they leak before they fail. If its in a place you frequent and where a water leak doesn't matter (think concrete basement floor) run till dead. If its not the above I'd get a new one asap. I've had between 6-25 years. you simply don't know. but 15 is on the wrong side of the curve. and they don't actually cost very much.

quote:

Originally posted by Nismo:

Mysterious gelatinous globs came out. Hard water?

That looks like Magnesium from the anode rod

Instead of replacing your water heater so often, you guys should do your annual maintenance. Exercise your T&P valve, drain the sediments, replace the anode rod, check the charge/performance of your expansion tank, and check the pressure limiting valve (should keep your house below 50psi, imo).

I believe water heaters would last a lot longer if people would do maintenance on their water system. In the past, no expansion tanks were necessary. Excess pressure would push to the city system. Now, more cities install back flow inhibitors at the meter, due to higher requirements for water quality (can't have meth labs contaminating the system). If you don't have an expansion tank, install one, and maintain it annually. I'm convinced that people blame the water heater, when really the water heater is just the canary in the coal mine.

I have thirteen water heaters in operation right now. Most of them are older than ten years old. Five were installed before 2006. I'm not ripping out a perfectly working water heater simply because I flipped over a page on a calendar.

Parents was installed in 1956. I replaced it in 2008. It was not leaking. Just built better I suppose

Is it somewhere it would cause damage if it leaked? Is it sitting in a pan with a drain that works?

I have never replaced a hot water heater until it started leaking. I've also never had one in a place it would cause major damage if it leaked.

A water heater is not something I would replace unless there was a reason and age isn't a reason IMHO.

Another consideration are the price increases we are seeing. If it is really old you might save a lot compared to what they will cost in the next few years.

quote:

Originally posted by rainman64:
I am looking at a 15 year old water heater and thinking I should replace it. An ounce of prevention...

What say the hive?

I believe I would be shopping for a new water heater and at least have it there along with whatever is needed to replace it. Then when it fails you're ready to connect it.

quote:

Instead of replacing your water heater so often, you guys should do your annual maintenance. Exercise your T&P valve, drain the sediments, replace the anode rod, check the charge/performance of your expansion tank, and check the pressure limiting valve (should keep your house below 50psi, imo).

This.

I flush mine annually and write the date on the tank. Also checked my anode last year and found after three years it was almost completely dissolved near the top. Cost me an arm and a leg to replace it- but it’s done now. Our water-here in Temple comes from Lake. Belton which is a corps of engineers man made lake for fort hoods water supply. So much limestone in the water it leaves scale...

I too turn off the water at the street when we leave town. I’ve come home to an apartment that was under an inch of water....

I too want to check out a tankless option!

I replaced mine last month. 16 years old. It ran OK but was making some strange noises. Also, Lowes had the one I wanted marked down.

With my luck, that thing would have crashed during a three day weekend with no plumbers available, or, when we were out of town for a week.

quote:

Originally posted by Bluecobra:
The last water heater I had fail was 2 years old. Yeah, it was still in warranty but it made a big damn mess with all the water it leaked overnight. I noticed it the next morning and shut it off and started the cleanup.

Mine was around 10 years old. I was working out of town for a few months and came home to a yuge mess. Mold everywhere. Tearing everything out from 4 feet down and then a complete $50K remodel later, I vowed never to do that again.

Tankless only for me from then on.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
they leak before they fail. If its in a place you frequent and where a water leak doesn't matter (think concrete basement floor) run till dead. If its not the above I'd get a new one asap. I've had between 6-25 years. you simply don't know. but 15 is on the wrong side of the curve. and they don't actually cost very much.

They usually do. They also usually fail and stop heating water on a Friday night!

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Mine was around 10 years old. I was working out of town for a few months and came home to a yuge mess. Mold everywhere. Tearing everything out from 4 feet down and then a complete $50K remodel later, I vowed never to do that again.

Tankless only for me from then on.

This last comment has always had me thinking, what?

Just because you have a tankless, the water piping/heat exchanger can still leak.
It just doesn't have a tank full of water, but the water pressure and the ability to create a mess still exists.

Can still leak? Yes. Catastrophic failure resulting in $50K worth of damage? Far less likely.

Very perplexing...

Water, pressure, the ability to leak... yet, one is supposed to have a special set of circumstances. Hmmmm.

A friend of mine is a plumber and they are having a hard time getting new water heaters. He said HVAC A coils are also in very short supply.

I am in the when it leaks, you should replace it group.

My new water heater is more a storage tank attached to the boiler and should never leak.

I junked my regular 30 gallon and it was around 20 years and it was still working.

I have had tanks fail in a few years, and other go for several decades.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Mine was around 10 years old. I was working out of town for a few months and came home to a yuge mess. Mold everywhere. Tearing everything out from 4 feet down and then a complete $50K remodel later, I vowed never to do that again.

Tankless only for me from then on.

This last comment has always had me thinking, what?

Just because you have a tankless, the water piping/heat exchanger can still leak.
It just doesn't have a tank full of water, but the water pressure and the ability to create a mess still exists.

To be honest I'd feel more comfortable with a water tank on my concrete basement floor than one of any kind on the living level, wood floor. Seems like we keep adding more opportunity for water problems in upper levels of our homes; more bathrooms, ice makers, washing machines, furnace/air conditioners, etc.
My Nationwide agent a few years ago described a water claim he was dealing with in a 3 year old high end home. While away for a long weekend a fitting failed in the second floor bathroom. It was a stainless braid flex supply line to a commode. Ruined was all the hardwood flooring and carpeting as well as sub flooring on the second floor, steps, and first floor including the fancy tray ceilings. As work progressed most of the drywall ceiling and walls on the main floor as well as much of the insulation, subflooring and base had to come out. The lower floor ceiling, flooring, and some of the drywall and insulation there had to be removed. Kitchen cabinets, island, and granite counter tops had to be removed in order to remove the hardwood flooring, sub floor, and insulation. Then the mold eradication crew came and found more damage. He said they were well over $100K and still counting. All from a $15 supply line that burst where the fitting end met the flex line.

I have well water and when I built my home I had a 220v switch for the pump installed by my front door so anytime I'm gone for a day or longer I switch the pump off.

Well, hey, at least with a standard water heater you will have on hand around 50 gallons (depending on size of course) of extra water during an emergency should the water supply be cutoff. That's one benefit over a tankless heater anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, hey, at least with a standard water heater you will have on hand around 50 gallons (depending on size of course) of extra water during an emergency should the water supply be cutoff. That's one benefit over a tankless heater anyway.

Can't drink it though . Well , if you boil it first .