My water heater is original. I have a contract with ECM, but they will only replace if it leaks. Can anyone recommend a reliable, resonable plumber to replace my current water heater? Also, ECM has raised my contract price considerably. What other service companies are in the Village, and can anyone suggest an alternative to ECM?
Thanks, Bob
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I recall Jerry Karpf in reference to the water shut off valves mentioned he has the names of 5? licensed plumbers - you may want to call him at UCO ---also I have used Jim Wilson who has an ad in the Reporter and was very pleased with him. Good Luck. when I moved in last dec - I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought new hot water heater and ECM installed - got the permits etc ---I wasn't about to wait for the orig one to leak! good luck
ReplyDeleteIf you have an original, or even very old (over ten years) water heater, you are wise to get it replaced before it leaks and causes a flood, as so many have in the Village.
ReplyDeleteI have used Jim Wilson (433-9909) for plumbing work (bathtub, etc., not hot water heater) and found them very good, price what you’d expect to pay a good plumber. Also, Ben Sarmiento (389-4889) did a good job at reasonable price replacing water heaters for several of our folk at Sheffield N.
I would be leery of appliance maintenance companies that cover your appliances for a year for an annual charge. Sometimes their service technicians do a great job, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they rip you off. A lot depends on the expertise and honesty of the technician. If the tech makes a commission on selling you a new appliance, that may factor in to your disadvantage. How are you going to know? The following actually happened to a friend of mine who lives in the Village—not regarding a water heater but regarding her central air-conditioning, which she had under contract with one of these outfits.
This friend told me that her compressor (the unit outside in central air-conditioning systems) was making a pinging noise. She called the maintenance company to check it out, they sent out a technician, and he told her she needed a whole new compressor. Being a little doubtful, she asked me what I knew about compressors, and I said I knew next to nothing, but I would go outside and listen to the pinging noise. I decided to go outside with another resident who was equally dumb about compressors. We heard the pinging noise all right. A bird had got caught in the grillwork in the top of the housing over the compressor, and its little skeleton, hanging down from the grillwork, kept getting hit by the fan blades as they spun around. We removed the little skeleton, and presto, no more noise—problem solved. If we two dummies—in the dark yet, which I forgot to mention—could spot this, you can’t tell me the tech didn’t see it. It’s a wonder he stopped with the compressor and didn’t tell her she needed a whole new air handler too. He probably had dollar signs dancing in front of his eyes all the way back to the shop.