Water Heater: When to replace?

[sandyut]

We have an electric tank water heater that just turned 10 years old, Its Rheem kinda standard nothing fancy. The previous owner lived here solo for one year, before that its unknown. Internet says 10-15 years. No issues so far.

BUT, In my previous homes with gas water heaters I have had 3 blowouts. One was old, one was not, one was a bit premature. So we are a little sensitive to the issue.

Any thoughts on how much to prioritize a replacement? And, is there a superior electric tank water heater? We are on well water. But its not near as hard as what we had in SLC.

 

[Elf@shore]

We have an electric tank water heater that just turned 10 years old, Its Rheem kinda standard nothing fancy. The previous owner lived here solo for one year, before that its unknown. Internet says 10-15 years. No issues so far.

BUT, In my previous homes with gas water heaters I have had 3 blowouts. One was old, one was not, one was a bit premature. So we are a little sensitive to the issue.

Any thoughts on how much to prioritize a replacement? And, is there a superior electric tank water heater? We are on well water. But its not near as hard as what we had in SLC.

HI!
!st question : Do you have Natrual gas?
If so? Need to change it to that!
I just put in a new NG Boiler.
Its strong enough to heat my home : Using a heat coil and air handler (AC Fan).
Domestic Hot water is unlimited.
Basically its a tankless unit for both: Heating and domestic water.
They also make a unit just for Domestic Hot water.
Its expensive, but it does the job!
I got 100% no interest financing for it!
No brainer I did it !
I can give you more info to anyone wants more info ?
ELF

PS: With this ridiculous cold weather it works flawlessly.
Instant Hot water and house is warm !

 

[sandyut]

HI!
!st question : Do you have Natrual gas?
If so? Need to change it to that!
I just put in a new NG Boiler.
Its strong enough to heat my home : Using a heat coil and air handler (AC Fan).
Domestic Hot water is unlimited.
Basically its a tankless unit for both: Heating and domestic water.
They also make a unit just for Domestic Hot water.
Its expensive, but it does the job!
I got 100% no interest financing for it!
No brainer I did it !
I can give you more info to anyone wants more info ?
ELF

PS: With this ridiculous cold weather it works flawlessly.
Instant Hot water and house is warm !

we do but the logistics of switching the water heater over would be a nightmare.

 

[Fueling Around]

Metal or plastic water lines in the house?
If metallic how do the the connections on the top appear as in corrosion?
Have you flushed the tank?
Sediment in the bottom of an electric is less of a concern than a gas fired.
Have you considered a whole house water softener and filter?
An electric water heater on conditioned water is usually good for 30+ years.
On hard water it is a crap shoot.

Back in MN, I am replacing our 25 year old AO Smith electric unit this summer. Always been on conditioned water, but a di-electric union failed on one side and the galvanic corrosion is significant. It didn't help the original build electrician (and inspector) missed bonding both the hot and cold water lines to ground and the electrical panel.

 

[Elf@shore]

we do but the logistics of switching the water heater over would be a nightmare.

Not sure what yur situation is ?
My boiler sits on a wall attached on plywood .
It might be able to be changed out?
Same as a ductless system does?
What I am getting @ is it might be install differently ?
Our gas line was a new flex line ,which can moved.

 

[dward51]

I replaced our water heater in 2010 when it started to leak. I also replaced the flexible lines from the copper pipe to the water heater inlet and outlet at the same time (the stainless braided lines that screw on).

Flash forward to this past November. One of the stainless braided lines failed where it was crimped onto the fitting at the factory. I now know that there was a recall and class action lawsuit on the model I had. It's made by Watts and I bought them at the local plumbing supply warehouse, but it's also the type sold at HD, Lowes, and most hardware stores.

It did not completely break, but had a small hole that sprayed water like mad into the basement. My water company estimates I had 9000 gallons of water over 3 weeks before we discovered it. Our insurance did cover the remediation, but it has been a nightmare. They packed out everything from a 2,100 sq ft basement (unfinished but full of storage stuff). A large dumpster of un-salvagable stuff later and I now have about 200 boxes the insurance company put back in, but in random order containing what in which box I don't know. The company did give me photos and a list of the un-salvagable items. Still waiting on their response to value - I do have a "replacement value" policy.

I will say this to everyone. If you have these hoses on your water heater, check the label. If it has the 2009 copyright date its from the bad batch.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Mine is gas but about the same age. The best thing you can do with either to extend the life is to do a back flush and replace the anode rod. The rod takes the punishment to extend the life of the water heater. Replacing it will extend the life more than anything.

I have the rod for mine sitting in the garage and just bought a hose long enough for the back flush. It is also a Rheem.

I have been busy but need to do this soon.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I change the anode in ours every 5 years and it's 25 years old now...

 

[912smoker]

^^^^^^^ is also my recommendation.
I wouldn't replace the heater itself unless it was leaking.
I have repaired and replaced many elements and thermostats as a plumber and that's much less expensive.

Keith

 

[chopsaw]

I have repaired and replaced many elements and thermostats as a plumber and that's much less expensive.

I just replaced the burner assembly in mine . 20 year old State natural gas .
Been drained twice over it's life , but the rod is original .
I noticed over the weekend , some rust forming at the connection . Not to bad , but at this point , I'll just replace it next time it fails .

 

[sandyut]

Interesting discussion for sure. I did a flush last year, not a lot of crud came out. Most appliances and such that came with the house were not cared for. So there is additional concern from that.

 

[GatorAGR]

Count me out on the tankless water heaters. I replaced ours a couple years ago with a tankless. I will go back to traditional next time. Still takes forever to get hot water to the farthest lines so no gain there, we are not likely to ever run out of hot water with a traditional anyway, which is one of the selling points and the water pressure drops if we've got two high water using appliances running at the same time (dish washer/shower, 2 showers, etc.).

 

[clifish]

I have a 10 yo gas burnham heater that is leaking around the internal valve. This is a big, heavy ceramic core heater. probably going to need to replace it rather soon. I don't need the same capacity now, as I have about 15 less fish tanks now. Then I was changing 500 gallons of water about every other week. We don't have enough pressure for an on demand system and was told they are also much higher maintenance.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

This thread reminded me that it was time to change the anode again. It was Dec. 2020 when I changed it last.

As for the tankless, I have zero experience with them, but have always heard the electric ones weren't worth having...

 

[sandyut]

Count me out on the tankless water heaters.

Same, our water comes from a huge tank above us, in the winter the cold water is painfully cold. Tankless cant make up for the differential. Some say a gas one would, but venting the exhaust poses another issue as the current location is nearly underground.

 

[Fueling Around]

Anode rods are a crap shoot based on your water. The city well water I grew up on the plumbers always removed the anode as it generated a stink.

...
I will say this to everyone. If you have these hoses on your water heater, check the label. If it has the 2009 copyright date its from the bad batch.

Great heads up!
I don't have them on my water heater, but do have them on the hookup to my water softener. I replaced them a number of years ago due to one of them leaking at the crimp. Didn't check for a class action and too late now. Luckily no basement damage.

Same, our water comes from a huge tank above us, in the winter the cold water is painfully cold. Tankless cant make up for the differential. Some say a gas one would, but venting the exhaust poses another issue as the current location is nearly underground.

I forgot about your common well system. I may have mentioned it prior but a tempering tank before the water heater is a top priority. It helps for the recovery. A water heater needs to be sized for your house not for the usage of your and your wife.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

View attachment 730995

Hey! At least yours won an award.

 

[clifish]

View attachment 731022
Hey! At least yours won an award.

HaHa yes, ugliest fish entered in a fish show....about 30 years ago!

 

[Randy1]

One important point to watch for on a new water heater. That is how it is handled during shipping and installing. Old hot water heaters had a thick, steel tank that was glass lined that could be handled fairly roughly. Modern hot water heaters have a much thinner steel tank that is glass lined. the new tanks are clearly marked do not lay flat. this is because of the thin tank that now flexes and cracks the internal lining. Mis handle a modern tank and it will have a very short life.

 

[chef k-dude]

This reminds me to take a look at our water heater manual for maintenance info. I used to flush out our old one every couple of years because our well is an old bored shallow well and with heavy water usage starts to suck silt. I should probably have thought about a filter already but that ship has sailed, we've been here 25 years and where it would need to go is a pain to access.

We replaced our electric water heater 6 years ago after a leak that caused damage, requiring restoration. What a pain, but we did get a "freshen-up" on parts of the house, floors, etc.. The leak wasn't the water tank, it was a brass Quest fitting behind the wall that leaked. We knew we had quest tubing, it was part of a class action suit we got nothing from and had to sign that we knew it was there. It's not the plastic, its the brass that goes. I had a plumber (I'll use that term loosely after that nightmare) remove the Quest and replace all our lines with PEX.

I would say, other than maintenance like other have said, it depends on where the unit is. Ours is upstairs in a 2 story house. If it leaks, its a real problem. If yours is in a basement or crawl space situation there may be less damage from a leak. Otherwise if you have the money, nothing wrong with replacing it.

I have a weather station with remote sensors that report back to a main display. There are water detecting senors available for it. I have one of those both upstairs in the hall right next to the laundry closet where the water heater is, with the water sensor cable fed through the space the bi-fold door leaves. I have another in my crawl space where I have a dehu that runs as needed to control that. I have that water sensor in a low area (crawl space floor has been plastic sealed, etc.) that water leaking from the dehu will collect and trigger the alarm.

Those sensors work! I DID get a false alarm one night at the water heater, but my dehu froze up and started overflowing the pan. The sound was so annoying I could not, not address it right away. Of course it was 3AM, and there I am out there getting under the house. I could have just unplugged the weather station but I had no idea what I was facing down there and had to see.