Crane Glass Lined Natural Gas Water heater

[Clarence Martin]

When were these last made ? I looked at the age of mine tonight, and it says made in April of 1962. How many years can you get out of the new one's and are the new gas fired water heaters of the same gallon capacity more energy efficient ?

[Matt Meiser]

I can't tell you exactly but I know our power-vented water heater, dryer, and stove use about $10 or $15 worth of gas in a given month based on summer bills. Oh, and those include the weekly exercise for the generator. That's for a family of 3.

[Mike Henderson]

The most efficient are the tankless water heaters. When I changed from a tank to a tankless, my gas bill went down by about 50% (summer, without space heating).

Mike

[Dan Hintz]

The most efficient are the tankless water heaters.

I really wanted to get one of those, until I found out there has to be a minimum flow before it kicks in... that's a dealbreaker for me, unfortunately.

[Jerome Stanek]

I checked on a tankless and for me the pay back would be almost 30 years my water heater costs us about $6.00 a month in gas.

[Ole Anderson]

With that kind of age on a water heater, you must have the ideal water or it would be plugged with mineralization by now. As far as efficiency, newer ones probably have better insulation. A standing pilot is not very efficient either, but it means you can have hot water with no power, as long as you are on municipal water. The same flue design that transfers heat to the water from the flame, also transfers heat from the tank to the flue and up your chimney via convection when it is standing idle.

[Jerome Stanek]

On a water heater a standing pilot is not that big a deal as it does keep the water from cooling down as fast so you use about the same or less.

[Mike Henderson]

I really wanted to get one of those, until I found out there has to be a minimum flow before it kicks in... that's a dealbreaker for me, unfortunately.

Mine has a minimum flow - don't remember what it is - but I've never had a problem with it. I think it's a pretty small rate of flow before it cuts off.

Mike

[Mike Cutler]

Wow!! You definitely got your money's worth out of that water heater.
Todays heater, in theory, should be more efficient, but a gas water heater is a compromise by itself. Most direct vent standing tank storage water heaters run 70 to 80+ % efficient. Power vent models will run about 82%-86%. The Combi- Core's, helical core water heaters, are greater than 90%, but they're upwards of $4K installed.
The Tankless models are an even higher efficiency, but the cost for the install is pretty steep,and unfortunately they will most likely require an upgrade to your gas lines, which takes it outside the realm of most DIY'rs. In the colder climates the Vent requirements are not as easy to achieve as the warmer climates, so that is an increased cost in itself. I was quoted $2800.00 for a Rinai 75 two years ago, and that didn't include the cost for the electrician. I didn't overly worry about the min flow requirements, because the people I know that have installed them, haven't had that issue with theirs.

A Bradford White Defender Series, would probably be a comparable replacement. AO Smith also has a quality line of residential water heaters.

[Larry Edgerton]

I just did the math on my new house, and there was no way I was ever going to get a payback on a gas water heater with just my wife and I at home. I went with a very efficient Marathon WH with a lifetime warranty. It has a lot of unique features, and is very well insulated with a high tech foam. I turned it off 4 days ago, and when I ran the water today it was still warm. Fast recovery and because the tank in plastic it does not require an anode rod. It was not cheap at $800 however.

Instant hot water heaters do not work here for long because of the minerals in our water.

Larry

[Mike Henderson]

I agree that a tankless will likely be more expensive than a tank heater, especially since you have to do plumbing and electrical work to switch from a tank to a tankless. I'm satisfied with the tankless I installed for a couple of reasons:

1. I was able to recover the space where the tank water heater was and convert it into a closet. This had significant value to me because of where the tank heater was located but not everyone will have the same situation. I was able to mount the tankless on the outside wall of the house.

2. I really like that I never run out of hot water. With the tank heater, we had to be careful about what we did simultaneously (hot water wise) or we'd wind up with a cold shower.

3. We saw our gas bill go down quite a bit so we do slowly recover our cost. We plan to stay in this house for quite a while.

All-in-all, it was worth it to us, but your mileage may vary.

Mike

[Jeff Erbele]

When were these last made ? I looked at the age of mine tonight, and it says made in April of 1962. How many years can you get out of the new one's and are the new gas fired water heaters of the same gallon capacity more energy efficient ?

Glass lined water heaters are still manufactured today. The advantage is the tank does not rust out or fail as fast. Most of them have a design feature so the water flow prevents mineral and sediment build up.

The Crane company I know of today is a diversified manufacturer of industrial components.
http://www.craneco.com/index.html
I am not sure if that is the same company that made water heaters.

You definitely got your moneys worth out of yours. The estimated life expectancy of a gas water heater is about 10 years, 11 years for an electric model and 20 years for a tankless model.
http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_detai...ontentID=99359

Newer models should be more energy efficient. ...since I'm not sure, perhaps when appliances first were labeled with the energy ratings and energy star; maybe in the early 1980's.