Yelp Reviews
Roto Rooter & Smart Plumbing
10/6/2018
Sometime about mid to end of September my water heater died. We had a rainy September and I remembered the time it died about a month or so prior, it was rainy. That time I called out the guy who installed it and I told him what happened and he came out and relit the pilot and charged me $120 for about 10 minutes of work.
But what he told me was that when it rains really hard, like it had, the pan under the heater fills with water and snuffs the pilot because there is no oxygen left to feed the flame. Understandable, so, when September rolled around and it just poured pretty much all month long the water heater went out towards the end of September.
It was still very hot outside and I didn't mind cold showers. Boiling water to wash dishes was a bit of an annoyance, but oh well, small price to pay. Besides, it was still raining and God only knows when it's going to stop.
Now had I been wise in the first place, I should have gone out when that first rain drop fell and cut the lip of the pan, bend it flush with the bottom so it would not fill with water and put out the pilot. (That's one of the B I G lessons I learned here.) But at that time, I was not wise. I thought something must be really wrong with the water heater.
On 10/6/2018, the City Gas Department came out to relight the heater. The man told me that I needed to get the water out of the pan before anything can be done. (Hindsight.) He left and told me to call back once I get the water out. So there I am trying to get the water out and all I have is one of those things you use to get snot out of a baby's nose. So there I sat in front of the water heater sucking up water into the baby snot sucker for about 45 minutes. But I got it! I called the gas department again and they sent out another guy, a much younger guy. He looked at it, I told him the story and he said he had to issue me a warning because I needed to get someone to work on the water heater because it wasn't igniting.
Yay.
My next step was to call a professional. I got on line with Home Advisor and found Roto Rooter was the only company willing to come out to my house to fix the water heater. I figured it was going to cost me an arm and a leg but I at least I could get an estimate and save up for it and get it done. Roto Rooter made an appointment with me. Broke it. Made another one. Broke it. I pretty much gave up on them and Home Advisor.
So then I found Smart Plumbing. The plumber came out that day and I'm not sure what his problem was, allergies or chewing tobacco, but that was the spittingist man I ever did see. Anyhow, he barely touches the water heater, tells me I need a new one and it's going to be $1,200 for the whole shebang. I say, "I'll get back to you." He was there maybe 5 minutes, if that. After I saw the Smart Plumbing guy, I borrowed a pair of tin snips from my work and I cut the lip on the water heater and bent it down so it will never hold water. In the mean time, Roto Rooter calls me and it's the manager. He says he'll be out to come and give me an estimate. He's there maybe 10 minutes, if that, and tells me I need a new water heater and it'll cost me $1,338.73. I say, "I'll get back to you."
I'm stuck. I don't have that kind of money and winter is coming. I pray hard.
I went to different friends' houses and borrowed their showers. Not too often though, I took many a cold shower, I didn't want to take advantage of their kindness.
Then a friend of mine tells me he's going to come and look at it and see if he can fix it. He doesn't.
I'm stuck. I pray harder.
So I get home on November 7th and my neighbor is outside his house. He asked me how I've been. I tell him about the water heater. He comes over, taps on the gas control housing with his wrench, turns on the pilot, half an hour later, I had hot water.
My advice to you is that if you have an outdoor water heater, cut the lip of the pan and bend it out flat. The pan is there for when the water heater is inside and it has a leak and so water won't get on your floors. Outside, because the rain can sometimes get into your water heater house, you don't really need the pan to hold water. Cut the thing, save some money.
My complaint is that these plumbing companies see a lady on her own and say, "Oh you need a new one, it's going to cost $1,200" or whatever. Or they just do not fix water heaters. That's not where the money is, I guess. Here's the thing plumbing companies ... yes, ALL of you. They make parts for water heaters so they CAN be fixed. If you took your car to a mechanic and said, "My engine won't work." Mechanic tells you, "Oh you need a new one, it's going to cost you $5,000" and he never even checks it out to see if it is fixable, you'd be mad. read more
