Roof patched

So I finished up in the attic this afternoon. Moved the original water heater, Didn't get it out of the attic, though, even empty it weighs a couple hundred pounds. (Luckily, it will fit down the stairs when I rig up a winch.) I did find that it is a 1985 model. I doubt that pressure vessels are rated for 25+ years so it was time for it to go. Removed the chimney and re-shingled the roof to close the hole. Found that I had a single leftover 3/4" PVC 90 from another project and that was all I needed to relocate the water catch pan under the new heater.

Only thing left is to fish the wall and run the wires for the remote, but that can wait until it cools off a bit.

A bit of efficiency entertainment as well:

The original tank heater still had the "EnergyGuide" sticker on it. That 50 gallon heater was rated (using 1983 energy prices of $0.627/therm) at $246/year.

My new heater is rated (using 2007 energy prices of $1.218/therm)at $223/year.

So, doing the conversion, my new heater uses less than 46% of the natural gas that my old one did.

If I hadn't planned to replace the unit, though, given that my gas bill is generally less than $50/month on average, it would not have been cost effective even with the government subsidy of nearly $750.