The preemptive water heater

[SumDay]

And remember that hot water heaters only fail on holiday weekends when the house is full of people.

We had our entire HVAC replaced early last spring. The water heater sits right next to the furnace, and we asked them if we should just do the water heater at the same time. They checked it out and said it looked like it had lots o' life left in it.

The next Tuesday they replaced the HVAC, and late that Friday afternoon, our water heater went out. No leaking, but no hot water heater for an entire weekend. We have a small electric hot water heater at the kitchen sink, and used that to fill buckets to carry to the shower for sponge baths. Ick. It was a long #FirstWorldProblems weekend. No company, but it was a cold dreary weekend and a hot shower was only a dream.

So yes, we have the date it was installed written in Sharpie on the tank, and will probably replace it at the ten year mark, if not sooner.

And we found that the more expensive units only give you a year or two of extended warranty, not higher quality components, or so we were told.

 

[CRLLS]

We had our 7 year old water heater replaced when I noticed water on the tile floor under the unit. 2 years later I found that we had no hot water. Went to check on water heater and found out it wasn't working because the insulation and bottom of the burner were wet. Since the new one had an electronic ignition it was shorted out. Replaced under warranty but just goes to show that age isn't necessarily the determining factor. New one doesn't have the electronic ignition so I check it regularly now as a precaution, Also I have always drained a few gallons out a couple of times a year.

We do have a water softener and I have read that it can cause additional wear on the anode in the water heater tank.

I mentioned that I replaced mine a 27 just because. When I did, I pulled the anode for an education. It seems that there was none. Never, Just a cap. The new heater ran for a bout a week+ before the water had rotten egg smell. I drained it, sanitized it, and tired again. This time it lasted 2 weeks. I called the mfgr and they recommended a different anode type. This time it lasted a little longer before the smell came back. I researched and decided to try a powered anode. Think $$$$. That was several years ago.

I guess the anode was what was causing the smell. And just because there is no anode, doesn't mean the life of the heater will be shortened. But usually it is.

 

[mountainsoft]

I replaced my mom's water heater and installed a drain pan before we sold her house. I don't know how old it was but she lived there 25 years and I doubt she ever changed it. As others mentioned, I wrote the date I installed it on the water heater with a sharpie.

Our own water heater is just over 15 years old. I keep toying with the idea of replacing it, but haven't yet. We do have a drain pan with a pipe to outdoors if it does start leaking (as long as it's not a catastrophic blowout spraying everywhere).

One of the things that has kept me from replacing ours is the new insulation requirements. Our current tank is 80 gallons and just fits inside an alcove in our laundry room. New 80 gallon tanks are larger and won't fit the space anymore. The largest I've been able to find that would fit is a 55 gallon. That would just barely fill our master bath tub, and I don't know if it could recover fast enough to take showers after soaking in the tub.

 

[ncbill]

I'll have to go and pull the anodes on my "lifetime" gas water heater now and check them...I'm sure the dual anodes are the reason the manufacturer called it a"lifetime" model.

I have one relative who has kept their electric water heater going for decades by annually draining it, unscrewing the (brass) drain valve, and using a wet/dry vac to vacuum out the sediment that accumulates at the bottom of the tank.

And be aware tankless water heaters are higher priced, both on installation & maintenance (needs to be backflushed several times/year...$100-$200 each time if you can't DIY))

 

[samclem]

I'll have to go and pull the anodes on my "lifetime" gas water heater now and check them...I'm sure the dual anodes are the reason the manufacturer called it a"lifetime" model.

With some models, they save some money by incorporating the/an anode rod into the fill pipe. Replacing the anode in those is a giant PITA.

I mentioned that I replaced mine a 27 just because. When I did, I pulled the anode for an education. It seems that there was none. Never, Just a cap. The new heater ran for a bout a week+ before the water had rotten egg smell. I drained it, sanitized it, and tired again. This time it lasted 2 weeks. I called the mfgr and they recommended a different anode type. This time it lasted a little longer before the smell came back. I researched and decided to try a powered anode. Think $$$$. That was several years ago.

I guess the anode was what was causing the smell. And just because there is no anode, doesn't mean the life of the heater will be shortened. But usually it is.

Yes, the conventional "fix" for rotten egg smell is to change from the stock magnesium anode rod to an aluminum/zinc rod. If that fails, some folks just remove the rod entirely and their problem goes away, but then the tank >normally< rusts out quickly.

The powered anode rods vary a lot in price depending on where you get them. I bought mine here (waterodor.com) for $90. It seems well made, but I won't know how well it protects the tank for a decade or so. My last tank with a conventional anode rod didn't make it through the warranty period.

 

[Chuckanut]

I replaced mine after 22 years because I was sure my luck was running out. I installed the new one in a pan with a pipe leading to a floor drain just to hedge my bets in the future.

Same here. I found a sale on a heater and a guy who would install it relatively cheaply. So, why wait for it to fail at a critical time and then pay top dollar for a replacement?

OTOH, our HOA management company sends out a maintenance reminder every year. Besides the usual stuff (store firewood away from the side of the house, check the expiration on your fire extinguisher, put freeze protectors on outdoor faucets in the Winter, etc.) they recommend replacing the water heater when the warranty runs out !!!!! That is very expensive preventive maintenance IMHO, as well as just plain environmentally wasteful.

 

[Out of Steam]

I had an electric element fail on our 7-8 year old heater a couple of weeks ago. I changed both elements and the anode rod (which wasn't completely gone).

 

[Dash man]

We have three Navien gas tankless water heaters and one 40 gallon gas water heater among our four properties. I love the tankless ones, especially when we have lots of folks visiting because we never run out of hot water. We are taking care to have them serviced each year. They are more expensive, but do drop our gas bill a bit since we don’t have to keep the water heated all the time. Hopefully they will last. Our Florida condo has the tank. We replaced it a couple of years ago. The previous one had 2006 written on it. A leaking hot water heater would not make our downstairs neighbor happy. Apparently water heater damage is a huge problem in condos.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

We proactively replaced ours a while back. The old water heater was younger than I was, but older than DW. (We are only 2 years apart!) The unit was ~42 years old at that point.

I replaced it with a tankless heater as part of a total plumbing overhaul about 14 years ago. There are pros and cons to the "tankless job," but overall I am happy with the decision.

 

[O2Bfree]

Seventeen years on ours, and I've been bugging DH about replacing it. We might move in a couple years if we find an area we'd prefer, and he's thinking it'll last until we're out. If it fails, the water would drain out under the house, which isn't a great situation, but there shouldn't be any floor damage. I'd still like it replaced.

 

[GenXguy]

I've lived in my house about 18 years, and the water heater was here when I moved in. I'm not sure how old it is. I've also thought about proactively replacing. I was hoping to hold out until I FIRE.

 

[Bamaman]

Let me say a word about the tankless hot water heaters. They're expensive to buy and install. And if you get an electric tankless model, they require very, very heavy wiring and as many as 8 breakers in your circuit box. Most homes don't have an extra 8 unused spots for circuit breakers.

If everyone in the house takes a shower at the same time, your neighbors' lights might dim they take so much peak power.

Gas would be the only way to go tankless, and there again hooking up a gas line to the heater can be a seriously expensive proposition.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Let me say a word about the tankless hot water heaters. They're expensive to buy and install. And if you get an electric tankless model, they require very, very heavy wiring and as many as 8 breakers in your circuit box. Most homes don't have an extra 8 unused spots for circuit breakers.

If everyone in the house takes a shower at the same time, your neighbors' lights might dim they take so much peak power.

Gas would be the only way to go tankless, and there again hooking up a gas line to the heater can be a seriously expensive proposition.

Maybe for a bigger house with many bathrooms. In a smaller house with just 2 showers, it shouldn't be that bad. I think ...

I would think taking 3+ showers at the same time would tax a regular water heater unless it's supersized.

 

[Retired Expat]

You now they sell plastic pans for like $30 that sit under the water heater which you can connect to a drain or pump? Well worth it. Ring alarm also sells a freeze/water sensor you can put in the pan or on the floor near water heater that will alert you to leaks or if it is getting too cold and the water heater and pipes might be at risk of freezing.

That said, I replaced my electric hot water heater that wasn’t working well and old with an 80 gal heat pump unit. About 4x more efficient than a regular electric heater and it cools and dehumidifies my basement as well. Easily controlled over the internet too which is great since I Use this as a vacation home but rent it out occasionally.

 

[Chuckanut]

Our Florida condo has the tank. We replaced it a couple of years ago. The previous one had 2006 written on it. A leaking hot water heater would not make our downstairs neighbor happy. Apparently water heater damage is a huge problem in condos.

??

I thought in Florida you just painted some pipes black and ran them outside the house on walls facing the sun most of the day. Who needs a tank?

Seriously, has anybody who lives in a sunny area thought about solar water heaters? When I was in Turkey years ago I saw buildings with rows of the things on the roof. Many if not most people also had a small tank for days when the sun doesn't shine much. I quickly learned to take my showers in the late afternoon before the sun went down.

 

[Dash man]

??

I thought in Florida you just painted some pipes black and ran them outside the house on walls facing the sun most of the day. Who needs a tank?

Seriously, has anybody who lives in a sunny area thought about solar water heaters? When I was in Turkey years ago I saw buildings with rows of the things on the roof. Many if not most people also had a small tank for days when the sun doesn't shine much. I quickly learned to take my showers in the late afternoon before the sun went down.

It’s a concrete condo built in 1972 that is ten floors high with 262 units. There is no way to have solar hot water in this building.

 

[ncbill]

??

I thought in Florida you just painted some pipes black and ran them outside the house on walls facing the sun most of the day. Who needs a tank?

Seriously, has anybody who lives in a sunny area thought about solar water heaters? When I was in Turkey years ago I saw buildings with rows of the things on the roof. Many if not most people also had a small tank for days when the sun doesn't shine much. I quickly learned to take my showers in the late afternoon before the sun went down.

Tank painted black up on the roof is also the standard I've seen in Mexico.

With a small (only 10-15 gallon) propane water heater as backup, running off a standard grill bottle...light the pilot with a match, set the temperature, wait for it to heat up, take a quick shower, blow out the pilot & turn off the grill bottle's valve.