tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19222542.post5537828873790906842..comments2012-01-28T18:09:52.121-05:00Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07345875955750219033noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19222542.post-91550106812954743532012-01-28T18:09:52.121-05:002012-01-28T18:09:52.121-05:00I own an HVAC company:<br />Thing 1: $120.00 to clean and misdiagnose a water heater is OUTRAGEOUS. We are $95.00 an hour and our guys could tell you within 15 minutes what the problem is.<br /><br />Thing 2: I&#39;m almost positive you have a bad gas valve. That would cause intermittent problems and be the reason why it wouldn&#39;t always fail with the technician there. A good technician should have know that. If the gas valve is faulty and the gas shuts off, the pilot goes out, but since it will happen sporadically they can&#39;t always determine that. But he should have just known it. There is a possibility your ignitor is bad, but I&#39;m betting on the gas valve. If the gas valve has been bad long enough it will destroy the ignitor which will also cause it to go out.<br /><br />Thing 3: Go with the Bradford White. Also, you can purchase one at Home Depot and then have someone else install it to save on paying for the plumbing companies mark up.<br /><br />Thing 4: If your current water heater is a Bradford White it should have a 6-10 year warranty. The labor won&#39;t be warrantied but if that gas valve is faulty it WILL BE. <br /><br />I recommend checking angies list for a better plumber. HVAC companies can also work on water heaters. Here is an Angies list trick though, the people at the top IN YELLOW paid to be at the top. I don&#39;t call them, I always call the top person in white who is at the top because they are good, not because they paid to be. Check the warranty before buying a new one though, and after that, find someone with a less ridiculous labor rate. I would never charge a customer that much to say, &quot;gee can&#39;t find a problem but I cleaned it for you.&quot;misguided mommyhttp://www.misguidedmommy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19222542.post-15413553380895058412012-01-25T20:21:13.064-05:002012-01-25T20:21:13.064-05:00Shit, having no hot water would KILL ME. For the first 3 months my husband and I lived together, we took cold showers because we couldn&#39;t afford to turn our gas on. It was AWFUL.Heather Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366702328848324866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19222542.post-47145065399838027372012-01-25T14:15:50.846-05:002012-01-25T14:15:50.846-05:00You&#39;re doing the right thing getting a new heater - pilot lights freak me out! Isn&#39;t it funny how something you&#39;re so used to having at your fingertips throws your life upside down when it&#39;s not there? A few winters ago, our furnace, which of course also heats our water, kept cutting out on very cold weekends (need I say more?!?). It was the fuse in the furnace.WorkingMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06401988118652082969noreply@blogger.com