So, I'm down in Newport RI for the weekend with our son and a group of his friends for a golf weekend (a WET one at that ) ...
I'm playing the 14th hole Newport Nat'l (a great course) and my wife calls my cell phone to tell me that our hot water heater sprung a MAJOR leak - flooded the lower level ... We got 12 years out of the water heater, so it wasn't a total surprise ...
Sooo ... that's the end of the golf weekend, and I head home to help her out ...
The good part of the story is that a couple of weeks ago we signed up with American Home Shield, for insurance protection for situations like this ...
I call them and they give me the info for the plumber who will service my call ... I call him, and he tells me that AHS will cover the replacement of the water heater and his costs ... My HO insurance will cover any damage, less the deductible, so aside from the inconvenience, things will work out ...
You just never know when these things are going to go, but once they pass 10 years, be ready ...
t.

I guess I'm fortunate in that my hot water heater is also my heating system. I have what is known as a summer/winter hookup, which means my oil-fired boiler for my hot-water baseboard heating system is the same boiler that provides domestic hot water. Essentially, there are two boiler units housed within the furnace, one for heating the house, and the other for domestic hot water. The system is very effecient, heats water in less than 3 minutes, and we never run out of hot water. Our first boiler lasted 35 years and never leaked until last fall, when it developed a minor drip. At this point I decided to have the system replaced, which cost about $3,500 including installation labor costs.

Some folks may be thinking "What about the high cost of heating oil? Wouldn't that make it more expensive to heat hot water?" In reality, NO! Oil heats hot water 13 times faster than electric, and 7 times faster than natural gas. Think of it this way. If you were to turn off your electric hot-water heater and allow the water temperature to reach room temperature, how long do you think it would take to reheat the water to 180 degrees? With most electric hot water heaters it would take hours. In my case, it's less than 3 minutes. During that three minute period I burn approximately 1/2-pint of oil. The difference in energy consumption between electric and oil-fired hot water heaters is enormous.

Because of the oil-fired hot water heaters ability to rapidly heat water, we leave the boiler turned off most of the time. When we need hot water for showers, washing dishes, etc.., it's a flick of a switch and in 3 minutes you have all the hot water you need.

Cheers,

Gary

About a year ago, I bought and installed a tankless water heater. Had to replace some wiring and get a bigger breaker, but it supplies endless hot water at low cost.
Nothing to leak and it takes up about a square foot of room.
DonM

Don ... If I may ask what did the unit cost?
thnx,
t.

I've heard all good things about the tankless water heater.

Tony maybe you should be home more and not on the golf course as much Don't let Lydia see this post

http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/

Gary

Don ... talking to some people over the weekend, including some plumbers, I heard that if you are running the dishwasher or washing machine, you might not have the hot water you need for a shower ... is this true>
thnx,
t.

I've been very pleased with the tankless. It cost about $400. on line, but I had to have some plumbing and electrical work done that ran the cost up. Had to run a few feet of smaller pipe, then have heavier gauge wiring and breaker in$talled.
I've found there is as much hot water available as with conventional tanks, except it never runs out and turns cold. In the North, you would need a more powerful one than I have.
DonM

Thanks for the info, Don ...
t.

The decision has been made to go with the standard tank ...
I found this interesting on an info site about tankless systems - not that this made up my mind - it was more the add'l cost ...

"Advantages to tankless water heaters include greater energy efficiency of 10 to 20 percent over tank water heaters. Because they do not store a reservoir of hot water, there are no standby losses. Tankless water heaters can supply limitless amounts of hot water. Their housing is more compact, with a longer life expectancy of about 20 years. Downsides include the high cost -- twice or more of what you'd pay for a traditional tank-style water heater.
Editors at Consumer Reports say you're unlikely to make up the extra expense in energy savings. Installation can be tricky, and gas units may require wider-than-usual vents and larger gas pipes running to the meter, adding another $500 to $1,000 to the initial installation cost. Pipe and vent issues also make installing a tankless water heater in an older home more difficult, and hot water may take longer to reach remote rooms."

t.