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old water heater

Hello people-- I have an astonishing thing to ask you people--
We all know we buy things and hope they do not break and if they do we fix them And may times we do not buy the warranty because it is not worth it. Well we bought this home back in 1989 and the original owners the husband was a crane operator/contractor and right before they sold to us in 1989 they replaced all the appliances with top of the line appliance- the refrigerator, the furnace and the water heater and the stove. Believe it or not all those items are still in our home today. Now as for those items all is great- except someone today said that I have to be out of my mind to keep my water heater??? Now as I mentioned before- it is like out of sight out of mind- it is just there and it operates just fine- never had a problem with rust- and always gives hot water even when my daughter showers upstairs for 20 minutes or so- she never complains about loss of hot water. I also just drained it slightly last week - about 10 buckets or so(about 15 gallons and all that came out was mostly clear water-with an occasional brown burst but not much at all. it makes no noise except for an occasional percolating noise but not much at all.
Now I have read that most water heaters last 8 to 10 years and if one is really lucky they can last double that- but who really keeps their mind on this??? I mean does an alarm clock go off in our heads that says OH my its time to replace the water heater?? I also had an energy audit done in the spring of this year and he made a small hole in the top cap of the water heater and stuck a sensor in it- and his recommendation was this-- it is a standard water heater with no recommendations at this time BUT to look for an energy star one when replacing?? So my question is-- what do I do-- will I get some sort of warning that it is ready to go or what?? and what should I look for OR should I replace it now?? I e-mailed Rheem- which is the manufacturer- it is a Rheem-- Rheemglas- imperial plus model no 41X40- and a serial number of 0786A15650. 40000m gallon natural gas made in chicago illinois.
I am really confused as to what to do-- it works fine and looks brand new- I always dust the top etc etc--
What I am unsure of is - how often does a water heater just burst and flood or does it give some sort of warning so that when it has symptoms you can change it-- so do I wait or change it regardless of it showing no problems????? Please advise
We all know we buy things and hope they do not break and if they do we fix them And may times we do not buy the warranty because it is not worth it. Well we bought this home back in 1989 and the original owners the husband was a crane operator/contractor and right before they sold to us in 1989 they replaced all the appliances with top of the line appliance- the refrigerator, the furnace and the water heater and the stove. Believe it or not all those items are still in our home today. Now as for those items all is great- except someone today said that I have to be out of my mind to keep my water heater??? Now as I mentioned before- it is like out of sight out of mind- it is just there and it operates just fine- never had a problem with rust- and always gives hot water even when my daughter showers upstairs for 20 minutes or so- she never complains about loss of hot water. I also just drained it slightly last week - about 10 buckets or so(about 15 gallons and all that came out was mostly clear water-with an occasional brown burst but not much at all. it makes no noise except for an occasional percolating noise but not much at all.
Now I have read that most water heaters last 8 to 10 years and if one is really lucky they can last double that- but who really keeps their mind on this??? I mean does an alarm clock go off in our heads that says OH my its time to replace the water heater?? I also had an energy audit done in the spring of this year and he made a small hole in the top cap of the water heater and stuck a sensor in it- and his recommendation was this-- it is a standard water heater with no recommendations at this time BUT to look for an energy star one when replacing?? So my question is-- what do I do-- will I get some sort of warning that it is ready to go or what?? and what should I look for OR should I replace it now?? I e-mailed Rheem- which is the manufacturer- it is a Rheem-- Rheemglas- imperial plus model no 41X40- and a serial number of 0786A15650. 40000m gallon natural gas made in chicago illinois.
I am really confused as to what to do-- it works fine and looks brand new- I always dust the top etc etc--
What I am unsure of is - how often does a water heater just burst and flood or does it give some sort of warning so that when it has symptoms you can change it-- so do I wait or change it regardless of it showing no problems????? Please advise
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Comments
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
All the leakers I have seen give plenty of warning. You probably have a floor drain near by.
It would be prudent for all home owners to remove the cover of the floor drain and be sure it will handle the full flow of a garden hose. Also exercise all water valves in the plumbing system to know that they will work when needed. Including the stops under sinks and toilets.
PS: the fact that the drain valve worked and resealed is a good sign in itself.
Residential, Commercial and Tankless Water Heater Installation and Repair serving California, Phoenix AZ and Dallas TX.
Email: [email protected]
www.waterheatersonly.com
Pop the T&P (Temperature/Pressure) relief valve once or twice a year to be sure it will open. If it refuses to close fully and dribbles, pop it a few more times and if that doesn't do it, replace it. Get a new one, turn off the supply, open a hot water valve for a couple seconds to relieve pressure, close it, teflon tape and pipe dope on the threads of the new one, remove the old one (after removing the drain tube), and quick-like-a-bunny screw in the new one. Tighten it firmly (aimed the right way). Replace the drain tube. Done. Oh - turn on supply.
Appliances like the same-'ol same-'ol. So keep it hot and don't be tempted to "move it to a better location". If you do turn it off and let it cool down it may leak when heated up again. Give it a few days to decide. It might settle back, seal up and keep on doing it's job.
Rufus
Now on another point-- if I were to replace this heater- does anyone recommend a tankless water heater?? The plumber does not recommend it for the following reason- he said that the units MUST be flushed every 6 months to clean out the fins?? he said that a maintenance record must be kept of such flushing and if you cannot prove the maintenance that it voids the warranty??? is this true- and when the time comes should i just replace it with another water heater and if so can you recommend a good brand with good efficiency and reliability(I am leaning toward RHEEM again in the future seeing how long my RHEEM unit has lasted thus far)
System Photo: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021738/uploads/FileUpload/79/451e1f19a1e5b345e0951fbe1ff6ca.jpg
Residential, Commercial and Tankless Water Heater Installation and Repair serving California, Phoenix AZ and Dallas TX.
Email: [email protected]
www.waterheatersonly.com
Yours, Larry
It's not a new water heater, if that's what you mean by "instead of replacing the water heater"?
It can (potentially) extend the corrosion resistance of the water heater you have; results vary. It requires removing a "plug" on the top of the heater that in most cases won't want to be removed. There needs to be room above the heater to install the new anode; they come as 4' rods or, for a little more $$, as "chains" which require less head room to install. Some plumbers do it regularly; because of the possible difficulties removing the old plug, most homeowners would find it challenging.
As I said, previously, a WH likes a quiet, sedate, boring life. Every time you mess w/the existing situation you risk causing other problems. There is always a trade off that way when repairing or maintaining old things. There is some reason to expect benefit (from, say, a new anode); and it comes w/a risk of other problems and no guarantees.
And to address your next Q: I have worked on dozens of water heaters (at least). If I were standing looking at yours in person, and assuming there was good access and no obvious "issues", I still would NOT give you any promise what would result from changing (or trying to) that anode. If there were a history of changing it out every 5 years, that would be indicate it might be a good idea. Absent that proven history of "success", on an old heater, it's just a roll of the dice.
Rufus
Also, do look into the combustion chamber and around fittings to make sure there is no evidence of leaks.
Yours, Larry
So like I said I called the manufacturer- Rheem- and they said to leave it alone- and that when it is ready to go- it will just start leaking- no full out explosion -- so I am keeping a close eye on it-- I exercise in the basement every day- and the water heater is there with me- so i always check it
Not sure if i did mention this- but about 3 years ago- I was exercising near it and a bar hit the plastic spigot valve at the bottom of the heater and the water came squirting out like a fire hose- I turned off the main and called my co-workers husband who is an ex marine from Vietnam and he is quite the handy man- he was able to take out the left over pieces of the old spigot- and replace it with a brass spigot he had in his house and it fit and has held tight since he put it in- no leaks - so again even with this fiasco that I caused- the water heater is holding its own-- absolutely amazing- like they say never look a gift horse in the mouth HAHA
This valve insures the HWH will not explode. If temperature and or pressure get too high it opens to relieve the pressure. Sediment and scale can build up preventing it from functioning.
Not to say that valve's failure alone will cause a rupture, but it is an important safety feature in case the burner doesn't shut off and it overheats.
Be prepared that you will do this and the valve will not seal shut. That has happened to me and it is frustrating without a replacement at hand. Learn from my mistake and have a replacement handy, particularly since the valve is that old. You can get one at the Big Box store and return it if not needed.
Amazon has the part as well: Rheem SP12574 Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve - I think that is the one for a Rheem 41x40, but they specify a Watts 100XL as a generic
here is the Rheem parts guide: rheemparts.com/parts/WaterHeaterPartsGuide.pdf
Your neighbor can easily walk you through the testing and replacement, it will be just like replacing the other valve except much less water needs to be drained. And please thank him for his service to our country.