Just after my surgery, while still pretty much incapacitated, we needed to have a plumber install a hot water heater. Something I probably would have done otherwise. It was way too expensive but we got a full 8 year warranty. With the water conditions we have, we are lucky to have a water heater last that long. This morning we woke up to very little hot water. Frustrating, but knew we had this great warranty and all the documentation. I checked the breaker, it was fine. Everything about the water heater indicated it was the problem.
Warranties are great, until the plumber that installed it is no longer in business. I used a national brand so you would think it would not be a problem. As it turns out, while they have a national brand, they are all independent. They have just used this big name as advertisement. The national number is just a call center, they can't help you at all with any warranty issues if their contractor has gone out of business and there aren't any others in that service area.
I managed to get in contact with the water heater manufacturer. They run me through some 'tests' with a multi meter. They actually told me how to hook up my meter (i had never used it, I got it from my Dad in their recent move.) The tests indicated that I was getting no power to the unit. They advised I needed to call an electrician since it wasn't a water heater issue. Can you see the steam rising from my head? I am beyond frustrated as I see this costing me when it shouldn't. I am sitting there looking at my multi meter and rearrange how they had me connect it. Sure enough, I am getting the 240 V just like they said I should. They had me hook up my meter wrong. Also I notice since I had turned off the breaker to remove the panels, and then turned it back on, the water heater started making all the noises it usually does and the pressure release valve started getting hot. Evidently it just needed resetting. Why? I don't know, and it does concern me. It has a reset button on it anyway, but it didn't work when I pushed it. The breaker was off at the time...duh.
I appears we have hot water again. How long? Who knows? In the mean time I got a call from a commercial plumber that said they had taken over most of the accounts for the defunct plumber and would service our warranty. Really? I couldn't believe it, but was glad for that news. Not sure how they got my info other than the incapable call center for the national plumbers finally realized they had somehow sold that franchise to this other company and called them. But none of those call center folks, 3 of them, could figure that out when I called them. Might have saved me some frustration.
Not sure why these sort of things bother me more than they used to.
Happy Trails
6 comments:
Thanks to the hard water here, we've also had water heater issues. Here's some info that I found useful.
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/Longevity/sediment-in-hot-water-heaters.html
CenTexTim, same here. we are on our 4th or 5th one since 86. I try to drain mine 3/4 times a year. I will check that out, thanks.
Because we're used to competency... That's why...
I have a propane hot water heater out in the apartment. No trouble with it and it's pretty old.
In the house, I replaced the original hot water heater with a big, flashy, powered unit that pumps the exhaust outside. It's still working ok, and that's been about ten years ago. Guess I got lucky on those issue.
Now, the pump that sends water up to the house, that's been a nightmare. Every time that thing goes it's a thousand bucks to replace.
Old NFO, good point.
Harry Flashman-we have extremely hard water here, we also have no water softener. We never had a softener and I didn't know anything about them other than making the water taste terrible. So we opted out of one when we built the house. We are paying for that now with limestone deposits on everything and water heaters filling up with sediment faster than normal
I can not imagine all your frustration with that water heater. I was confused as to why the plumber who offered the eight year warranty just didn't swap out the other one as soon as you identified the trouble. I too am surprised how long your other unit lasted after all the abuse from the water here in the Texas area.
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