"It sounded like a puppy squealing, and then there was this loud BUMP, hiss, gurgling sound...." the wife said a few days after I noticed the hot water ran out quicker than usual during my morning shower and mentioning this during our morning caffeine fix.
"So, perhaps it wasn't a cute little puppy bashing his brains in underneath the house dear?" I asked of my loving wife. Glaring beams of death cast my way.....but I survive yet again.
Given that the so-called crawl space is 4 ft. high, he'd have to be one big-ass "puppy." I did not mention this particular revelation to the spouse.
Thinking I had an old copper pipe split lengthwise and spilling several thousands of gallons of water under our house for several days, I grab a flashlight and venture into what I was sure to be Waldon Pond. No pond, but I did have a hissing "puppy" otherwise known as a water heater that had split. Luckily, the split was on top and not on the side or bottom that would have been some real fun. I guess the puppy had bashed his brains in after all. Damn hot water heater.
What to do? I wasn't sure if I wanted to finally go with a tankless water heater or fight to drag a large appliance underneath the house. I think tankless is the wiser choice since it is cheaper in some ways than a conventional water heater that is constantly burning money to keep the water heated compared to the tankless that only runs when needed. Our friends, Ronnie and Nancy, have the tankless system at their cabin and are happy with the investment, so it made sense to try it. So, I decide to buy one to replace our "puppy." Damn hot water heater.
Well, only Ace Hardware can get it in less than two weeks. "Ain't this a geographical oddity. Two weeks from anywhere." Upon receiving my new water heater that is not much bigger than your average desktop computer processor, I discover that I need to add another dual 40A breaker to my electrical panel and run more wire. Damn water heater. Can someone please tell me where a licensed electrician is in this county? Must be two weeks away by the response I got from nearly 15 phone calls. So I consulted a colleague at MGTC that teaches electrical wiring, took the 15 minute cram course in how not to fry yourself by sticking metal objects into a live electrical panel, and actually feel more comfortable tackling the task on my own. But, I have to skip several bike rides in order to replace the puppy. Damn hot water heater.
Tomorrow I will be dragging my sorry ass out of bed early enough to make the rooster wonder WTF? and will begin the task of replacing the damn hot water heater. At least I get to drink a cold Stone Brewery Smoked Porter while I'm fine tuning the flow-rate and temperature settings of the new tankless system.
Damn, I may like my new hot water heater.
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2 comments:
So...the "puppy" was UNDER the house? Man, that's why i like slab houses.
How's the new one working? I hope after fine tuning the system while imbibing that you didn't let the wife test it first...
Working great. Just got to get the temp. fine tuned. I tempted fate first and took a 45 minute shower just 'cause I could. We'll see what happens to the bill, however.
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