Recently, I made a home improvement and replaced the gas water heater in my home with an electric water heater. This change made me suddenly realize some of the shortcomings of the gas water heater, and some of the troubles that I once endured became easier and happier after the use of the electric water heater. Let's take a look at the seven defects of gas water heaters.
First of all, there is a headache with gas water heaters - suddenly there is no hot water. Sometimes, when taking a bath, I use a shower to adjust the temperature and slowly add cold water to the hot water, but when I add it to a certain point, the hot water suddenly disappears and becomes pure cold water. The after-sales service told me that this is a normal phenomenon, as the more cold water is added, the hot water flow will be smaller, and when the hot water flow is small to a certain extent, the gas water heater will stop working. This is not the case with electric water heaters, which ensure that hot water comes out, no matter how small the water flow is. Therefore, if the local water pressure is not high or you prefer to add cold water to hot water, it is recommended to choose a gas water heater carefully.
Secondly, there is a problem that there will be cold water when the gas water heater is interrupted. When taking a shower, you can't always leave the shower on, and when you apply shower gel and wash your hair, you will definitely turn off the water. But as soon as the water is turned off and the shower is turned on again for a minute or two, a burst of cold water will suddenly come out. The after-sales service explained that this is also a normal phenomenon, the gas water heater stops working when the water is turned off, and there will be a delay of one or two seconds when the water is used again before the hot water can flow out normally. This can ruin a great bathing experience, especially when it starts out as hot water and then suddenly a little cold water appears just as you are doing well.
The third problem is that the work is noisy. There is a fan inside the gas water heater for exhaust gas, and it will produce noise when working, although it cannot be said to be "big", but it will definitely have a certain impact on people. Generally, the noise of gas water heaters is about 60dB, which is slightly less than the noise of range hoods, but it will still affect normal communication in the kitchen. If someone in the house was sleeping in the next bedroom, I wouldn't dare to take a shower.
Then there is the problem of frequent water leakage in the inner tank. One of the gas water heaters used before was used for three years, and the water tank was actually replaced by four. The after-sales worker explained that it was because the water quality in our community was too poor, not because the product quality was not good. The inner liner of gas water heater is generally metal, which is easy to be corroded by scale. The electric water heater uses a metal liner and is coated with an enamel coating on the inside, which effectively isolates water and metal and avoids the problem of water leakage in the inner tank.
The fifth problem is the high failure rate of gas water heaters. In contrast, electric water heaters rarely fail, and when they do, they are mostly circuit problems. However, the gas water heater has many internal components and a high failure rate. The complexity of each component is equivalent to that of a separate electric water heater, which results in a significantly higher overall failure rate.
The sixth problem is that installation is expensive and cumbersome. The initial installation cost of an electric water heater is generally about 300 yuan, while the initial installation cost of a gas water heater is about 500 yuan. The main costs relate to brackets and pipes. There are many installation projects, which are expensive and cumbersome, in contrast, the installation efficiency of electric water heaters is more efficient and can be completed in half an hour. Whereas, a gas water heater takes at least an hour. After installation, the appearance of gas water heaters is often chaotic, and the exposed open pipes and open wires make the originally clean kitchen instantly become crowded.
The last problem is the long waiting time for water. When using a gas water heater, you need to wait for two or three minutes after turning on the faucet for the hot water to flow out. This is because the kitchen and bathroom are far apart, and it takes time for hot water to flow over. Since the electric water heater is installed directly in the bathroom, hot water can be obtained up to one minute after turning on the shower. Although the waiting time for kitchen water is longer, I prefer to make the bathroom hot water come out a little faster because the bathroom uses water much more frequently than the kitchen.
This change has made me deeply aware of the advantages of electric water heaters over gas water heaters in many aspects. When choosing home devices, in addition to features and performance, you also need to focus on user experience and convenience. Therefore, for these seven defects of gas water heaters, I chose a more relaxed and convenient electric water heater to make my life more comfortable.