Water Heater Advice Needed

[psweath]

I bought a new anode rod, and the old one was so tight that I was very scared I was going to break something, or knock the tank over and break the plumbing connections trying to get it out. So I left it.

I think I've read suggestions to pull it when new, and put a good coat of thread lube on it, so it can be pulled out later. Maybe loosen it every few years, just to break it loose?

-ERD50

When the plumbers came to replace my water heater, they pulled the anode rod out of the old one, just to show me I guess. They removed it by laying the water heater on its side (outdoors!), resting against a huge boulder, and then used a wrench with like a 6 foot pipe extension on it, and he used a lot of his muscle and weight and all that leverage to break it loose, still with quite a bit of effort. He showed me that the rod was pretty much gone - down to a nub - but at the same time I realized that there was no way I could ever get one of those out on my own!

 

[Finance Dave]

My parents bought a house in 1967. When I sold the house in 1996 the water heater was still working just fine. It's only in the last 10 years or so that I have been told water heaters only lasted about 15 years. I had to replace the heater in the house I own now and the service man figured it was about 25 years old.

I am a home inspector and see 2 water heaters a day. We quote in our reports that the "typical life is 7-12 years". I am also a landlord, and last December I bought a house built in 1962 that still had the original water heater...although it stopped working the week before I bought the house (they disclosed it as failed). You get what you pay for with water heaters...the ones with longer warranties have larger anode rods that will make them last longer. I would estimate that I see lots of water heater that are 12-15 years old still working in houses...but rarely do I see one more than 15 years old unless it's leaking.

P.S. IMO by draining a small amount out of the bottom valve (not the TPR valve) each year and getting some of the sediment out...you can extend the life by about 25%...but don't do this unless you do some research first...you may regret it!!

~1962 Water heater

 

[Finance Dave]

There are lots of reasons to not replace it with a tank less.

You might need to upgrade the gas/electric feed to the unit.

You might need to upgrade the exhaust.

Some people have issues with them - trying to run a trickle of warm water when rinsing dishes are something like that, can cause the unit to not trigger and you only get cold water.

They are generally more expensive than a tank unit.

They are probably less reliable (don't have #'s on this, but they are more complex, so it stands to reason).

What's the payback? It doesn't cost much to keep hot water hot, the expense comes in getting it hot in the first place - and that's the same tank or tank-less.

Some people seem to be happy with them, but I don;t think it's cut and dried.

-ERD50

I agree, they are quite expensive as far as up front cost. I am a home inspector and out of the roughly 300 houses I've inspected in the past year, I've only seen one tankless unit.

 

[NW-Bound]

P.S. IMO by draining a small amount out of the bottom valve (not the TPR valve) each year and getting some of the sediment out...you can extend the life by about 25%...but don't do this unless you do some research first...you may regret it!!

Please explain.

 

[ERD50]

I am a home inspector and see 2 water heaters a day. We quote in our reports that the "typical life is 7-12 years". ... . I would estimate that I see lots of water heater that are 12-15 years old still working in houses...but rarely do I see one more than 15 years old unless it's leaking.

P.S. IMO by draining a small amount out of the bottom valve (not the TPR valve) each year and getting some of the sediment out...you can extend the life by about 25%...but don't do this unless you do some research first...you may regret it!!

Mine is 27 YO! I meant to replace it a decade ago, and now I wonder if the replacement would have lasted 10 years!

I suspect that being on softened water is the key - very low mineral content once my well water goes through the ion exchange unit.

As i mentioned earlier, I could not get the anode free, so it's never been replaced (but I think the usefulness depends on the water?).

I also stopped draining off any sediment years ago - I feared that the change in pressure could trigger a leak in such an old unit. So I leave well enough alone.

I'm also curious about the right way to do this, IIRC, it really means relieving pressure, closing the input valve and draining off a fair amount of volume.

-ERD50

 

[samclem]

P.S. IMO by draining a small amount out of the bottom valve (not the TPR valve) each year and getting some of the sediment out...you can extend the life by about 25%...but don't do this unless you do some research first...you may regret it!!

~1962 Water heater

I've heard that the major risk in doing this recommended purging is that cheap drain valve fitted to most water heaters. Either they break/snap off when trying to get them open, or they never close tightly again. Some folks say the best plan is to change them out, when brand new and free of corrosion, with a good valve and then the annual purging can be done without much risk. (BTW, this seems like another marketing opportunity for a WH maker that wants to distinguish itself from competitors. A better valve would probably cost them about $3 and it would be a selling point to some customers.)

I've got softened water, too, and I've wondered how it will impact the life of the WH. Lots fewer minerals than I'd have in the well water, but all that introduced salt can't be good for metal parts.

In Finance Dave's photos, if those are original galvanized pipes from 1962, their continued good health is nearly as surprising as the WH. Start looking for the picture of Dorian Gray somewhere in that house!

 

[Chuckanut]

I also stopped draining off any sediment years ago - I feared that the change in pressure could trigger a leak in such an old unit. So I leave well enough alone.

Maybe the sediment is acting like an internal sealant?