Understanding Your Water Heater’s Energy Factor
Your water heater’s energy factor (EF) is determined by how much of the fuel from your power source – usually gas or electricity – is converted into usable hot water. The EF includes several factors, such as recovery efficiency, standby losses, and cycling losses. Obviously, the higher the energy factor, the more efficient your water […]
Copper Pipes Can Keep Up with Your Water Demand
Everyone that has to get up early for work looks forward to taking a hot shower, making a cup of coffee, and feeling awake before heading out the door. If you’re the first one up in your house, you get the first hot water of the day, but if there are three or four others […]
Understanding Your Water Heater’s First-Hour Rating
The last time we wrote about water heaters, we covered the appliance’s energy factor and how to understand it. If you’re researching new water heaters for your home, there’s plenty of information to digest, and as plumbing experts in San Jose, Gladiator wants to help you make the best decision. Another factor that’s very important […]
A Kitchen Remodel is a Great Time for Repiping Your Home
If you’re remodeling your kitchen, you’re probably thinking about replacing the plumbing at the same time. With the refrigerator, sink, garbage disposal, and dishwasher all requiring plumbing, it makes sense to upgrade not only your appliances, but your piping as well. At Gladiator Repipe in San Jose, we can provide a whole house repipe for […]
Deciding Which Water Heater is Best for Your San Jose Home
Updating your home appliances is always a time-consuming endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be a stressful one as well. At Gladiator Repipe in San Jose, we’re always happy to help homeowners decide on the best water heater, and will gladly explain the benefits of each model and the differences in fuel sources. Three of […]
Copper Piping Provides Long-Lasting Plumbing
When indoor plumbing became more commonplace nearly 100 years ago, there were many materials that were used for piping. Cast iron, copper, and galvanized steel were among those materials, and each one offered a strong, viable option for plumbers. However, copper is the only material that has truly stood the test of time, while galvanized […]
Make Sure Your Water Heater is Prepared for Earthquakes
While San Jose hasn’t experienced any major earthquakes in a few years, they still pose a serious risk to personal property and home appliances. At Gladiator Repipe, we always secure water heaters during installation, because we want to make sure there are no water leaks, gas line ruptures, or other damages following an earthquake. If […]
Copper Piping is Worth the Price
At Gladiator Repipe, we’ve spoken with several San Jose homeowners who were concerned about the cost of installing copper piping in their home. While we understand their concerns, we believe that the durability and longevity of copper outweighs its initial cost. Copper pipes are better at retaining heat, therefore making your hot water heater and […]
Leave Plenty of Space Around Your Water Heater
As a child, you most likely attended school assemblies on fire prevention and perhaps even visited your local fire station to learn about fire safety. You grew up knowing that plugging too many things into an outlet or extension cord could lead to an electrical fire, or that an unattended stove could lead to a catastrophic […]
Can You Shower and Water the Lawn at the Same Time?
Most homeowners today don’t have to worry about low water pressure or running out of hot water while they’re showering and the washing machine or dishwasher is running at the same time. However, there are some homes that still have old galvanized pipes in them, and if you’ve ever turned on the tap or tried […]
