Gas water heaters

[johnjh2o]

I'm looking for opinions on this new gas heater Rheem came out with. Hoping someone may have installed one. It sounds like it may be have a place in the heater market.

Rheem Debuts XR90 – 29-Gallon Residential Water Heater

John

[phishfood]

I hadn't heard of it yet. Thanks for bringing it up.

[johnjh2o]

Been thinking of installing one in my own house. Mine is 10 years old and I'm sure you know how long they last down here. On this coast all we get is 7-10 years. We call it job security. They are a little pricey but they qualify for a $350.00 rebate from are gas company.

John

[Caduceus]

Bradford White also has a high recovery tank of similar design. I know that one was installed at a hair salon and the plumber said that it performed perfectly. I would think that the Rheem will be comparable.

[lordofthepipes]

i dont know about the Rheem but i have installed many of the bradford white version. make sure the home you install it in dose not have a large bath tub, high flow tub spout, or a multiple head shower system. these type of units cant keep up with high flow rates. i installed one in a home that had a 50 gallon water heater, larger than normal bath tub and the bradford white 25 gallon unit ran cold b4 the tub filled up. not a good conversation with the customer when i went back.

[johnjh2o]

Rheem is claiming there first hour rating is higher then a 50 gallon heater. What is the BTU rating on the Bradford White heater? Rheems is 60,000 BTU's

John

[lordofthepipes]

the bradford is 76,000btu. the problem comes in when you have a high flow valve or shower system. these water heaters cant recover fast enough to fill a tub larger than a villager. bradford also has a 50 gallon 76,000btu unit that works well.