prevent ceiling damage.
Pan overflowed, ceiling, and insulation damage.
Gas service at house, but builder likes electric because they are cheap. No venting. Who cares about the homeowner? Not the builder.
Homeowner investigated a tankless for the crawlspace. Estimates around $7K with all the needed work.
Either not enough gas in the attic to replace with a gas heater, or plumber didn't like the idea, or some code prevents it. (Plenty of combustion air available with a properly vented attic, and high quality units are spark ignition, not pilot)
So, the plumber replaced with another electric...same place.
...this time with a water alarm. Hopefully will give enough warning next failure to prevent ceiling damage.