New Water Heater Regulations for 2015

The Department of Energy announced new water heater regulations and standards that began April 16, 2015. These changes will effect how water heaters are designed, manufactured, tested, distributed, and installed. These changes will affect manufacturers, wholesalers, installers and customers alike (Bradford White).

For a detailed review of the changes please watch the video below:

All water heaters produced after April 16, 2015 need to conform to new energy standards, making all models run more efficiently. The changes are anticipated to save approximately 3.3 quads of energy and result in approximately $63 billion in energy bill savings for products shipped from 2015-2044. The standard will avoid about 172.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of about 33.8 million automobiles (DOE).

The chart below outlines the increased efficiencies that new models must meet. 

While we all can agree that these are noble and necessary changes, we must also be aware of the inevitable increase in water heater prices that has followed. Bradford White alone anticipates a 15-35% increase on ALL water heater prices to off-set the costs of buying new mandatory machinery, adjusting their factories to handle the new, larger model water heaters, as well as the unforeseen costs of building, inspecting, and shipping the new models.

Bradford White also developed an excellent Q & A section  that outlines how we will be affected by the new regulations. This information can be found on their website at http://www.bradfordwhite.com/doe-department-energy-final-rule-effective-04162015-frequently-asked-questions.

You can also read more on the Department of Energy’s site: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/27.

We hope that this information helps prepare you for the road ahead. We understand the importance of making a proper investment in your home with a great water heater and a high quality installation. We want these changes to be as clear to you as possible so if you would like clarification on any of the changes or simply have questions on how you may be affected, please feel free to call us at 303-465-1900.

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Water Heater Install? Hire a Professional

Buying a new water heater can be expensive but then you also have to worry about hiring someone to install it?! It may sound tempting to save a few bucks and do the install yourself but that may not be the most effective or safest route to take. 

Below we are highlighting a great blog posted by our partners at Bradford White. They were not only able to address why you should hire a professional but also why it is important.

To read the original article in it’s entirety please click here.

Hope you enjoy!

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Why hire a pro? 

Yes, it’s tempting to run down to the big box store, throw a water heater in a cart, and head home with your purchase. But a water heater isn’t a gallon of paint. You can’t just cover up your mistakes. There are serious risks to you, your family, your home or business by “Doing-it-Yourself” incorrectly.

Are you a qualified gas appliance installer? 

Proper installation of gas and oil-fired water heaters requires understanding of the fuel source, connection techniques, supply line materials, and start up procedures. Leaking fuel can, at best, be an awful mess and, at worst, be a very dangerous situation. Hiring a professional ensures a safe installation.

Can you vent it properly? 

Venting material requirements and configurations vary by water heater design. So do approved vent lengths. Maybe your new water heater won’t operate with your existing venting materials. Carbon monoxide is nothing to fool around with. Your pro will know.

Electric models are pretty simple, right? 

Actually, there’s more to them than you might imagine. Installation of electric water heaters requires knowledge of the properly rated wiring material as well as an understanding of the home’s electrical capacity. An adequate electrical service is a requirement.

But doesn’t it come with an installation manual? 

Installing a water heater can be a challenge. An inexperienced installer or do-it-yourselfer could inadvertently dry-fire the elements, damage delicate parts, cross-thread gas connections, forget the drain pan, ignore the need for an expansion tank… the list is endless.

Your water heater is leaking, now what? 

Even the very best water heaters don’t last forever but that doesn’t mean yours is finished. Competent troubleshooting by a professional can sometimes save you a lot of money. It may just be condensation, a loose fitting, a pin hole in the piping, a worn out valve, or a pressure release. Your professional installer might find a simple solution.

Why don’t you have hot water? 

If your water heater looks fine but it just won’t produce hot water, a professional can diagnose what may be a simple problem. You may just need an inexpensive replacement part. Diagnosing the problem is part of the professional’s job

Are you getting the most for your dollar? 

Not all water heaters are created equal. Some of the very best brands and most innovative models are not available in retail outlets. These water heaters are sold by wholesale suppliers to professional installers.

More hot water from the same size tank? 

Yes, it’s absolutely possible. Extra Recovery models, High Input models, High Performance models…they all can provide more hot water than conventional models. It’s always a good idea to discuss your options with an installation professional.

Is it time to up-size? 

Peak Hour Demand, a growing family, additional plumbing fixtures, and multiple draws are some of the reasons to consider a higher capacity or output model. Proper sizing is critical to your ultimate satisfaction.

Interested in saving energy and money? 

Some water heaters now carry an ENERGY STAR® certification, some are high efficiency, and some can be programmed to operate only when needed. These choices may cost a little more but the return on your investment can be considerable. Ask your installer to recommend the energy saving option that’s best for you.

If something goes wrong, who will you turn to? 

As we’ve always said, “Do it yourself and you’ll only have yourself to blame.” Professional installers provide a service and part of that service is to stand behind their work.

Can you get it done cheaper? 

Possibly, but what is your peace of mind worth? Knowing you have the right water heater for your needs, knowing it was installed correctly, and knowing you have someone to count on gives you confidence. That is a priceless commodity you can get at a reasonable price.

So what is the best water heater for you? 

There’s a very simple answer. The very best water heater you can get for you and your family is the one installed by a trained plumbing and heating professional.

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Feel free to give us a call at 303-465-1900 for any questions you may have about our professional water heater install services.

*”Bradford White Water Heaters. Built to Be the Best.” Why You Should Hire a Pro. Bradford White Corp., n.d. Web. 10 June 2015.

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Locate Your Main Water Shut Off

As a homeowner, and even a renter, it is extremely important to know how to locate your main water shut off valve.

Why?

Because if you live in a home long enough you are bound to spring a leak somewhere, at some time. Often, that leak will appear behind a wall, in a ceiling, or on your water heater, and you may not have any choice but to shut down all your water to prevent flood damage until you can get a plumber out to help.

So in this week’s blog I’m going to show you how to recognize, find, and use your main water shut off valve so you can rest easy knowing what to do in case of an emergency.

Step One: Recognize Your Valve

There are 2 very common types of shut off valve you will find in not only Colorado homes, but most homes across the United States. They are ball valves and gate valves. They can range in size, but the most common are 3/4″ and 1″ for residential purposes. Handle colors may also vary, so don’t necessarily expect yours to be red or yellow. They could be blue, black, pink, or any other color of the rainbow.

Ball valves are very trustworthy and shut off with a simple quarter turn of the handle. When the handle is parallel to the body (as seen above) it is in the open position. When the handle is perpendicular to the body, it is in the closed position.

Gate valves take a little more effort to close and can become stiff with age. They are, however, very reliable and have a very long life. To shut off a gate valve simply turn the handle clockwise until it will not allow you to turn anymore. Make sure the handle is snug. Some gate valves require a little extra effort on the final quarter turn, but if you find yourself exhausted, hurting, or needing tools to fully close the valve it would be a good idea to have it replaced before an emergency.

Step Two: Find Your Valve

You main water shut off valve is usually in a basement or utility room of your home. In Colorado it is also common for the valve to be located in a crawl space if one exists. Due to the cold temperatures in Colorado it is rare to find a water shut off outside the home or in a garage and it is not recommended that you relocate your shut off to such a place.

Start by following the wall that faces the city street side of your home at the lowest point. If your home does not face city streets (i.e. rural properties) look toward the side of the home that faces your well. The shut off may be behind an access panel, coming off of a copper pipe that pokes through your concrete foundation, in the furthest corner of your crawlspace, near a water heater/furnace, or right in plain view. Less often the shut off is located in an upstairs mechanical room. This happens more in apartments, condo units, and multi-home complexes.

Step 3: Test Your Valve!

Once you have located your valve it is recommended that you test it to ensure it is operating properly. As with all metals in contact with water it will wear down and eventually become non-functional. If this has happened, you want to know before an emergency, not after.

In order to test your valve turn it’s handle following the directions in step one based on your type of valve. Once you have fully closed the valve go to your nearest faucet and turn both the hot and cold water handles to the “on” position. You should have a steady flow of water for a few moments which will become lesser and lesser until the water completely stops flowing. The more faucets you open the faster this process will occur.

If you have the main water valve turned off and you are still seeing water drip out of fixtures after a few minutes of waiting your valve may not be fully closing. Contact your plumber to have them come test the valve and properly replace it if necessary.

If you have a small leak coming from the packing nut (see picture below) on your shut off valve simply use a small crescent wrench first remove the handle stem nut and handle, then lightly tighten the nut and replace handle. Gate valves normally require a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the handle, however the packing nut is in the same location. Tighten only enough to stop the leak, starting a quarter turn a time time. Check after each quarter turn. If you over tighten two things may happen: 1) the handle may become too tight to turn, or 2) you may break the packing nut which will mean you must replace the whole valve.

If you are not comfortable performing the previous task contact your plumber to tighten the bolt for you. Sometimes it’s better safe than sorry, especially on older devices.

Residential homes often also have a water shut off located in a pit at the city street. You’ll recognize this by the round iron lid that is marked with your municipalities insignia. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS! This shut off is for licensed professionals and city workers only. Because this valve is city property, not property of the homeowner, you could face a fine ($500 – $5,000) from your city for using this device.

For Licensed Professional and City Use Only

When you are ready to turn your water back on, do so slowly and purge the air from your waterlines starting with bath tub spouts first. There will be a lot of bubbling and gurgling as your system regains water pressure.

I hope that’s a helpful walk though. If you have any tips or ideas to help your neighbors find their valves, post them below. Also feel free to send pictures or messages with crazy places you’ve found your main water shut off valves.

Extra tip: Occasionally when you shut down your water system small pieces of debris can come loose. This is nothing to worry about, it causes no damage, however this debris can clog the aerators in your faucets. You can avoid this in one of two ways:

1. Simply unscrew and remove your faucet aerators prior to turning you water back on to allow the debris to pass. Then re-install the aerator after purging water.

2. Open a bathtub faucet on the top floor first. They allow for unrestricted flow, therefore if you let this run for a couple minutes it should remove the debris from your system without you needing to remove faucet aerators.

All the best!

-Chris

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WaterCop Has Your Back – Flood Prevention

Recently, one of our industry partners decided get on the flood prevention train and install a WaterCop Pro Series automatic water shut-off valve. After the installation was complete and the system operational, he was inspired to blog about how cool the system is.

So that’s where we come in. Since he did such a great job writing the blog, it doesn’t make sense for us to try and report on what he said, rather we’ll just post it up for him. So, please enjoy the following blog written by our friend Mark from Disaster Restoration Services.

Please click here to read the original blog posting in its entirety.

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Water World is Celebrating 35 Years!

As a local business McAdams Plumbing loves to celebrate the accomplishments of other local businesses. So we are very excited to tell you that Colorado’s own Water World is celebrating 35 fun-filled years of business.

Opening in 1979, Water World hosted the only 2 water slides in the state of Colorado! Pretty amazing to imagine that now that the water park has grown into a 67 acre behemoth with over 49 attractions.

If you are a Colorado native like myself, you can probably remember begging your parents to drop you and your friends off for a day of activities at Water World. Personally, I could’ve just spent all my time floating along the Lazy River, but I digress.

The park is currently hosting several promotions including a Dads get in free Father’s Day event and an $8.00 off coupon if you bring in a Pepsi can. See the Promotions page on their website for more information and savings.

So now that our beautiful Colorado summer has grazed the Mile High City, why not take the family out for a day at Water World where you’re guaranteed to have a whole lot of fun while promoting a Colorado beloved institution!

Happy Monday everyone and stay hydrated!

The Proof is in the Plumbing!

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Looks Like Colorado Found the Winter

Happy Monday Colorado, and it looks like we finally found the winter!

So we know what winter means: Slick roads, early darkness, and temperatures dropping well below zero, especially at night. The most important thing to remember when the weather starts changing like this is to drive safe, keep your headlights or running lights on, even during the day, and be patient. Allow yourself extra time to get to and from work. Be forgiving to other people on the road and don’t let all the darkness get you down.

Also, from the plumbing angle, make sure to take a few steps to keep your home protected from potential freeze breaks and other weather-related issues. Try the following steps:

• Make sure to keep your heat on and set to no less than 64° F
• Keep the doors, closets, and cabinets open to ensure that warm air circulates
• Keep you garage door shut
• Don’t be fooled by random warm days; if you get a warm day and decide to do some gardening, make sure you disconnect your hose and fully shut the valve off
• If you’re leaving for more than 24 hours, shut your main water off and open a kitchen faucet to allow warm air in

These are just a few easy steps you can take to protect your home from the dangers of freeze breaks. If you do run into any frozen pipes, check out our Do-It-Yourself pipe thawing section. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call, email, or leave a comment below. We’re here to help.

The Proof is in the Plumbing!

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All About Whirlpool Water Heaters

So recently we ran into a situation with a customer dealing with their Whirlpool water heater. The quick and easy is that it was less than 2 years old, still under manufacturer’s warranty, but was malfunctioning and needed a new part. These folks weren’t sure what to do so they called MP. We gladly went out, diagnosed the problem, and let the owners know what was going on. Here’s where it got sticky. The parts for Whirlpool water heaters aren’t readily available. They sell some at Lowe’s, but not the big ticket items, meaning we had to go through Whirlpool direct. Well Whirlpool does not sell their parts to service companies, only to the owners of the purchased unit. So after our plumber re-diagnosed the problem on the phone with the agent, they came to the same conclusion we did and said they would overnight the part to the customer. At this point the customers have had no hot water for 2 days.

Next day. Part came to the customer as promised by Whirlpool. We were able to fit them back in the schedule and get the part replaced. But guess what? Same problem. Now back on the phone with Whirlpool our plumber re-diagnosed the problem with the customers present and were told that they sent a malfunctioning part. Another would be over-nighted. Now 3 nights for the customer without hot water.

Next day. Repeat the previous paragraph, only this time, Whirlpool decided to just send out a whole new water heater. So now, these folks are on their 4th day without hot water, needed to wait at least 7 days for the new unit to be delivered, and extremely frustrated with the Whirlpool water heater they purchased. The customer, based on this experience, decided to cut their losses and purchase and install a brand new Bradford White water heater from MP. So now they have all the hot water they could hope for, but it came at a cost of time, hassle, and money.

After MP heard the story of what happened over the course of this job we decided to do a little investigating around about Whirlpool water heaters. Boy were we shocked at what we learned.

Apparently what happened to these folks is not an isolated incident. On the Consumer Affairs website alone there are over 1,400 negative reviews about Whirlpool water heaters. Apparently there was even a class-action lawsuit filed. Here were the top trending complaints according to what was read:

• Poor customer service
• Defective pilot ignition systems
• Premature failure
• Thermocouple failure
• Inability to get anyone to service the water heater

So we tell you this not to take shots at Whirlpool, who actually make some of the best dishwashers and refrigerators we’ve encountered, but to inform you, the customer, of what you are purchasing. While the low cost Whirlpool water heater may seem like a deal, the cost of maintenance and the headache that comes along with ownership may not be worth it. While we’re sure there are many Whirlpool water heaters out there performing just fine, it looks like it may just be a bit of a gamble on what you’ll receive. If you ask us, just stick with Bradford White.

Hope this helps answer some questions and shows you why many plumbing companies are unable to assist in the repair of Whirlpool water heaters. Feel free to reply with any questions or comments. We’re here to help. Thanks!

The Proof is in the Plumbing!

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Are You Drinking Toilet Water?

Our friends at 9News have posted a great investigation piece on back flow and how it can effect the water in your homes called “Are You Drinking Toilet Water?” You can read the introductory article and watch the teaser here.

The complete video investigation can be watched here.

The big takeaway from this article: be careful if you’re doing your own plumbing. Cross contamination is a big deal and can cause sickness in a healthy person, or more severe issues in a person with a compromised or weak immune system, like children or the elderly.

If you’re not completely sure what you’re doing when installing your plumbing, call a professional. It is the job of a licensed plumber to know all codes and regulations when it comes to drainage and back flow, and it’s their job to keep your family safe from cross-contamination.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your at-home plumbing project, call McAdams Plumbing today. We’re happy to take the time to discuss your situation and help you make the best decision for your family and your pocketbook.

The Proof is in the Plumbing! 

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Fun Fact of the Week: Water Pressure

This week McAdams Plumbing is going to discuss how water pressure can wreck havoc on your home. Got your attention? Good.

Dishwasher Flood Damage

Let’s talk numbers.

A waterline failure at 70 pounds of pressure can discharge around 650 gallons of water in an hour. That’s enough to fill an 8′ x 30″ pool! So what happens if you’re at work or out of town? That water just keeps flowing all through your home. We talked before about how destructive water can be. You can bet it will ruin floors, walls, possessions, and pretty much anything else available.

Washing Machine Waterlines

So what kind of fixtures in your home carry this kind of pressure? All of them. From your ice machine maker to your toilet supply, even your washing machine hose, they all carry the same pressure. The water in your home works in what’s called a “closed system,’ so all of your appliances and fixtures that have water running to them carry the same pressure.

So what can you do? Simply monitor your water lines. Look for signs of wear like cracks or minor leaks. If you see these make sure you replace the lines right away. For appliances like washing machines, the hoses are made from reinforced rubber, so it’s recommended that you replace them every 3-5 years due to wear.

It also never hurts to invest in a product like the WaterCop Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve. This device works remotely to shut off the incoming water supply to your home if water leaks are detected. MP is a big fan of this product so you can find information about it on our main website.

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future topics please use the “Leave a Reply” space below. The Proof is in the Plumbing!

-MP

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Fun Fact of the Week

Alright, so with this week’s fun fact we’re going to talk a little about water waste.

McAdams Plumbing always recommends that if you have a leaking faucet or toilet, you get it repaired right away. We don’t say this because we want your business (well, not entirely!). We say this because leaking water can be amazingly wasteful. You’d be surprised how much just a little drip can add up to in the long run. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the facts.

If a drip from your faucet fills an eight ounce glass in 15 minutes, it will waste 180 gallons per month and 2,160 gallons per year.

Yea, that’s a lot of waste! Now think of that in terms of leaking faucets and toilets in a house. It can really add up!

So be smart, for you and for our environment. If you have leaks in your home, get them taken care of!

Alright, that’s all we have for today. As always we would love to hear your questions, comments, or suggestions for future blogs. You can comment below or contact us at [email protected]. Thanks, and remember, the Proof is in the Plumbing!

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