So apparently it’s plumbing week on “This Crumbling Ol’ House” ….

[Mdragger88]

If you’ve been following along, last weeks episode was plumbing related too

Tell me about your garbage disposal…

Do I really need more than 1/2 hp? I really try not to put food down my drain so I’m not steady grinding vegetables or anything just what didn’t get scraped off the plates. Also, what do you have (brand & hp), how long have you had it, do you like it/hate it? These little workhorses aren’t...

www.troublefreepool.com

On this episode of “This Crumbling Ol’ House” we are replacing the 1973 model water heater

With this beauty

I had been planning on doing so for some time as I suspected one of the elements was going on the fritz but my husband said to leave it alone/ride it out as long as possible because new ones just don’t last anymore. (Definitely not 50 yrs anyway)
That was fine until I went up to plug my antenna booster into the generator during the power outage & saw water in the pan my sensor didn’t alert me because I had no internet.
So I began my water heater search - it was still working at this time.
FYI- The 40 gallon short of 1973 is shorter than the 40 gallon short of today so we had to get a lowboy. I was hoping for a 50gal (really 48) but nope- too fat to fit through the attic opening. Instead a 40gal (really 38) it is.
FFW to friday when I’m rushing to shower & leave for a 5 hour journey - ice cold water, my hair looked great btw
The new water heater was sitting in my breakfast area thankfully.
Just got it installed yesterday so he’s still gotta insulate the pipes & put the blanket on but we got to take showers!! I also have to install a disconnect, flex, & wire to replace the old cord & plug set up which is a no no now according to the NEC.

While the water was turned off & he was busy in the attic I decided to fix my dripping tub faucets since I had been putting it off- they have the old Delta ball/stem things in them with springs & seats. I used some extra springs & seats I had on hand to get the leaks stopped but need a few more parts so I’m going shopping today & decided to be brave.
I finally removed the old overflows & the one spout I haven’t replaced yet so I can replace them too - let’s pretty this thing up! (As pretty as a brown bathtub can get at least)


I keep the outside very clean so I wasn’t expecting the inside to be so nasty!
I have always been afraid to mess with the overflow/trippers because they do actually still work.
One day, when we are independently wealthy , we will redo these bathrooms & replace the ancient valves so we can have pretty trim kits.

Stay tuned for the spring/summer series of “This Crumbling Ol’ House” which will hopefully include:
“Preventing house fires by replacing your never tripping stablock Sylvania electrical panel”
&
“Installation of a Real SWG & it’s accompanying pvc sculpture!”

I am starting to think that by the time be “redo”our entire house it will be time to start over again in the same order

 

[Texas Splash]

When it rains it pours. I feel you're pain. Labor and $$$.

 

[Mdragger88]

None of these things are really surprises persay but the to do list is quite long & takes some time to get through especially when you have to prioritize regular expenses. Thankfully it’s generally one thing at a time around here with some things happening closer together than others.
I don’t have any experience having a new house with all new stuff but I have heard that in those instances multiple things like appliances tend to die kind of at once because they are all the same age.

 

[Texas Splash]

We've been in our home for 16 years (new) and I've replaced the water heater 3 times and the water softener twice. If it's not one thing it's another.

 

[Mdragger88]

I was seriously expecting the old water heater to be 1/2 filled with rust & sediment but surprisingly it wasn’t! Hardly anything at all in there. It just died of old age, it was a good run for sure.
Makes me feel a little better about my water quality & it’s possible effects on the new water heater. Hopefully we’ll get at least 10 years out of it.

 

[ajw22]

27 year old house on its third set of NG water heaters.

Water heaters come with 5, 7, or 10 year warranties. They seem to be programmed to last 1-2 years longer than the warranty at best. I get the 10 year warranty cans.

I understand that you can extend the life of a water heater by replacing the anode every year or two. Where my heaters are installed I can’t get any access and removal of the anode stick. The cost of replacing the anode over the heater life did not pencil out. So to me it is a consumable with a planned 10 year replacement cycle.

 

[Mdragger88]

27 year old house on its third set of NG water heaters.

Water heaters come with 5, 7, or 10 year warranties. They seem to be programmed to last 1-2 years longer than the warranty at best. I get the 10 year warranty cans.

I understand that you can extend the life of a water heater by replacing the anode every year or two. Where my heaters are installed I can’t get any access and removal of the anode stick. The cost of replacing the anode over the heater life did not pencil out. So to me it is a consumable with a planned 10 year replacement cycle.

Ours is in a tight spot - we definitely couldn’t have ever removed the anode in the old one as it was up against the rafters, not sure about the new one since it’s “extra large petite”