Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Bart and my passions are our Wildlife Garden and energy efficient living. Videos are mostly made on the fly. I was born and raised in the countryside of the Netherlands. Now living in the suburbs of wonderful Kalamazoo (Michigan), since 2004. Sit back, relax, and enjoy! No, don't! Air seal your home, Insulate, Electrify, Start making a Wildlife Garden! Plant native plants. Create a Wildlife Pond. Help nature while helping you! Have fun along the way.
all my dehumidifiers have died in matter of a few years last one died in months it was basketball of ice when i went down to basement. was going to try recharging old units with freon but might wind up with a more commercial unit like the one you have.
@@ranger178 I predict you won't have good results with repairing your old ones. Both SantaFe and AprilAire make good products. Beware that tying a unit in with an existing air handler and duct work requires a more complicated task and DeHu model than the stand alone option that I show. Mine is running strong during this very humid summer here in Mi. Good luck my friend!
There is a ton of talk online about absorbers, pads, and making sure lineset doesn't touch the structure. But there is almost nothing about using mass (the earth in your case) to absorb the vibration energy. I'm tempted to try your method, but am concerned about the physical contact between the lineset and the rebar. I know a physical connection is the whole point, but I wonder if your method could cause chafing and potential damage to the pipe? I saw one other post where a guy advocated for a similar system, but insisted that a cradle be made and brazed to the tubing. That cradle was in turn brazed to a copper pipe (filled with sand) and driven into the earth. I understand his point, and using all copper eliminates any potential corrosion from dissimilar metals, but the brazing part is not something I want to attempt on a charged line!. I also thought about the possibility of anchoring the pipe to something heavy like a concrete block, but again, I'm worried about unforeseen issues this might cause. I have a tech coming out for routine maintenance and will ask him about these ideas. Interestingly, Lennox recommends two 90° elbows be placed in the lineset before it enters the house to help reduce vibration. Hard to believe that would help much, but it's in the manual.
@@audiobrad99 Good points. You could sandwich some kind of barrier between the lineset and the rod (like a thin piece of rubber) to prevent friction and rust. You could also use a heavy plastic rod, i.e. one of those rods used to tie young trees to make them grow up straight.
@@BartmanMi I think any padding between the line set and the rod undermines the principle involved. We want all the vibration to be transmitted into the rod and ground--any padding would diminish that connection. As for a plastic rod, that wouldn't work either--not enough rigidity or mass to transfer the vibration into the ground. I think you were on the right track with the rebar because it's heavy and stiff, but I will have to figure out a way to make a rigid connection without potentially damaging the copper. Thanks for the idea!
This is amazing! I also want to build a pond in suburbia. You need to get on the KAWO garden tours! Mine was featured two weeks ago in Portage but your yard is a thousand times cooler!
Thank you for your kind words! Happy to hear you would like to create a pond as well. It will help many animals and can become a focal point of your garden!.
Update June 2024. If you don't believe me, check this out: justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/biden-administration-mandating-heat-pump-water-heaters-contractors-report
@@BartmanMi so I’m replacing the long gutter nails with these screws that you recommend. I’d like to use the existing holes but the thread on the screws aren’t catching. So I have a few questions that I’m hoping you can answer. First, if I screw right beneath the existing hole, will this change the pitch of the gutter? Secondly, do you know if they make longer gutter screws? I can’t seem to find anything longer than 7”. I want to avoid drilling new holes in the gutter if I can. If I can use the existing holes it’d be easiest for me.
@@BartmanMi to clarify, I’m asking if I can use the existing hole in the gutter and screw beneath the existing hole in the fascia board. Will this affect the pitch of the gutter?
Hey @S4NSE. My bee hotel has 2 sides. I drilled holes on both sides of the logs. I do not drill all the way through, there's always a closed end at every tunnel. Important is the size of the holes: you need a variety between 3/32 and 3/8 inches for a large variety of bees. Also, the tunnels should have enough dept, at least 6 inches. This is where a lot of store bought bee houses under perform. The best resource I found is this: www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/bee_hotels-e-3337_wcag_2.1.pdf Good luck! Thanks for helping the bees 😀
Sorry, I see you're from Germany, right? You use the metric system (Americans are still stuck in the dark ages with the imperial system😆). You can easily convert from inches to mm and cm with an online calculator. (We used to be neighbors when I lived in the Netherlands, about 20 years ago) .
We just got a heat pump installed and though the unit itself is quiet, it vibrates where it is mounted to our home... This means that inside it sounds like there's a loud truck idling outside our home. I'm going to try this! It's a brilliant and simple fix. If we can bring the vibration noise inside down to a level more like our fridge, we'll be happy! Thanks!
I assume you're talking about the black wrapping around the lineset? My HVAC installer put that on when he installed the unit. Maybe you can pick some up at an HVAC contractor (some have a service desk where they sell parts) and put it on yourself?
For heat pump one use an electric 20 yr anode. Put in a filter before intake air. Can also set timer to be off while sleeping or other times to get rid of noise. Biggest fault I could see with Heat Pump is dirt gets by factory filter to clog up the condenser
At 1000.00 for a 40 gallon unit, have you done the math on how long it would take the marathon to pay for itself? Marathon with a timer is a great idea.
Heat pump water heaters make more sense the farther south you go. Where I'm at I would only be able to run it in heat pump mode 4 months out of the year without it over cooling the space enough where the hvac would have to run. That alone significantly reduces the payback period. The failure rate on HPWH in general is much higher that the Marathon water heaters. With the Rheem Marathon the failures are generally isolated to leaks in the tank that occur within the first couple years. They are really good about sending out a new one, however they leave you the old one to dispose of, so there's that. I think you really just have to assess your situation to see which one fits your use case. It's interesting the see different peoples opinions on why they choose one over the other. A few tricks to get a little more value out of the Marathon. They are one of the few residential tanks rated for 180°F, so during excess solar or low tou cost you can run that temp up all the way to 180°. Just add a tempering valve set at 120° or whatever your desired temp is. This nets you more thermal storage, effectively a "larger" water heater. You can also wire these for simultaneous operation so each element can run at the same time. Which nets you a faster recovery time. On top of this you can wire the top element to be powered 24/7 and set at say 120° to ensure hot water is always available, then set the bottom element to 180° and put it on a timer so it takes advantage of the low cost electricity. If you want to go a step further swap out the top element from the 4500 watt element to say a 1500 watt. This allows the upper element to run longer pulling less current which can better take advantage of the solar production without pulling excess from the grid while keeping some water hot in the top of the tank. Even swapping to a 1500 watt top element with it being wired for simultaneous operation you still effectively have a 6000 watt water heater vs the factory 4500 watt. The hybrid water heaters don't take kindly to any changes like this since they like to throw errors and kick off. If you can't do it in the app or on the control panel you're are SOL.
Wow, these are great suggestions!! I'm all for electrifying everything and you clearly underscore the alternatives to heat pump water heaters. It sometimes seems like the "green movement" wants to push a single solution (HPWS's) on us and disqualify everything else. There are green home rating certifications that ignore anything but heat pump water heaters (which is very narrow sided). Same with rebates for energy efficient solutions. Thank you!
@@BartmanMi I think a lot of time people get hung up on the efficiency of equipment and tend to overestimate or even neglect to take into account the longevity of new technology.
I’ve had a dedicated kwh meter on my 50 gal Giant tank for the past 5 years. Stand by heat loss relatively small, 1.7 kwh/d. Although these last 15 to 20 years in my local with fairly clean water, I have often wonder why nobody makes a fiberglass tank with even more insulation, and maybe an easy sediment flush method for decades long installation ?
I was wondering about the cloudy skies. I just flew in that aircraft this past Sunday (7/30/23) and it was a beautiful sunny day. (Fun ride, highly recommended.)
Yearly maintenance is recommended (see.the manual). Draining the tank should get rid of calcium sediment. The fill tube is designed to flush the bottom when you open/close the inlet valve a few times after draining the tank. The bottom is round shaped, helping to easily flush the sediment out.
Why would the poly tank collapse if the city shuts off the water? Any how would a vacuum breaker prevent this from causing this problem? Thank you for your input in advance!
@@davidthompson2055 When they opened the fire hydrant it caused a momentary vacuum in the water pressure. This would ordinarily not be an issue but the vacuum breaker prevented the tank from collapsing. Basically opposite of what the pressure relief valve does. Tanks have worked flawlessly for 17 years except for the one incident. I have two in series connected to the desuperheater for my geothermal system. Haven’t ever run out of hot water even when family is visiting.
Our heat pump water heater is 14 years old and still works as good as new. The power consumption is 1/3 of a standard electric water heater. Our total I itial investment was $1200 with rebates. I installed it so labor was free. Our break even point was five years so every month we are saving on electric bill. When this one dies we will purchase another one.
Tank heaters, top load washers last 20-30 years on low setting and can enhanced to 90‰ efficiency. 15 years on high setting. These new HE heaters and washers last 5-10 years. HE appliance end up costing more repairs and durability due more moving parts.
I purchased a GE GeoSpring Heat Pump water heater back in 2016 and it started throwing fault codes 6 months after the extended 5 yr service warranty ended. Bradford now covers these as GE no longer sells this type of heat pump water heater. I just replaced the fan and Bradford sent the part for free (10 years parts) but, again labor is NOT included. Literally 1 month later it throws a FF code and stops working again. Now it looks more serious and unfortunately nobody works on them. My HVAC guy sniffed it looking for a leak, but couldn't find it and he said the evaporator coil looked very rusty (this is located in a clean conditioned space) and said unfortunately they don't work on water heaters. I called over a dozen hot water heaters service companies and plumbers in around Atlanta and no luck and Bradford doesn't have a support/ service list. So looks like this is now going to be a standard electric heater until that stops working. Highly recommend not buying one of these heat pump water heaters and just buy a Rheem Marathon.
Hi George, I'm sorry this is happening. I believe in the potential of heat pump water heaters. I also believe the current products are not market ready. I've seen better products in Europe, but also at a higher sale point. An example is Stiebel Eltron (a German manufacturer) whose models are not available on the North American market (I believe they sell one model here locally, but few installers are familiar with them). Good luck, a regular resistance heater can make a lot of sense!
Have had two Geospring water heater, first the early Grey/Blue version, and then when I moved in 2014, a Geospring with the Red/Grey top. Both worked flawlessly and the 2014 heater is still working flawlessly in 2023...
I great video based on sound personal research. Complexity, noise for your neighbor and expense. Pay back longer than solar panels are all a turn off. Adding solar heating to what ever water heater you have will produce better results. I’m expecting all the installers of these systems to violently disagree.
Gosh, Mr. Bartman, I see videos of the plumbing leaking badly up top on the Marathon. I sincerely hope you don't have that issue. I wish this was not a potential issue since I want one really bad. I currently have a SunEarth Solar tank that finally rusted out on the exterior after 12 years due to a leaky anode rod up top that I replaced years ago. I did not know how tight to bolt it down and it leaked over time. A plumber told me to tighten the crap out of it next time This is why I wanted the Marathon so bad, but now, I worry about the plumbing connections up top. It potentially could have been a bad install issue but I worry non the less. Thank you for a great write-up and good luck with it.
I'm sure you'll find people having problems with any tank. My advice: Have it installed by a professional plumber. Could be that diy folks overheat the connections when installing. My plumber has no problems with this tank and installed many. These are sold for decades. Lastly, it's always good to invest in leak detection. I have a Yolink leak detector (you'll find videos online). It will shut off the water main valve if it detects a leak. Very affordable and you're not dependent on wifi. Let your plumber install the valve controller on the main water line when he puts the tank in... Good luck! Seems like you're weighing your options.
@@BartmanMi warranty is only on the tank. It doesn't cover the fittings, elements, sensors, etc. They're basically only saying the plastic isn't going to fail
@@btarb242Hi Bill, that's correct. There are not that many parts that can fail compared to a heat pump water heater though. The 2 heating elements will wear out and will need replacement at some point. The pressure relieve valve might fail down the road. Nothing too complex, unexpected or expensive (in my book at least).
@@BartmanMi yea, agreed. One possible downside of the no sacrificial anode rod is that the heating elements will rust out sooner than normal, depending on your water composition. Pretty easy to replace though. Since you'll own the unit longer than a traditional glass lined tank, it might be a good idea to loosen/retighten the elements every couple years so that they don't fuse up before you need to replace them. If you're curious about the insides, Matt Risnger has a vid where he cut one in half. 3" of foam insulation between the plastic shells. Pretty spiffy.
Hadn't heard of plastic tanks up 'til this video, thanks for making me aware! At this point it's moot as I opted for a hybrid in late August after my natural gas tank developed a leak. Initially I was looking at on demand natural gas as my parents had purchased one years ago on my advice. They really liked it. I was 1st made aware of the hybrid units in researching a replacement. The plastic tank somehow flew under my radar. Either way, the local Home Hardware have neither in stock. Both are special order which I find strange given the advantages over standard electric tanks. I read the reviews about noise of the heat pump & the difficulty in replacing the anode rod. I've found my unit (50 gallon Rheem) to be quiet & being in the basement I don't hear it at all. My fridge makes more noise in the kitchen. I took a look at the anode rod from the top as well & it appears that they've made access for replacement better on my particular model than what I've seen in critical reviews. Shouldn't have to cut away plastic flanging to get a socket on there lol. Given the higher cost of the hybrid I left no stone unturned in researching before pulling the trigger. I was somewhat consoled by the fact that on demand gas heaters were costly as well. I live in the interior of British Columbia with weather that includes 4 distinct seasons. It can be very hot in summer & cold in winter. The tank is in an unfinished room of the basement so the effect of the heat pump on ambient conditions down there is minor. I do plan on ducting eventually, but the amount of time the heat pump runs to serve my 1 person household is short. The onerous carbon tax imposed on fossil fuels by our Federal Government made switching to electric from natural gas a no brainer. They're set to triple this tax with little regard for us mere mortals needing to heat our water & homes. I love the ability to set a precise temperature remotely with the app or the digital control on the tank. The app includes scheduling as well as monitoring energy use. I don't see that option on the plastic tank where you've had to install a separate timer. Adjusting the temperature seems like a finicky procedure on the plastic tank. While the plastic option works for you I don't regret going with the hybrid unit. Not having an anode rod may or may not be an advantage. Plastic may not rust, but depending on water quality, deposits can build up on the inside regardless of material. Then there's the recycling issue & the rising concern on plastic products' environmental impact in general. Time will tell.
@@BartmanMi Of course, but who actually does that? Guilty as charged me. I never flushed my natural gas tank. Tried to change out the anode once but it was seized in there good. When I finally trashed that tank & got the anode out there wasn't much left.
@@MikeSiemens88 Agreed. And this gets worse with more advanced technologies entering our homes.Heat pump water heaters have a filter screen that needs to be cleaned regularly. As you also mention also: anode rods are a big 'B' to replace. Same with ERV's and mini split heat pumps: they all have filter screens that need frequent cleaning. My optimistic guess is that 80% of home owners only look at their stuff when it stops working. Personally I'm on top of it, but were it only my wife for instance: she would never get the idea of entering our mechanical room and think of regular maintenance. For most people a yearly maintenance service by a HVAC installer would be a solution. But I get it, that costs money. On the other hand, I would not want to feed every household with an expensive ERV system (or other system) that's not working because of clogged filters. It seems that the more advanced our systems get, the more maintenance of the home owner is required. That's a flaw because we know home owners are not going to do that.
Had my heat pump water heater for a year and love it! Our old electric used way to much electricity. Its nice to be able to use as much as I want now without a problem
My specific criticism - nothing wrong with my reading age or comprehension, but the pages flip far too fast for comfortable assimilation. People need the time to scan, plus processing time - I reached the end and could recall very little.
@@BartmanMi True... except for the dulled screen and the big 'Play' icon in the middle. Nevertheless, I appreciated the video and the argument it presented... even if I did miss a little here and there. So thanks - good work.
I also made hybrid heater so I could quickly install the unit and replace it if something goes wrong. Plus the added benefits of cooling and dehumidifiy the space.
Went with the heat pump from expensive oil furance water heater. My state paid half the cost of the unit so it was only 900 plus a few hundred in parts. Would of been cheaper if didn't have to run electrical or had a electric heater and plumbing there before. But still about 1200 for hybrid heater installed it $2000 professional. This was a no brainier from what i was coming from $10 month for hybrid or $200 for oil water heater..
Hey Tin Man, thanks for the question. I'm not a chemist. This is what I found: The tank is made of polybutene, not to confuse with polybutylene. I did research your question before I installed mine but lost the links. As far as I remember: polybutene is considered safe for drinking water applications. The EPA lists polybutene as a safe chemical: a so called "green circle" chemical. This means it has been verified to be of low concern based on experimental and modeled data (per EPA website - search for "epa" "safer chemical ingredients list"). These tanks have been around for decades - even before Rheem bought the Marathon line of products. I don't know about you, but I never drink from the hot water tap nor do I cook with hot water. I have no personal concerns about these tanks, but I understand where you come from.
@@BartmanMi "These tanks have been around for decades ". Interesting. I find myself wondering why everyone hasn't switched to plastic tanks then, or why I've never seen one in stock at any of the major hardware centres? Then again, same goes for the hybrids, few if any in stock locally. On demand heaters only appearing within the last 5 years. Maybe 'cause I live in the technological backwaters of the great white north lol. Beautiful British Columbia or BC or Bring Cash!
I am installing one on the 11th a rheem 65 gallon heat pump water heater. I am in SC will be putting it in garage and will be face if the cool air output towards our Tesla wall. It was a tough decision from the marathon to the heat pump. I decided with the heat pump and will only run during the day with solar, and keep temp at 150. I will have a thermostatic mixer reducing heat to 120 which will increase my water production. I will let you know in a few months how it goes . You let us know how the Marathon works.
Sounds like a great setup! Add some anti-vibration pads under the unit if you can. They're cheap enough. The Marathon is performing well. I'll update on that later.
