Here is a reminder – we first told you in January about the energy efficiency standards changing next month. We want to keep our customers and the public informed. Water heaters produced after April 16, 2015 must conform to new energy efficiency standards. You can refer to the previous post for details about what this means to you.
What do the 2015 Government changes to water heater manufacturers mean to you?
Bear’s Plumbing is NOW hiring!!!! – looking for licensed plumbers!!
Please email bear@bearsplumbing.net if interested or call 832-287-5180
I will provide some detailed information below but the long and short of it is these changes will cost us all more money, but you can save some money now by checking the date of your water heater to see if you should replace it before April and save several hundred dollars.
See one of my previous posts about finding the manufactures date aka birthdate of your water heater. Do water heaters have an expiration date?
When Bear first told me about the government changes that were going into effect this year my mind started to go crazy. So these changes will cause the good ole water heaters we know to grow in size. They have pretty much been the following size over the past 50+ years 59 ¾” tall and 18 ½” wide. Your average attic door is 22 1/2” or 25” x 54”. We still have not found out what the new dimensions will be but Bear is thinking 2 – 4” wider and 6” taller. So with those figures you can see that we may have our first issue. They may no longer fit through the attic door. Not to worry we do have ideas.
The unfortunate thing is that we do not know what costs or measurements we are looking at yet. The manufacturers have had to retool all of the plants for these changes, we all know those costs incurred will have to be passed along to us, and then to the consumer.
Why am I brining this up in January, because you have some options to get ahead of the changes? Standard water heater tanks last around 8-10 years. If you are thinking it’s time to replace or if you have an older tank located in a tight closet (hello condo & apartment dwellers!), we recommend doing it sooner than later.
For gas water heaters, models are available today that meet and actually exceed the new standards. Tankless water heaters are an available option as they run on gas or propane and meet the new energy standards.
Current hot water heater tank styles can still be installed after April 16, 2015 but inventory will eventually run out. Installers and suppliers are stocking the last of the available current style tanks as we know many people will want them.
In 2015, all manufacturers of water heaters that are sold in the US must conform their equipment to new energy efficiency standards. This applies to all residential, gas, propane, and electric water heaters. Why should you care? Because water heaters won’t look the same.
The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) was approved by Congress and is administered by the US Department of Energy (DOE). This is the same organization that oversees the EnergyStar program. That translates to: this is serious business and a real change for all water heaters sold in the US.
Water heaters produced after April 16, 2015 must conform to new energy efficiency standards. This means a mandatory increase of 3% – 30% greater efficiency vs. current models. The amount varies by tank size based on formulas. The larger the tank, the more the efficiency is required. The gains in efficiency are small, but given that the vast majority of homes in America have a water heater; small can add up to big savings for the environment.
I can’t believe another year has come and gone. If you have watched the news we are in for a cold night. So please refer back to my post from last year Baby its cold outside….
I asked Bear what we should do and he said if your outside faucets are exposed to the wind you should cover them. : ( It’s time for me to go outside and wrap them. Bundle up before you head out and bundle those pipes, cover those plants, and bring in those cuddly furry friends. Stay warm my friends.
Happy New Year!!!!!
We are super excited about our new location on Spring Cypress Rd in Spring, TX. It will be a while before we have the office open, but we wanted to share this with all of our friends and customers. We continue to look for two licensed plumbers, if you know someone please pass this information along. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to you and yours!!!
Bear’s Plumbing is NOW hiring!!!! – looking for helpers!!
Please email bear@bearsplumbing.net if interested or call 832-287-5180
We received our Costco flyer in the mail with this month’s specials and I read it in the car to Bear this weekend. Hansgroeh Brushed Nickel Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet our cost $179.99. Bear said that is a great deal. That is a great faucet for that price. So I asked what could we install that for, if our customers purchased it? $185.00 Standard installation in our service area. Standard installation means if you need new valves or if anything needed to be repaired there would be an additional cost.
I looked online at Costco and the model online is different from the circular. Go figure! That is very irritating. Here is the link to the online item. http://www.costco.com/Hansgrohe-Talis-C-Kitchen-Faucet.product.100082048.html
Now I would like to know if steel optik finish is the same as brushed nickel. So I called Hansgrohe and the two finishes are different. Brushed Nickel has a light yellow hue to it. So you will just have to go to a Costco near you to see if you like what is physically in the store. I am not sure which finish they are selling this month.
The Costco sale ends 9/28/14. We will honor our install price as mentioned above until 10/28/14 with this faucet, in our service area. Let me know if you can get out of Costco with just 1 item, I know I have a hard time doing that. Happy Shopping!!!!!
First let’s start with a quiz. I know, I know … humor me. Which of the following are plumbing terms?
A. Flapper
B. Duct Call
C. Nipple
D. Ballcock
E. All of the above
F. None of the above
G. A & C
Maybe you know them or maybe you are like me and my kids and giggle when you read down the list. : ) I get a text today to go pick up some parts. Clearly Bear has fat fingered his texting or his phone has auto corrected incorrectly. What in the world is a Duct Call? Well it is used to hook up a dishwasher drain. Seems like that should be in one of those bathroom books of useless facts. I laughed when I walked into the hardware store and said “Well Bear needs a dishwasher duct call” he didn’t even laugh just started walking to the correct isle. I had to make a joke about it : ) how could you not. He was kind, and agreed he didn’t know why they called it that either.
Maybe one day Bear will txt or call and ask me to run parts and I won’t laugh or question him ten times….., just maybe. But, I am sure that day is a long long long way away.
Answer to the Quiz is E. All of the above. For giggles I decided to insert a few of the pictures of these parts. (the plumbing parts)
Nipple:
Ballcock
Flapper
The hardware man knows what a duct call is. Bear knows what a duct call is. But look at this picture. Do you see the words duct call anywhere on this packaging…….I find that very odd and frustrating.
We are so excited …. ok I am so excited….you can listen for us on Houston Real Estate Radio with Shannon Register on NewsRadio 740 KTRH.
Check out our radio presence… https://soundcloud.com/shannon-register/bears-plumbing-promo
I think the ad speaks for itself……Call Bear : )
Leading question isn’t it? Chances are if the plumber you use is paid by commission or a fluctuating pay scale they are trained in sales more than plumbing. Don’t get me wrong all plumbers in the state of Texas are required to take continuing education every year. This is yet another awesome reason to live in the great state of Texas. You are required to hold a plumbing license in order to perform residential and commercial plumbing installation and repair.
In order to run a plumbing company you have to have one person on payroll that holds a Master Plumbing License. It is your right as a home owner to ask to see the license of the plumber working at your home. There are three levels of licensing Master, Journeyman & Tradesmen. In best cases you would have a journeyman plumber and a helper or apprentice working at your home. A helper is learning under the supervision of the licensed plumber. If you suspect that plumbing work is being done by a person that is not licensed you can check their first and last name at the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners website, the regulatory body for the plumbing industry.
In many cases remodeling companies will contract out the plumbing work to a licensed plumber, if they do not have one on staff. In some cases they try to do the work themselves. This sometimes can cause more harm due to the fact that when something malfunctions or breaks a licensed plumber will have to be called to fix the problem. This can end up costing more and taking longer for the project than if it would have been done right the first time with a licensed plumber. I wrote about this a while back of past customer examples here https://theplumbersbride.com/2012/03/16/tile-shower/
There are also some high schools that offer a work study program called a co-op where they can work in a trade for the last 1 or 2 hours of their school day. Bear actually did this back in 1990, and learned from the very best. Our plumbers and apprentices are paid by the hour, not commission. Bear has high standards and even higher expectations for his guys.
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