Charlie: Lee from Kemah writes to us. He says, “I have some questions about my water heater.” So we’re going to spend some time in the water heater first. “My heater is a 40 gallon gas heater made by Rheem. It was made in 2002.” He’s in an 1800 square foot house. You got 3 people, 2 full baths, and then the kitchen and laundry stuff. All right? You know about what he’s got and what he’s using.
Tom: Got it.
Charlie: His questions: How long does a water heater last these days?
Podcast: Play in new window
Tom: That’s an open-ended question, but …
Charlie: That is, you know like we would say, “that’s the mystery of faith right there.” Who knows?
Tom: I still have a ’96 Bronco that’s running fine….Uh…. Average, without a water softener, 13 years. With a water softener, 25.
Charlie: Really?
Tom: Yeah, I’ve got one that’s 22 years old now that, it runs perfect. It doesn’t bubble, it doesn’t boil. It’s a gas 40 gallon just like this gentleman, and I’ve always had a water softener on the house. It could go even longer.
Charlie: What would cause his pilot light to burn out or cause the igniter switch not to work?
Tom: Well, a lot of different things. But mainly, the most common would be a thermal couple that needs to be replaced.
Charlie: That’s a call a plummer thing?
Tom: If you don’t know how to do it. It’s not a difficult thing.
Charlie: Okay Tom, in general?
Tom: Well, can I do it myself? A lot of people can do it themselves. It’s a part you replace… But can anybody just go up and know what to do without a little direction? No. Most people at least would call a plummer to do it I think, as opposed to trying to do it themselves, but they can. You can buy the part at Home Depot.
Charlie: Okay, good. Does he need a real big one, you think? Or is what he got good?
Tom: A big thermal couple?
Charlie: No, no. Water … He’s got a 40 gallon heater.
Tom: 40 gallon’s pretty standard for a house that size. Now, if he’s having problems because they take very long showers all at the same time, then you can call Abacus Plumming and find out about booster pumps and back up heats and all these different issues. I don’t know if bigger tank would be the answer, As far as a standard 40 gallon for a 2 bath home, it’s fine.
Charlie: All the way down at the bottom of this question he says he had somebody come out and work on it and he wasn’t happy with the work they did. He says, “I know he didn’t call Abacus.”
Tom: I don’t know. People say that I’m not happy, what does that mean? They guy was messy?
Charlie: I don’t know. He wasn’t at all happy with the work. He wasn’t happy that they came out and so he’s not going to use those guys again. He should call Abacus.
Tom: Absolutely.
Charlie: That’s what I would do. You can count on them. Kind of a little slogan.
Tom: Some people just can’t be pleased.