Home Hot Water Heater

[bridgebuster]

My house was built in 1995; we have hard well water, pH~8. My first water heater lasted almost 7 years but since then I've been replacing them every 2 1/2 years. I was wondering if a stainless steel water heater would stand up against hard water. I've seen some ads for tanks manufactured from 316L.

I've thought about softening the water but read that the salt could have negative effects on my groundwater; that's why I'm thinking of a stainless steel tank. Thanks for your replies (I still have 1 1/2 years to go).

 

[stevenal]

Marathon heaters are all plastic. Link

 

[bridgebuster]

Plastic water heater - definitely worth looking into. Thanks Stevenal.

 

[stevenal]

I found I got a better price by purchasing mine from an electric cooperative. They sell to non-members as well.

 

[ScottyUK]

That's an interesting design stevenal.

There's nothing like it available over here, but definitely interesting. We have a fairly hard water in this patch of the country and heat exchangers fur up quickly.

 

[PEDARRIN2]

From a plumbing design perspective, I would likely steer clear of instantaneous water heaters with hard water. The tubing scales up quickly, then you have to shut it down, drain it, and run the "provided for a cost from us" chemical descaler through it. Depending on your hardness, you might have to do this every 6 months.

Soften the water.

 

[IRstuff]

I've got high ceilings, so my number might be a bit high; even with the recirculation loop in the attic, it still takes 10 seconds to get hot water out the shower head.

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