A.O. Smith Vertex vs Vertex 100 vs 75 gallon tank.

TopRowSeat

I recently moved to a new house in the Cleveland/Akron are and I'm looking to replace my builder-grade 40 gallon natural gas tank with something that can actually handle my family's needs.

There are 4 of us including two teenage boys who all get ready at about the same time every morning.

I haven't taken a hot shower in months.

It's a 3 1/2 bath house with a large garden tub. In general our hot water usage would best be described as... American. Rather excessive.

I was talking to a plumber who wanted to put a 75 gallon in. My research discovered that ConsumerReports.org seemed to like the A.O. Smith Vertex back in 2008.

So I've got three quotes at the moment.

• $1,300 quote for a standard 75 gallon tank.
• $2,500 for the A.O. Smith Vertex (76,000 BTU)
• $3,000 for the A.O. Smith 100 (100,000 BTU).

All three prices include installation.

Any pros and cons on these three options? Opinions welcome, facts preferred

Jackofall1

Hi and welcome toprowseat, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

Do the quotes for the AO Smith units include the increase size in gas piping, or is that excluded and will be a gotchya later?

I ask because the unit alone is $2000 online, that doesn't leave a whole lot for installation if there is a gas line change needed.

Those units sound very large and are used for radiant heat as well as hot water tanks.

Mark

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TopRowSeat

Thanks for the welcome! I'm happy to have found this site. I like to take on most projects myself but my wife won't let me play with natural gas.

To your questions I already have 3/4 gas line running to the top of the existing unit and a 1/2 spur running down from there to feed it. Additional gas line shouldn't be a significant problem.

I asked him if the quote covered everything he has confirmed it... twice.. those prices are everything and I'm going to raise Holy Hell if he tries to add to it.

On the bright side it sounds like he's not gouging me too bad on installation costs.

Jackofall1

Exactly, on neither the install or the supply of the unit.

But it still sounds like alot of heater for a family of 4.

Mark

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gma2rjc

Welcome to the Diy Forum TopRowSeat.

I had an A.O. Smith water heater installed last November. We love it. For the time being, we have 5 adults and 3 children living here. We haven't run out of hot water yet.

We had a 60 gallon regular water heater that couldn't keep up, plus it was about 12 yrs old (approx). It wasn't making 'hot' water anymore; only enough to fill about 1/2 of the bath tub.

Since we were having it replaced, I asked the plumber to move the new one about 3' across the room, which ended up costing me a little bit more. But he let me know up front that it would cost more.

Here's the description on my receipt. I don't understand all of it, but maybe you will.

Plumbing parts - 1 A.O. Smith GPHL 50N Vertex, Copper piping fittings, Black pipe fittings, PVC piping fittings, Ballvalve 3/6" -- $1,744.23

Plumbing service - Installed-replaced existing water heater nat draft with the new 90% Vertex Power Vent water heater, adjusted water-gas-vent lines and checked water for proper operation. -- $65 per hour x 6 hours = $390

Total - $2,134.23


Have you ever seen how the A.O. Smith water heaters are made? I saw a tv show a couple years ago that showed them being made in the factory. It was pretty neat.

I found this video on YouTube. It's pretty close to what I saw, except it doesn't show them frying an egg over the top of a regular water heater compared to their water heater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nLuRvM1iMc

Barb

DIYerAO

Hi TopRowSeat,
I'm just curious as to which you went with? I purchased an AO Smith Vertex from Pexsupplies and was going to install it myself but wife also worried about me working with gas. I've gotten quotes from 2 plumbers- one for $2,200 and the other for $1,000. $2,200 is outrageous but the $1,000 seems to be in the ballpark you had.
If you got the Vertex, are you happy with it? Any problems?
Thanks for any input.

TopRowSeat

Actually I ended up not doing it yet. I'm continuing to suffer cool showers.

My local guy continued to try to talk me out of it in favor of a traditional 75 gallon tank. I got tired of trying to convince him to sell me what I wanted and I just never got back to doing it.

Now that the groundwater is getting colder again it may be time for me to try again.

raylo32

Have a look at PEX Supply to get some ideas. They have "fast recovery" versions of some conventional tank models (can't remember if they were AO Smith or Bradford White) that have bigger burners than the regular models... Cheaper up front cost than the Vertex, easier installation, and reasonably sized for your demand.

I just got a 50 gal AO Smith Effex model from PEX and am extremly happy with it. I haven't put it through your sort of demand scenario but I think it would perform well. The electronic controls and tight temp control band assure that the temp doesn't drift too low when not being used so it always has a good volume of hot water ready to go.