# A.O. Smith Vertex water heater



## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

This thing is AWESOME!!! Finally installed one 50 gal. to take the place of two ng 75gal heaters. I'll get some pictures after the drywall repairs are finished. http://www.hotwater.com/products/residential/rg-vertex.html

When we fired it up it was so quiet we weren't sure it was on. Water flowing from the condensate drain was the giveaway. In about 10-15 minutes the tank was up to temperature. The circ pump we installed is louder than the heater!


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## Tankless (Jun 12, 2008)

JK949 said:


> This thing is AWESOME!!! Finally installed one 50 gal. to take the place of two ng 75gal heaters. I'll get some pictures after the drywall repairs are finished. http://www.hotwater.com/products/residential/rg-vertex.html
> 
> When we fired it up it was so quiet we weren't sure it was on. Water flowing from the condensate drain was the giveaway. In about 10-15 minutes the tank was up to temperature. The circ pump we installed is louder than the heater!


 
As long as you don't ask how to gas size it, right on man!!
What is retail on that thing? $$


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## user2091 (Sep 27, 2009)

sure is nice to look at.


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## 130 PLUMBER (Oct 22, 2009)

Tankless said:


> As long as you don't ask how to gas size it, right on man!!
> What is retail on that thing? $$


I think i paid about $1,400


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## bigdaddyrob (May 14, 2009)

Tankless said:


> As long as you don't ask how to gas size it, right on man!!
> What is retail on that thing? $$


LOL, 1/2" supply feeds everything. No questions asked.


I don't know if I am more in love with the specs, how it looks or fact of not having to deal with a 75 gallon out of a basement, over the carpet, thru the hardwood (to grandmother's house we go) then taking another one back in.

Thanks for the info, I wanna def read more up on this one.


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

bigdaddyrob said:


> LOL, 1/2" supply feeds everything. No questions asked.
> 
> 
> I don't know if I am more in love with the specs, how it looks or fact of not having to deal with a 75 gallon out of a basement, over the carpet, thru the hardwood (to grandmother's house we go) then taking another one back in.
> ...


The 100,000 BTU unti has a 1/2" gas inlet, we increased to 3/4" and hardpiped in galvi. Since we were replacing two 75's with individual vents, we used one for intake air, and one to vent. 

It is lighter than a 75, but not by much.

The touch screen is cool, you can set you temperature and differential to control how much heat will be lost before it fires up again. Running a circ pump with a low differential would keep it firing almost continuously. We set it at 10 degrees to mellow things out. 

The shroud covering all the bits really cleans up the look.

Beware if installing in a closet or on a tight heater stand. The vent inlets and outlets are in a 1 o'clock position if looking at the heater from above. You'll want to double stack 2x4 bracing to get better clearance to hook up your vents. It is a zero clearance heater btw.

We also hardpiped the copper, there's a lot of wiring going on behind the shroud. 

If using a drain pain, set the tank on top of some cut 2x4 so the condensate drain can clear the pan lip. It's a threaded pvc fitting to some plastic tubing, like on a resto company's dehu units. We removed the tubing and ran pvc through the outside wall.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

I've installed one and the customer was very happy with it. They sure do heat up quickly. I think it was at full temp. before I was done cleaning up and writing the bill. The customer came out to the garage to see it and it had shut off already. I had to take him inside to show him he had hot water already. 







Paul


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Tankless said:


> As long as you don't ask how to gas size it, right on man!!
> What is retail on that thing? $$


4" Should cover it!:laughing:


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

Update: we've done a few this year and now have two sitting in the shop that we removed from homes. Same complaint both times, exhaust is too loud. If the furnace is in the same room, there have been no problems. 

Both of these cases had furnaces located elsewhere. One was switched out for a condensing Noritz. The other went back to a standard water heater that we lost to HD.

New policy will be to only offer these as a replacement for power vent heater.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*who eats them>>>*



JK949 said:


> Update: we've done a few this year and now have two sitting in the shop that we removed from homes. Same complaint both times, exhaust is too loud. If the furnace is in the same room, there have been no problems.
> 
> Both of these cases had furnaces located elsewhere. One was switched out for a condensing Noritz. The other went back to a standard water heater that we lost to HD.
> 
> New policy will be to only offer these as a replacement for power vent heater.


 
you say you have two sittining in your shop that you had to take out
because they were too loud?? 

Who gets the honor of eating those?? 

is A.S.Smith gonna take them back???:no:


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## plumbpro (Mar 10, 2010)

JK949 said:


> Update: we've done a few this year and now have two sitting in the shop that we removed from homes. Same complaint both times, exhaust is too loud. If the furnace is in the same room, there have been no problems.
> 
> Both of these cases had furnaces located elsewhere. One was switched out for a condensing Noritz. The other went back to a standard water heater that we lost to HD.
> 
> New policy will be to only offer these as a replacement for power vent heater.


I put a 50 gal LP in and there were no complaints, it was in the same room as the furnace, also a power vent. It ran about 1650 for the heater. If the room was insulated that probrably would have made a difference to the H.O.


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> you say you have two sittining in your shop that you had to take out
> because they were too loud??
> 
> Who gets the honor of eating those??
> ...


One may get installed in the boss's house, the other will wait for a power vent job. There's a few tracts around that have those. We have no problem with A.O. Smith. Some folks just seem to be very sensitive to sound and we need to consider all conditions before suggesting products. 

The 75*** Btu heater has an external blower that should be installed where a power vent exists or the furnace is nearby or both. We installed it opposite a guest bedroom wall, no furnace in the garage. 

The 100,*** btu was installed opposite the wall where the pool equipment sat, direct vented but no furnace and no previous power vent. It's not that loud but the customer wasn't happy. We don't appreciate being price shopped to big orange when we want to make things right.


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## Don The Plumber (Feb 14, 2010)

JK949 said:


> Update: we've done a few this year and now have two sitting in the shop that we removed from homes. Same complaint both times, exhaust is too loud. If the furnace is in the same room, there have been no problems.
> 
> Both of these cases had furnaces located elsewhere. One was switched out for a condensing Noritz. The other went back to a standard water heater that we lost to HD.
> 
> New policy will be to only offer these as a replacement for power vent heater.


 Didn't you say in your 1st post, you fired heater up, & it was so quiet, that the HWR pump was actually louder than the heater? I'm confused.
Is this exhaust any louder than a standard direct vent water heater? Any other issues with fancy controls?


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

The direct vent was very quiet on our first install. However that was in a house with pre-existing ABS vents on two power vent heaters. I hypothesize that since the power vent was original to the house, it was run in a manner to minimize noise, I didn't trace the lines to find out where they terminated. 

On the last direct vent job, the vents terminated on the same wall the heater was strapped to. That could make it seem louder.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

JK949 said:


> ...The 100,000 BTU unti has a 1/2" gas inlet, we increased to 3/4" and hardpiped in galvi...



We can't run galvanized here for gas.:no:


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

plbgbiz said:


> We can't run galvanized here for gas.:no:


Why not?


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## hotontheleft (Jul 28, 2013)

*Black Iron*



Protech said:


> Why not?


 The reason you're supposed to use black iron instead of galv. is there is no coating on the inside of the pipe, and you need to paint your pipe to prevent rust on any pipe that is exposed to the elements, plus it just looks more professional.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Protech said:


> Why not?


Because of the content of the gas. I forget the specifics but not all NG is created equal.


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## James420 (Nov 14, 2012)

We always had to run galvenized for gas when its on the outside (exposed to weather), I don't think its that way anymore. I should probably find out since I'm taking my master test Saturday.

We were never allowed to use copper on Natural gas, but LP yes. No Teflon tape on either one.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

James420 said:


> We always had to run galvenized for gas when its on the outside (exposed to weather), I don't think its that way anymore. I should probably find out since I'm taking my master test Saturday.
> 
> We were never allowed to use copper on Natural gas, but LP yes. No Teflon tape on either one.


Natural gas flakes the galvanized coating off on the inside and plugs the screen on the control valve. Copper has a problem with flaking too that's why we quit using it years ago. Here all gas has to be sch 40 black iron anything above 2in is required to be welded.


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

wyrickmech said:


> Natural gas flakes the galvanized coating off on the inside and plugs the screen on the control valve. Copper has a problem with flaking too that's why we quit using it years ago. Here all gas has to be sch 40 black iron anything above 2in is required to be welded.


And there is the answer. Same reason Teflon tape is a no no on gas


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## 3KP (Jun 19, 2008)

*Complaints*

Did you not install the provided muffler to quiet it down?? When I purchase the Vertex there is always a muffler with it. pretty quiet to me


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