Replacing 20 year old electric water heater

[JerryR]

Just blowing off steam here for being frustrated that getting old and having medical issues are limiting my abilities.

My current homeowner insurance at my remote Florida cabin sent me a letter that they are canceling all Florida policies in 30 days due to unexpected losses. So I had to had to go to a new company.

the new company requires that they have their inspectors come and inspect the home. Their guidelines for water heater life is max of 15 years. The one at my cabin is dated 2000.

I’ve replaced at least 5 water heaters myself in the past, but due to recent medical issues and where this one is located I had to call a plumber.

Last month my wife and I moved a refrigerator up 2 stairs with a hand cart and the-physical strain put my heart in A-fib rhythm that required a hospital visit and elecrto shock to get my rhythm back to normal. Age sucks.

Wiring and plumbing the water heater isn’t the issue. It’s physically removing and installing the new heater in the closet and lifting it into the new pan.

Until recently my wife insisted that I continue to do all the physical work I’ve done in the last. Last month I smashed my hand installing a new dishwasher and developed a huge hematoma on the back of my hand. It required x-ray and the whole back of by hand was swollen, black and bruised. I’m on blood thinner due to recent diagnosis of the A-Fib and my blood doesn’t clot normally any more. Now my wife will not let me do stuff around the house that I normally did in the last. Now I wear a medic alert bracelet stating anticoagulant.

Fortunately I have a new unopened water heater in the shed that I bought about 6 months ago.

Getting old sucks but it beats the alternative.

 

[Dj2]

You got to know when to quit.
Is paying labor going to kill you, because what you are saying is that doing it yourself is killing you as you speak.
Maybe your answer is to find a handyman you can supervise, so he doesn't make costly mistakes.
Most contributors here are having new physical challenges and limitations on a daily basis.
C'est la vie.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JerryR]

You got to know when to quit.
Is paying labor going to kill you, because what you are saying is that doing it yourself is killing you as you speak.
Maybe your answer is to find a handyman you can supervise, so he doesn't make costly mistakes.
Most contributors here are having new physical challenges and limitations on a daily basis.
C'est la vie.

I had the water heater installed on Saturday by an older local plumber. He did a nice neat job and had it installed in 90 minutes for only $183. I actually thought that was too cheap so I overpaid him. His response was "I'm not going to argue with you"

The hardest part was getting the 20 year old water heater drained due to a clogged drain. He eventually got it unclogged and used a pump to pump out the water rather than waiting to have it drain via gravity.

It wasn't paying for the job that bothered me it was not feeling physically well enough to do it myself comfortably. Like you said, "You got to know when to quit!"

 

[Terry]

It wasn't paying for the job that bothered me it was not feeling physically well enough to do it myself comfortably. Like you said, "You got to know when to quit!"

A few years back my son Jamie told me that I wasn't going to install cast iron tubs anymore. I don't. That was a younger mans job.
I no longer install 75 gallon water heaters, but still do the 50's. For now.

 

[HuffAZ]

I have a bad back, ruptured disk and respiratory issues. But with help from my wife and niece was able to roll our new 50 gallon hybrid from car into garage. If it had to go anywhere else, up stairs etc. I would have hired someone. Everything else was fairly simple to get done myself.