old question: should I buy or rent my water heater?

We bought ours out for $26, the rental was $28/mo, it's still going without fault nearly 20 months later.

We have saved we are more then half of the cost to buy and install a new tank if this one happens to fail.

Don't be silly. Buy the damn thing. THEN NEVER, EVER RENT A WATER HEATER AGAIN!!!
That tank could last 5 more months or 5 more years. When it dies, buy a new one.
In fifteen years you have probably paid for that tank two times already.

Before you pull the "buy" trigger, open up the drain valve and let a bucket of water run out. The debris (or lack thereof) in the bucket will let you know how if anything is suspect. You might see some slime, but you shouldn't see any rusty metal flakes or similar.

A relatively clean bucket of water is a good sign that the tank is in great condition and shouldn't fail a month after you buy it.

fastlayne wrote: ↑Before you pull the "buy" trigger, open up the drain valve and let a bucket of water run out. The debris (or lack thereof) in the bucket will let you know how if anything is suspect. You might see some slime, but you shouldn't see any rusty metal flakes or similar.

A relatively clean bucket of water is a good sign that the tank is in great condition and shouldn't fail a month after you buy it.

Oh ya, and it such a huge expenditure, that $50 outlay.
Don't freak the dude out with this stuff. I quarantee there's gonna be a tonne of rusty crap pouring out. It's 15 years old and never been serviced; who cares if the tank is full of shite?.
The payback is stupid short here.
The real point is to stop paying Reliance a rental fee, and NEVER, EVER RENT A WATER HEATER AGAIN.

Remember this, rental companies are not charities. Over the life of a water heater, they make tons of money. So, buy, profit.

Buy.....so glad I finally got rid of Direct Energy. My only regret is that I didn't kick them to the curb years ago!

Hi Guys,

I just got a home and I believe my water heater was last serviced in 1999 (a long time ago!)

Most of this thread is recommending buying as the best option. I have a couple questions on that:
1. What's the return on investment? Will it take 5 years to be on par with renting for me to pay off this heater?
2. Where did you guy buy your heater from (Ebay?) or did you go with someone local? (Who would you recommend for the GTA and how much?)

Thanks guys

Buy it out and let it ride until it dies, which will likely be quite a few more years. Replace at that point.
You also have the option to remove it and have DE take it back. You then install your own brand new one.

ROI on a brand new power vent is 4 years at current rent. As rates surely rise, probably less.

I rent. No worries. If I'm away and it leaks, I can tell my wife to call the number written on the heater. I have an electric so I could do the install myself but if it were gas, i wouldn't. Are you gas certified? How are you at pipe soldering? Will your family be on your back to "get it fixed quick"? Once you factor in your time, getting the darn thing home and disposing of the old, possibly hiring and waiting for tradespeople...how much do you save? is the time and trouble worth it to you? not to me.

Buy...

you will always need one, why would it be cheaper to rent it? Does not make much sense.

Buy it out as others mentioned... but with one additional step.

Do a service appt to get a tech to come take a look at it. When i did this on my 15-yr old heater earlier this year, the heater was actually working fine but was just making a loud clunking noise everytime it turned on. I was with DE and they had no problems at all sending someone out the next day. The service guy spent a couple hours servicing it and replaced some of the old/worn out parts. Day after, i called and bought out my heater for $75.

Just be careful you already have the upgraded exhaust venting (I believe PVC white pipes, NOT the smaller ABS black ones). DO NOT call for a service guy if you still use the old venting, as they will give you a service ticket and demand you upgrade it for a couple hundred bucks. If you need to upgrade, you should wait until you install a new water heater and whoever does it can also do the exhasut upgrade at the same time.

BUY, as you buy (not rent) your dishwasher, washing machine, furnace, etc. For buying, you save 2 or 3 times than renting.

does anyone know how much per month direct energy charges to rent a water heater? our new house is with them & if they are more expensive than reliance energy...i will stay with reliance.

25 +HST for a standard power vent.

sonic wrote: ↑does anyone know how much per month direct energy charges to rent a water heater? our new house is with them & if they are more expensive than reliance energy...i will stay with reliance.

I paid $17 plus hst monthly to direcet energy for a 50 gallon tank earlier this year, until I bought the 10 yrs old tank from them for about $110. I would think that the rental depends on the size of tank, whether it has power vent, etc.

what is a power vent?

Do I HAVE to go with direct energy?.....will i be automaticly billed once i move in?

can i call my old supplyer (reliance) & sign with them? they are Alot cheaper......

Talk to your builder/read your contract if it's resale.
You usually get sucked into one automatically with no way out but to buy.
Builders don't care, because rental companies pay them to have it this way.
For resale you need to scratch that clause out of the agreement if the sellers will agree to get rid of it for you.

Power vent is a style of tank.
Most new models are direct vent or power vent (pipes out the side wall vs a chimney out the top)
Power vent just means it has a fan/motor to help move the air/exhaust.