Awesome! I replaced my water heater a couple years ago - and managed to do it with just a single trip to Home Depot! Felt like a goddamn boss.
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2025
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One trip? So the legends are true? It can be done?
There is a special fastener squirreled away for when the day comes that it is needed, no trip to the store will be required. On that day, your life will be complete.
Bullshit - it can't be done.
1st rip get the water heater and all the recommended parts.
2nd trip take the parts that don't fit back and get the "right" ones.
3rd trip take the "right" ones back and get the part you really need.
The 4th trip so the worst. You stop go to a local hardware store because you need a special part and pay out the bose for it.
The 4th trip to the local hardware store is cuz you can’t be seen back at Lowe’s / home despot for a 4th time today.
The other day I helped a friend furnish his new house that was next to a german equivalent for a home depot. Like, his garden fence has a gate into their parking lot. You bet I walked over there for single shims with a cup of coffee in hand and after three days the cashiers collectively grinned when I strolled in.
Ouch. And yes. Exactly.
That's exactly what I was expecting! I wrote down everything I needed. Took some pictures. Went to a buddies house and had him look at my list and pics. Then went to the store, bought the water heater and pieces, and got it all in one shot.
It's the closest I've ever come to greatness.
🥺 I was 3 trips
I think three trips for a water heater install scores "birdie" (-1), since a water heater install is usually considered a par 4.
Thank you kind sir
Congrats. If funds permit, consider swapping the anode rod for a powered unit. Pretty much negates scale buildup, smells and corrosion. It also lasts the life of the tank, unlike the sacrificial anode rod.
This is pretty cool, I didn't know they existed. I'm wondering why they make it run off a separate 120v wall wart instead of 240v that could be run to the same power supply as the water heater (assuming its an electric water heater).
I think NEC dictates that a convenience 110v receptacle must be within 25 ft of a WH so that's probably why the company assumes the plug is enough.
I saw that some of the Chinese alphabet branded options on Amazon did list 240v capable but I'd never trust one for the job.
That code was only added in 2020 though. So unless your house is only 5 years old, its very possible you don't have a 110v receptacle close to your water heater.
I believe the 2020 change is that the receptacle needed to be GFCI protected. The convenience receptacles have been in the book for longer.
Yes, that’s next. Thank you, almost no one knows about these!
I’d really like to get a heat-pump water heater but my current one is a lowboy, so I’d either need to excavate clay from underneath it or move the lines/power supply. The only lowboy heat-pump water heaters are incredibly expensive.
Heat pump water heaters are VERY pricey up front with [hopefully] a good long term ROI. I'm still trying to decide between one of those or a tankless unit.
I’m still trying to decide between one of those or a tankless unit.
I'm easily on team "heat pump water heater", not only for the energy efficiency but for the low maintenance. Before you go tankless, research how often you have to flush it or descale it. In some areas its every 12-18 months. Thats way more interaction than I would like with my water heater.
Yeah but literally nobody does the cleaning the tank thing and it's usually fine.
This isn't the same thing with tankless.
The other drawbacks to heat pump style is that they require a lot more ventilation and they cool the air around them (which is great in the summer, but could be a nightmare in the winter). I think maybe they also dry the air too, which again could be nice in the summer and rough in the winter.
If that all works for your situation, go for it, but I'd hate for you to spend that money upfront for something that didn't suit your needs.
The other drawbacks to heat pump style is that they require a lot more ventilation and they cool the air around them (which is great in the summer, but could be a nightmare in the winter). I think maybe they also dry the air too, which again could be nice in the summer and rough in the winter.
Besides a fairly new tangential generation of 120v Heat Pump Water Heaters, all the other 240v can act like a traditional electric hot water heater using just its built in resistive elements. So in the very cold winter time when there is no heat to efficiently capture of of the air, you just switch it "Electric Only" mode and it operations no different that a regular electric water heater. It doesn't engage the heat pump at all in this mode. Another neat trick is that you can set it to a different mode called "High Demand". This is where you might have extra families staying with you during holidays and you're going through much more hot water than normal. In this mode the unit uses both the heat pump and the electric elements to produce as much hot water as fast as possible. In this mode the heater creates more hot water than even a gas or traditional electric can.
Only the 120v versions can't do either of theseas they typically don't have electric elements.
Holy crap, that's brilliant. I was not aware of that development.
I'm in a townhouse though, so the footprint it needs is more than I'm willing to spare, but most single family homes could probably take advantage of that!
But the pump is on the outside of the house so that doesn't really matter.
It might be cheaper to get solar power instead, and use the excess with a traditional water heater, but will be location specific.
I actually have solar. The entirety of my south-facing roof is covered, but it's only 7.6 kW clipped to 5.6 kW by the microinverters. It's about 70% of my usage right now. I'm trying to get to 100% through efficiency upgrades.
I put a heat pump water heater in like 2 months ago in my basement, which is like 6'2"/188cm and I had to squeeze it between floor joists, plumbing it was fun...