How much should it cost to replace a 52 gallon hot water heater?

why don't you try letsHVAC.com

why not get what Rush uses--a tankless water heater.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_010908/content/01125104.guest.html

Why do you need to heat hot water?

You should be able to do some price checking at Lowe's or Home Depot online.

Tankless. you will never recover your initial investment.

Yet again proving this is the dopiest place on the net.

$1000-$1500 for a Standard hot water heater. Tankless will be $3000-$4000. Tankless Water Heaters are ok if you want indefinite hot water. Great for homes that have 5-6 people who take lots of showers and use lots of hot water. It is not instantanious however as many presume. If you hurry now though there are some models of tankless hot water heaters that qualify for a bit of the $1500 energy efficient tax credit.

You're way off.....

500 for a regular, 1000 for a fancy shamncy one

Not way off for the mid atlantic. That's the going rate at both the previous two companies I haveworked at. Both were named contractor of the year in the past decade and both have been named best place to work by HVACnews.

Tankless may be a decent deal if natural gas prices rebound. In the next 10-15 years, natural gas demand will grow exponentially. Canada uses lots of natural gas in tar sands production. US electricity production is moving from coal to natural gas. Electric vehicles may push that transition as new coal plants are very difficult to permit. The problem is that the demand for tankless water heaters is very low and economies of scale have yet to sink in. So, they are overpriced. But, if you need the space and put a lot of demand on hot water, it is a decent investment. Otherwise, $1,500 installed for a quality 52 gallon, assuming the old one comes right out.

Definitely get a tanklass water heater, and advertise on craigslist for someone to install it for you, unless you can do it yourself.

My previous 40g water heater lasted 28 years, because I have a 5 micron sediment filter at the water intake to the house.

Home Depot had new ones for $325 but sears had a slightly lower price, and a low price quoted for installation. Imagine my surprise when the bill came out to $850!!!!! The guy said yeah that happens all the time, the price is much higher than the quote.

I could have had a tankless put in for much less, and now I'm stuck with this albatross for another few decades. The only thing is it does use less gas than the previous model as it's better insulted, but I would much rather have a tankless model.

In fact I could have installed the tankless one myself, except for the vent pipe through the attic, but probably any handyman or roofer could have done that for a very reasonable price. My vote is to most definitely get a tankless water heater. The induction type would be best, though they are not yet as available as the cookers.

Did it just last week. $600+ for a 50 gallon water heater. No labor. Did it myself. Labor would have been $330 from Lowe's. So, $1000 for a mid-line/cheaper 50 gallon. You could get a 50 gallon cheapo new for $350 if you do it yourself. Try to use CPVC with shark bites/gator bites instead of metal if you can help it. If you know how to work with a torch, go for it.

Just replace your elements and thermostats. Sold as a kit for about 60 bucks. Takes minutes after you drain the tank.

Or have a plumber do it for about 80-100 bucks.