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We have a backup regular type hot water heater. We try to have backups on everything we consider important because we live at the top of a ridge line, up a steep driveway, outside of town and many times are ‘on our own’ during bad weather situations, etc.
Since our tankless water heater threw its hands up in the air and yelled ’13!” whatever that means and quit providing hot water a couple of days ago, my husband decided to light the pilot light on the backup heater so we would have hot water while we tried to find someone to help us with the tankless. After a lot of effort, we finally admitted defeat on getting the pilot light lit and called our wonderful plumber to see if he or his assistant could help us on their way home from work.
The assistant showed up very quickly. (He had to walk up the majority of our 650+ foot driveway because his tires don’t have a lot of tread and his truck wouldn’t come up.) H found that one of the hoses had a leak. He and our plumber worked together, got a new hose and installed it. He still couldn’t get the pilot light to STAY lit. On further examination, he found that several of the fittings and connections had simply rotted out after being in the basement over 10 years. He strongly suggested we drain it and get rid of it. We thought we would replace it, but our plumber said that the 40 gallon propane-powered water heater tank would cost over $700 now. OUCH! So, we’ve decided to get rid of the old one, and NOT have a backup system.
I had found a company who would send out a technician this afternoon. After talking to our plumber, though, we decided we would work with one of his buddies, rather than the larger company, who has a “come-out-and-look-charge-$89-then-leave-and-order-parts-to-come-back-later” routine.
My husband will stay home from Lunch Bunch today to wait for a call and for him to come. Our plumber got our model and serial numbers for the tankless. He said he would Google it and then contact his buddy about what to expect. I’m hoping that the tankless can be repaired. If not, we’ll order another one through him and have him install it. The super-expensive part of this installation was all the stainless steel routing of the propane to the system in the basement (which cost more than the system) and that shouldn’t have to be redone. It’ll be bad enough, though.
As this is only one of the challenges we’re dealing with lately, it’s a bit hard to keep a smile on my face. It’s easier when I think about all I have, and the fact that I’ll be seeing at least one good friend at Lunch Bunch in about an hour. :0)
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