# Hot water tank thermostat replacement



## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

The hot water is out and according to my hot water tank manual, the thermostat needs replacing.

Has anyone here replaced this on their tank? I've checked out a few "how to"s and it doesn't look horrible.

I'm not concerned about the cost of hiring someone to do the repair, but I am concerned about how long it might take to get someone.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> The hot water is out and according to my hot water tank manual, the thermostat needs replacing.
> 
> Has anyone here replaced this on their tank? I've checked out a few "how to"s and it doesn't look horrible.
> 
> I'm not concerned about the cost of hiring someone to do the repair, but I am concerned about how long it might take to get someone.



You have to be more specific..is it gas or electric?

GAS: Make sure the pilot has not gone out. If it has, follow instructions to relight burner pilot flame, unless it's
a newer style with an electronic pilot ignitor.
GAS: requires shutting off the gas at the tank and unscrewing the gas valve/thermostat at the bottom of the tank.
Level of difficulty: 7 requires proper tools, pipe thread sealing compound

Electric: two 220v thermostats (upper element and lower element) Thermostats are temp adjustable.
Shut off power to tank as 220v is deadly!
Level of difficulty : 4


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

The electric is just one big nut on the element. Shut off breaker power. Disconnect the wires. Unscrew it, pull it out. Put the readily available at any hardware store new element, into your tank. Tighten up the nut. Reconnect the wires. Done. I think you need to empty the tank before you pull out the elements and of course you need to fill the tank before you turn it on. A new element will last maybe 30 seconds in an empty tank. That kind of mistake can really annoy you when you have just finished a high quality replacement. Good luck.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

My apologies - the tank is gas.

@Carver - it doesn't have a pilot light. According to the manual, it has an auto-ignitor thingy which gets going a short time after you turn the power on.

@OptsyEagle - Just made a mental note to buy an electric tank next time. 

Thanks for the replies! I think I'm going to go with a pro. It's not like we really need hot water anyway.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

OptsyEagle said:


> The electric is just *one big nut *on the element. Shut off breaker power. Disconnect the wires. Unscrew it, pull it out. Put the readily available at any hardware store new element, into your tank. Tighten up the nut. Reconnect the wires. Done. I think you need to empty the tank before you pull out the elements and of course you need to fill the tank before you turn it on. A new element will last maybe 30 seconds in an empty tank. That kind of mistake can really annoy you when you have just finished a high quality replacement. Good luck.



Not to mention the nut that may go ahead and change it without prior experience. You don't need to remove the upper or lower element in the tank to change the thermostat. It is a separate item mounted on the outside of the tank behind the access plate. If the element is suspect, get a digital voltmeter first, disconnect the wires to the element (two) and test it on the ohmeter scale for continuity. If you have continuity 1 ohm or less, then the element is ok, and the thermostat may be the problem, which is easier to change and you don't need to drain the tank or remove the element to change it.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> My apologies - the tank is gas.
> 
> @Carver - it doesn't have a pilot light. According to the manual, it has an auto-ignitor thingy which gets going a short time after you turn the power on.
> 
> ...


The new style (with the draft motor) is auto-ignite from the thermostat. You need to determine if the auto-ignite module is broken, or
the thermostat which controls the on-off of the auto ignitor. There are tests to determine which is which. If you turn up the
thermostat on the tank, it should signal the auto-ignitor to spark and ignite a pilot orfice which then when lit, should allow the gas
valve to turn on gas to the main burner. There has to be a pilot flame detector otherwise the capillary to the main gas valve
will not allow the the gas to flow..otherwise you would have a lot of unburned natural gas in your basement and if conditions
are right...BOOM!

Changing these is not a trivial matter as you need to know the procedure and turn off the gas
valve at the tank.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

Agreed. My comment was on replacing elements. Don't know why I thought that was what you were trying to do.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

The tank just got repaired and I thought I would share the financials.

The replaced part was a valve/thermostat - like this: 

http://www.amazon.com/Rheem-SP20161A-Control-Thermostat-Natural/dp/B0062QGPSM

The cost was $375 for the part plus $150 for labour for a total of $593 including tax.

I have to say that when I did my original buy vs rent calculations before buying, I didn't factor in $600 repair jobs.

The tank was purchased in fall of 2005, so it's not all that old. Hopefully there won't be any more repairs.

Also - we noticed the tank failure late Friday night (of Easter weekend) and it was fixed today. So it might have been more of a delay compared to if we were renting, but not much more.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

I bought my tank out a few years ago....it is now 6 years old. Under the assumption/hope that it would not need repairs for 10 years. 

Might have to rethink that now....


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> The cost was $375 for the part plus $150 for labour for a total of $593 including tax.
> 
> I have to say that when I did my original buy vs rent calculations before buying, I didn't factor in $600 repair jobs.
> 
> The tank was purchased in fall of 2005, so it's not all that old. Hopefully there won't be any more repairs.


Tanks are prorated to last about 9 to 10 years. Although they are glass lined inside, they are boilers so eventually they could
spring a leak somewhere and have to be replaced.

Since yours is a spark ignitor model, the parts would be a bit more expensive than the standard gas valve with pilot that you have to light
yourself. I bought my GE 9 yr prorated warranty tank from H-D in 2000 for $325 and installed it myself. It's the basic 40 gal tank, with a pilot.

It's lasted almost 12 years (be 12 years this fall) and around $16 a month rental these days, it has saved me at least $2112 in rental + taxes.
Subtracting the cost of the tank, that's about $1787 so far over renting them. True that the rental company has to fix them for free,
but I expect that you are paying for that in the rental contract in the monthly rental charge.

If mine finally fails, I'll get another one from H-D installed for me by their guys this time.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

carverman said:


> Tanks are prorated to last about 9 to 10 years.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


I thought tanks last longer than that. Hopefully mine will go past 10 years. Our basement is unfinished so a leak isn't a big deal.

I'll have to keep in mind a pilot light version for next time. $600 repair is ridiculous.

Any idea how much an install / new tank would cost?


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> I thought tanks last longer than that. Hopefully mine will go past 10 years. Our basement is unfinished so a leak isn't a big deal.
> 
> I'll have to keep in mind a pilot light version for next time. $600 repair is ridiculous.




You are paying retail prices + on site service call. $150 is not out of line these days for a home service call.

For instance, I got charged $140 for a guy to come out and adjust my used stair chair, which still had problems after he "fixed it". 
I had it thrown out and replaced with new Acorn stair lift for $4000. 
So that service call cost me $1200 for the used stair chair that only worked for a month + $140 for him to come to "fix" it.
... and $4000 to replace it after I got fed up with them... or about $5340 to correct the problem!



> Any idea how much an install / new tank would cost?



Go to Home-Depot and see what the cost of a new tank is.
I bought mine there about 12 years ago (Sept 2000). It's a GE self cleaning tank with a pilot light. 
Cost about $325 at the time and I installed it myself. 

I would guess that they are double that today ($650 + tax) and perhaps $2 hrs or $250 to install.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

There's gold in water tank rentals...looking at the Direct Energy pamplet I got with my last gas bill.

CV40 (convection vented) needs a chimney or uses the gas furnace chimney ...$13.99 a month ($168 per year + HST) 10 year rental = $1680 + Hst

PV40 (power vented with a draft motor) and 2 inch abs plastic pipe out the side of the basement ..$23.49 per month (281.88 per year + hst) ..or about $2,820 + Hst for a 10 year rental

Tankless R75/rr53 ..$36.99 per month (443.88 per year) 10 year rental = $4,438.80 + hst. Thats a whopping $577.04 to both
govts! on top of the rental amounting to: $5,015 or about $500 per year for just the tank rental!
( Some installation charges may also apply) for the extra plumbing, depending on what copper pipes they have to change!

Electric 40 gal ..$10.49 per month ($125.88 per year + hst) 10 years = $1258.80 + hst

Typical water heater repairs (according to Direct Energy)
Power ventor assembly $557.00 t (this is the draft motor)
Gas valve $707.00
Flame sensor $229.75
Thermocouple $182.50


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Four Pillars said:


> I thought tanks last longer than that. Hopefully mine will go past 10 years. Our basement is unfinished so a leak isn't a big deal.
> 
> ...


There isn't a meaningful "average life span" for a water heater. I have seen 7-10 years and 7-15 years (how's that for a spread) quoted on web sites. Water heaters, both gas & electric, are currently being sold with 6-yr., 9-yr., and 12-yr. warranties. The ones with longer warranties have better corrosion resistance and larger sacrifical anodes. So it depends on what you buy. Also on local water quality and your frequency of use.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

OhGreatGuru said:


> There isn't a meaningful "average life span" for a water heater. I have seen 7-10 years and 7-15 years (how's that for a spread) quoted on web sites. Water heaters, both gas & electric, are currently being sold with 6-yr., 9-yr., and 12-yr. warranties. The ones with longer warranties have better corrosion resistance and larger sacrifical anodes. So it depends on what you buy. Also on local water quality and your frequency of use.


Yes, local water quality has a lot to do with the life of the tank, as minerals and dissolved salts in the water can encrust the inside elements on electric tanks and galvanic action always takes place, regardless of water quality. 

_Metals commonly used for sacrificial anodes include zinc, magnesium, and aluminium. This is commonplace in water heaters. Failure to regularly replace sacrificial anodes in water heaters severely diminishes the lifetime of the tank._

I got my Convection vented GE self cleaning (made by Rheem) tank at H-D about 12 years ago..so far it has failed me yet. 

It has a 9 yr replacement warranty on the tank itself, and has lived up to it's reputation, I suppose.
Even though they will replace the tank (not the gas valve and thermostat which only carries a 1 yr warranty), and
you have to pay for the labour charges after the year 1, I believe there still is some savings in order.

Even if I have to change it at some point, the savings of owning it more than 10 years, pays for any future replacement. 
This one bought in fall of 2000 has cost me approx $35 per year in service life.

New ones at H-D are $688 with 12 year warranty. Still better owning than renting them from Direct Energy as the same tank would have cost me approx $158 per year renting over a 12 year period.

Of course with ownership and the savings comes the hassle of being without hot water while you go shopping at H-D
(or wherever) and waiting for their contractors to install the tank.

I`m going to check into that this month to find out what it costs in labour, old tank disposal and the installation wait
time.


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