Home & Garden

The Great Water Heater Rental Scam

Deal Addict
Jun 16, 2009
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Vaughan
No they are not substandard WH . DE gave out 15 years old WH for peanuts to avoid legal actions / insurance payout in case of leaks . WH is prone to leak after its life spam which is established to be around 15 years for most where water is not too hard .
quick72toy wrote: I understand the first part of your statement, and that is a good idea, but I'm unsure what you mean by the DE part? Do you mean the buy out, or that they were a substandard WH?
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Dec 11, 2009
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newlyborn wrote: No they are not substandard WH . DE gave out 15 years old WH for peanuts to avoid legal actions / insurance payout in case of leaks . WH is prone to leak after its life spam which is established to be around 15 years for most where water is not too hard .
Makes sense.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
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Toronto
We had our almost 10 year old DE rental water heater checked out 2 weeks ago for this very reason. Insurance says 10 years is the normal life, DE says 15 years (unless something happens). DE did tell me that the quality of the water heater supplied by DE was better than that sold at the big box stores, but who the heck knows. All I know is that my husband does nothing regarding basic maintenance and I was afraid that since DE does not service rentals unless something is wrong that it was time to have it checked out. All is good - but I understand how quickly something can happen.

I have been buying myself a few items - a very good step ladder (rated for commerial use), Purdy paint brushes - I am on a roll. We need a new bathroom fan for upstairs (I used the new step ladder to take the cover off so that helped). I am going to call Broan because the model number that is on the unit is not shown as existing on the Cdn. website and it was installed by an electrician almost 15 years ago.
Deal Addict
Jun 16, 2009
4517 posts
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Vaughan
Basic manintainence on WH : Attach garden hose on the tap located right at the bottom of WH and run it for 5 minutes . All the sediments sitting at the bottom should flush away if you are in GTA .
Blanche123 wrote: We had our almost 10 year old DE rental water heater checked out 2 weeks ago for this very reason. Insurance says 10 years is the normal life, DE says 15 years (unless something happens). DE did tell me that the quality of the water heater supplied by DE was better than that sold at the big box stores, but who the heck knows. All I know is that my husband does nothing regarding basic maintenance and I was afraid that since DE does not service rentals unless something is wrong that it was time to have it checked out. All is good - but I understand how quickly something can happen.

I have been buying myself a few items - a very good step ladder (rated for commerial use), Purdy paint brushes - I am on a roll. We need a new bathroom fan for upstairs (I used the new step ladder to take the cover off so that helped). I am going to call Broan because the model number that is on the unit is not shown as existing on the Cdn. website and it was installed by an electrician almost 15 years ago.
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Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
3926 posts
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Toronto
newlyborn wrote: Basic manintainence on WH : Attach garden hose on the tap located right at the bottom of WH and run it for 5 minutes . All the sediments sitting at the bottom should flush away if you are in GTA .
Thanks newlyborn. I will try it when my husband is away next week. That way he won't "start"! And, yes, we are in Toronto. And I also have my own hose (hidden), trimmers and clippers. Things are bad when the blade sharpening people will not sharpen blades due to the accumulation of "natural - according to my husband" rust. There is such a thing as cleaning your tools!
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Feb 8, 2014
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newlyborn wrote: Basic manintainence on WH : Attach garden hose on the tap located right at the bottom of WH and run it for 5 minutes . All the sediments sitting at the bottom should flush away if you are in GTA .
What happens to those outside the GTA? :cheesygri
If your on the exact opposite end of the earth will this procedure have the exact opposite effect?
In fact in Rand McNally they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people
Deal Addict
Jun 16, 2009
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Vaughan
LOL I knew this question will come eventually from some one iffy ( no pun intended ) . If the water is hard like in Barrie than this process WILL NOT work as in 99 % cases drain valve is pretty plugged with high amount of sediments . This is from my personal experience .

Quentin5 wrote: What happens to those outside the GTA? :cheesygri
If your on the exact opposite end of the earth will this procedure have the exact opposite effect?
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newlyborn wrote: LOL I knew this question will come eventually from some one iffy ( no pun intended ) . If the water is hard like in Barrie than this process WILL NOT work as in 99 % cases drain valve is pretty plugged with high amount of sediments . This is from my personal experience .
I was hoping this was like in Argentina or Rand McNally where they say people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people
In fact in Rand McNally they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people
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Jan 5, 2003
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newlyborn wrote: LOL I knew this question will come eventually from some one iffy ( no pun intended ) . If the water is hard like in Barrie than this process WILL NOT work as in 99 % cases drain valve is pretty plugged with high amount of sediments . This is from my personal experience .
I just replaced my 12.5 year old water heater. Did zero maintenance on it all these years. I wanted to drain it myself to save the installer some time, but was expecting it to be clogged with sediment, etc. I was very, very surprised that hardly any sediment came out and the plastic drain valve was easy to turn just by hand (some people say it'll be difficult if you've never turned it and it may crack). Too bad I didn't have a socket big enough to take out the anode rod and check it, but I'm suspecting that I could've gotten a few more years from it. This is in Toronto where the water is supposedly hard, but perhaps Barrie is worst.

For my new water heater, I'm planning to drain the sediment every 6 months, but we'll see how it goes. If virtually no sediment comes out, maybe I'll change it to annual intervals.
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Jun 16, 2009
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Vaughan
I am glad it worked for you . Just remember that new drain valves cannot be twisted by hand . You will need a flat screw driver to open the valve . Design looks absolutely same but operates little differently .
jm1 wrote: I just replaced my 12.5 year old water heater. Did zero maintenance on it all these years. I wanted to drain it myself to save the installer some time, but was expecting it to be clogged with sediment, etc. I was very, very surprised that hardly any sediment came out and the plastic drain valve was easy to turn just by hand (some people say it'll be difficult if you've never turned it and it may crack). Too bad I didn't have a socket big enough to take out the anode rod and check it, but I'm suspecting that I could've gotten a few more years from it. This is in Toronto where the water is supposedly hard, but perhaps Barrie is worst.

For my new water heater, I'm planning to drain the sediment every 6 months, but we'll see how it goes. If virtually no sediment comes out, maybe I'll change it to annual intervals.
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Mar 29, 2006
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My WH from Direct Energy (now EnerCare) is just over 3 years old.

My gas valve is getting replaced today as something malfunctioned according to the White Rodgers control unit.
I asked them how much it would be to terminate my contract, and they quoted me just over $1,300 after tax... My monthly rental cost is ~$32 after tax.


I would assume you guys would suggest buying it out? I should have done this earlier, but never really thought about it until now....
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Jun 16, 2009
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Vaughan
It is still a good idea to buy out this tank as it will be FREE in exact 40 months . If anything happens to your White Rodgers control valve again it can be replaced for merely 250 $ ( GTA price ) .
sidgeorge wrote: My WH from Direct Energy (now EnerCare) is just over 3 years old.

My gas valve is getting replaced today as something malfunctioned according to the White Rodgers control unit.
I asked them how much it would be to terminate my contract, and they quoted me just over $1,300 after tax... My monthly rental cost is ~$32 after tax.


I would assume you guys would suggest buying it out? I should have done this earlier, but never really thought about it until now....
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Jul 13, 2009
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So my rental might scare everyone, I pay $50 a month to EnerCare for a Super High Efficiency Model as my furnace is one of those fancy super efficient hi-velocity combination system, draws heat from water tank and blows as opposed to a gas fired furnace.

Some light googling the heater itself to buy is about $2000-2500 and I think it's required for my type of furnace. House does heat up very fast and my natural gas usage is very low.

Does anyone else have a similar system?
Deal Addict
Jun 16, 2009
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Vaughan
$ 50 is a very normal rental charge for WH like Polaris , Envirosense or High input WH which can be utilized for heating ( combination units ) . Repair can be more expensive than regular tanks and they are prone to more breakdowns as they are used much more often due to high demand of hot water continuously .
bhrm wrote: So my rental might scare everyone, I pay $50 a month to EnerCare for a Super High Efficiency Model as my furnace is one of those fancy super efficient hi-velocity combination system, draws heat from water tank and blows as opposed to a gas fired furnace.


Some light googling the heater itself to buy is about $2000-2500 and I think it's required for my type of furnace. House does heat up very fast and my natural gas usage is very low.

Does anyone else have a similar system?
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Jul 13, 2009
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newlyborn wrote: $ 50 is a very normal rental charge for WH like Polaris , Envirosense or High input WH which can be utilized for heating ( combination units ) . Repair can be more expensive than regular tanks and they are prone to more breakdowns as they are used much more often due to high demand of hot water continuously .
It's a Polaris, and funny enough it was repaired twice in a week for two separate issues. Worth to keep renting?
Deal Addict
Jun 16, 2009
4517 posts
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Vaughan
If I was in your shoes I would have done below since it is Polaris
Option 1. Keep renting
Option 2. Buy out this Polaris and change it to Envirosense after runnning the numbers .
Owning Polaris is not a good option in my books .

bhrm wrote: It's a Polaris, and funny enough it was repaired twice in a week for two separate issues. Worth to keep renting?
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Time to join in on this thread..

We upgraded to a new furnace last year in our 30 year old home and thus "orphaned" the chimney so only the National Home Services water tank vents out of the chimney

Because of such, we're apparently getting a backdraft down the chimney that blows the pilot out every few days. Extremely annoying.

National wants ~$1000 to buy out the tank, $300+ upgrade charge + $24/month rental for new direct vent, or $583 to outright cancel. Right now we pay about $18 for the rental

Do we just suck it up and pay the $583? I think I'd do it just to rid ourselves of dealing with these crooks

Edit: looking into this further, we never had a liner installed after the vent was orphaned.. I was rough quoted around $300 to have this done.. and we would keep the ~$18mnth rental..hmm
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Jun 16, 2009
4517 posts
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Vaughan
I would say you just hit the jackpot if you can get out by paying merely 583 $ . Once you are out of contract than best bet is to get a power vented WH if conditions are not adverse . It will cost you anywhere from 1200 -3500 $ for power vented WH depending what you chose .


BTW NHS should have tagged your WH for chimney liner . If you have a downdraft than there are bigger issues to worry about .
Next time you want t have it repaired ask the tech to upgrade burner assembly than just re liting the pilot .
wasabi wrote: Time to join in on this thread..

We upgraded to a new furnace last year in our 30 year old home and thus "orphaned" the chimney so only the National Home Services water tank vents out of the chimney

Because of such, we're apparently getting a backdraft down the chimney that blows the pilot out every few days. Extremely annoying.

National wants ~$1000 to buy out the tank, $300+ upgrade charge + $24/month rental for new direct vent, or $583 to outright cancel. Right now we pay about $18 for the rental

Do we just suck it up and pay the $583? I think I'd do it just to rid ourselves of dealing with these crooks

Edit: looking into this further, we never had a liner installed after the vent was orphaned.. I was rough quoted around $300 to have this done.. and we would keep the ~$18mnth rental..hmm
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Oct 31, 2014
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What if you just called them up and said you just moved to this address and you don't agree to the contract as a new owner. Will the fees be lower?
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May 5, 2007
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Quick question. Paying $14/month for electric hot water tank to Direct Energy. The short of it is my bro-in-law can get me a 50 Gallon Rheem Gas Power Vent for $350 all in, but need to get it today. He'll install it and maintain it for free. Question is, should I go the gas route? I'm assuming I'll be saving in the long run, but would like some advice before shelling out $350 as I've had zero time to research. Thanks guys!

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