comments

1. walt on May 20th, 2010 at 12:36 am

   Aw, shit.

   How much water in the basement before you found it?

2. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 12:39 am

   the heater is in the attic, but the good news is that so far it seems like it only leaked into the office closet and Amy was able to get most of the stuff out of there while I was turning off the water and wet vacuuming. looks like the drain pan was cracked pretty badly & the drain pipe was clogged. tomorrow I’ll enjoy figuring out how to get a new heater up there. or maybe just buy one of those heat on demand jobbers.

3. Michael Smith on May 20th, 2010 at 7:04 am

   That sucks. I want one of those heat on demand jobbers.

   Hopefully not too much stuff got wet.

4. Sheila Ryan on May 20th, 2010 at 7:20 am

   Oh, man. Things like that are such an adrenaline rush. Not the good kind.

5. Cindy Scroggins on May 20th, 2010 at 8:43 am

   Ugh–I’m so sorry. The up side is that you’re really, really lucky you were home.

   We’re definitely going with a tankless heater when the time comes. They require some extra work to put in and are expensive, but they’re amazingly energy efficient. Plus, if you’re considering selling the house at any point, they are a valuable home improvement feature.

6. Sheila Ryan on May 20th, 2010 at 12:11 pm

   I’ll drive down and help you, Deron. I’m good at plumbing stuff.

   Wait. No. It’s fixing toilets that I’m good at. I don’t know from water heaters.

   And I’ve never installed a toilet in an attic without stair access.

   Hmmmnh. Maybe you could borrow the stairs from that partially built Cretan hotel that Phil photographed. Rent them, maybe, and help out Greece’s economy.

7. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 12:13 pm

   Sheila, I think you’re on to something.

8. Sheila Ryan on May 20th, 2010 at 12:15 pm

   I got a million ideas just waiting to be realized.

9. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

   I’m just down from the attic. I think we have the basics for a tankless heater, but our gas line is 1/2″ up there and from what I’ve read most require 3/4″ piping.

10. Coop on May 20th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    I am so sorry. Replacing the little 6-gallon one in my last tiny RV cost $600 in 2006. So I hope you don’t have to pay forty-hundred dollars.

11. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    I’m going to do it myself this evening I think.

12. Coop on May 20th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    I can replace an RV toilet if you decide you need help in that arena.

13. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    a toilet in the attic.

    I like it.

14. Daryl Scroggins on May 20th, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    City code is pretty strict on venting for the larger tankless heaters. Some people go with two of the smaller electric ones that don’t have the same venting requirements and can be close to the point of use–so cold water doesn’t have to be pushed out ahead of the hot. Sad to say–if you need hot water right away, the quickest fix is to replace it with what you had. Standard water heaters are cheap if you do the install. But I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know.

15. Deron Bauman on May 20th, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    yeah, I’m weighing all that. the cut out for the ventilation is already in place, but the cost of the new kit is pretty steep. it may all come down to only having 1/2″ gas pipe in the attic, which may not be enough to feed the larger tankless heaters.

    we’ll see.

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