Toronto Escorts

renting water heater

bill_1279

Active member
Feb 25, 2011
133
26
28
About 2 weeks ago there was a news story about enbridge or direct energy changing the water heater rental contract. Basically the change was rather complex, so there was a lot of calls to the company and it caused such a rukus that the whole idea was scrapped. Basically the company was trying to make it more expensive to get out of their water heater contract.

About 5 years, I had a look at my gas bill and noticed a rental water heater monthly charge of about $30/month. So, assuming these machines usually last 20 years, that's $7200 for the water heater. I then priced water heaters, and found that an electric one costs about $500 and that's not including tax or installation. With tax and installation it's about $800. I then priced a sears gas water heater and with tax and installation it was $1200. That's 16 percent of the cost of the rental one. Because the rental water heater I had was very old, I called the gas company and said I wanted to replace it with one I bought, and they said fine, just put the old one in the garage, and someone will come by to pick it up for $75. I did just that, and I think it's one of the best deals I've even done. $1200 is a lot less than $7200.

Someone from work recently relocated from calgary to toronto and found it unusual that everyone in toronto rents their water heater when everyone in calgary buys it.
 

Gentle Ben

Senior Member
Jan 5, 2002
7,219
0
36
Been various threads over the years regarding water heater rentals.
It's a great money maker for them.
Last year I replaced the 15 plus yr old tank with a power vented unit because I put in new furnace and wanted to knock down the chimney. tank cost was under
$800 and install was part of the furnace install so hard to tell the exact cost , but I do know I am way ahead dollar wise vs renting a tank.
 

good to go

New member
Aug 17, 2001
2,399
0
0
toronto
Changed out my old tank for a new one, paid $850 installed for a gas tank not made in mexico with a 12 yr warranty. More hobby money;)
 

Rockslinger

Banned
Apr 24, 2005
32,783
0
0
Has Direct Energy stopped answering their phones? I did managed to get through but the lady simply took my name and said someone will call me back maybe sometime this century.
 

wonkyknee

Active member
Jan 20, 2006
3,499
18
38
Nothing they make today is how they made them 20 years ago. Major flaw in this argument is that water heaters aren't lasting 20 years anymore. I would recommend that if you do go the purchase route, look for a heater without any electronic display etc as that will surely burn out within a few years. Also if you do have the electronic display remember to insert a surge protector if you don't have one already off your electrical box. The rentals are closer to $22/month right now. Thats under $300/year and you could probably expect repairs and/or replacement within 4-5 years. Enbridge could be at your home fixing/replacing the same day. Good luck finding an independent to show up within a week. Of all the places I could buy insurance, i kind of like the deal of a water heater. By the way, the tankless cost about $35/month rental. The will save you about $15/month in energy billings and a bunch of space in your basement. The cost to buy one of these are all over the board, between $2000 and $4000 installed.
 

richardstroker

New member
Feb 2, 2010
47
0
0
I would like to know how you think the tankless saves 15 a month on gas? My gas usage in the summer when I am only using hot water and not heat is only 10% of my winter bills witch are 300$ summer bills 40$ 20$ of that is the service charge. Tankless water heaters are only good if you have 8 kids or a wife that takes 2-3 hour long showers a day.
you will never recoup the larger amount you pay for them upfront or on the rental.
 

johnnyone1

Active member
Jan 5, 2008
1,246
0
36
I don't know who you're paying $35.00 a month to for a water heater rental, but it seems very high.

I've been paying for Enbridge (Toronto) for years... now through Direct Energy...and the most I've ever paid is this year, when it went up 50 cents per mo. to $17.99.
 

wonkyknee

Active member
Jan 20, 2006
3,499
18
38
I would like to know how you think the tankless saves 15 a month on gas? My gas usage in the summer when I am only using hot water and not heat is only 10% of my winter bills witch are 300$ summer bills 40$ 20$ of that is the service charge. Tankless water heaters are only good if you have 8 kids or a wife that takes 2-3 hour long showers a day.
you will never recoup the larger amount you pay for them upfront or on the rental.
I guess you can't really say $15/month savings on tankless exactly cause everyone's usage is different and I believe you have to be comparing to a larger regular tank......and yes the tankless are possibly better if you have 8 kids but not if 3 or 4 are showering at the same time. The tankless are limited by the "flow of hot water it can produce" You should be able to get hot water all day long, but if you try to get the same hot flow out to 3 different showers, its not going to work.

Theoretically the savings are to be derived when your regular heater turns on during the day to keep the tank temperature up. The ideal location for a tankless is the cottage. You're not there for weeks and your hot water heater doesn't need to keep running. It runs automatically when you show up at your cottage and open up the hot water tap.

Tankless could be a pretty neat idea if you need to fill up your swimming pool and use it right away.....and like I said if you have a small home and little space then the tankless might help you pick up a few square feet more of space in your house.
 
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