Yeah, I see billboards all over for fast same-day water heater replacement. I wondered WTF they were advertising such an easy job all of the time, every company. It's because they are charging people thousands of dollars to roll in a new water heater. Quick, easy, barely any skills required. Apparently no one can handle it.

Mine runs on gas and used to be soldered directly into the plumbing . Last time it went out I converted everything so that anyone with an adjustable wrench could do the job in 15 minutes. $500, new water heater done. The hard part is going to pick it up from the hardware store.

I got my AC swapped out for $3000. Single post to Facebook was all it took to save $7000. Being helpless is expensive.