Antique Water Heaters

Once upon a time, a group of Bathroom Machineries employees looking for something to do on a rainy day decided to sandblast and paint some old water heaters we had lying around. The repainted water heaters graced our showroom for years.
  Then one day the internet came to town and on another rainy day, the DEA webmaster took photos of the old heaters and posted them in the “Unique Antiques” section of the
DEA Bathroom Machineries website. 
  The rest, as they say, is History.
  Apparently, the words “antique water heater” typed into a web search engine directed the whole world to the only place on the planet funky enough to actually feature such things on a website. Requests for information, valuations, even requests for television appearances (no kidding!) began to roll in at the rate of about 3 per day. At first this was fun, (continued below)

A Ruud Cottage Water Heater now living in Michigan. This heater was shown on Home and Garden TV shortly before it was sold.

Q: How much is my old water heater worth?

A: About a penny a pound is the going scrap rate. The repainted heaters we sold on our website for $250 to $350 were sandblasted and hand painted by guys that normally bill their time out at $95 per hour. Each heater took about 6 hours of shop time to complete. You do the math.

Q: I have an old water heater like the one on your website that still works. I’d like to fix it up and use it in the house I am restoring. What can I do?

A: First, I’d triple your fire, health and life insurance policies. Second, I’d consider the fact that they stopped making water heaters this way for a reason! Under no circumstances should you consider using one of these dinosaurs to heat water. Paint them up all nice and pretty and use them as conversation pieces!

Q: Do you have any more of these heaters or parts for sale?

A : Look in the “Unique Antiques” section of our website. If any more rainy days and old waters heaters happen to coincide, we’ll post them there. We don’t have parts and wouldn’t sell them if we did....the last thing we need is some idiot suing us for blowing himself up while ignoring the advice dispensed in the answer immediately above this one!