old water heater

Important Question:
What is stored on the floor around your water heater? For example, if you have important papers or documents stored within a few feet of the water heater, you may want to reconsider that decision.

Next:
If a water heater fails, it will most likely start with a slow leak. You may first notice water collecting on the floor near the base of the tank. That is often a sign that the unit has already reached the end of its service life.

There is always the possibility that you will not be home to catch a small leak before it becomes a larger problem. When that happens, water damage can occur, and you may need to contact your insurance company. In many cases, the water heater itself is not covered, but the resulting water damage may be.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to avoid storing anything valuable near the water heater—especially items that could be damaged by water.

Any water heater you purchase today—whether from Bradford White, A.O. Smith, Rheem, State, or another manufacturer—is unlikely to last as long as older units did, so it’s important to plan accordingly.

Good luck with your decision.

but i'd run the current one until it leaks.

If it is in a basement, I also would run it until it died a natural death. Often they leak in the center causing the pilot light to go out. I like to see how long stuff lasts. And nothing new seems to last as long as what it replaced.

Montec, I am 71. I have been an authorized rep and installer etc for many manufactures of products and experienced a lot of brands. Service business teaches us a lot, but I have yet to find the crystal ball of foresight. There are too many variables in materials, quality control, installer skills, even shippers cause problems.

I can share that things are made to fail quicker, and use less money in labor and materials to make more sales. In physics we learned : 1) The larger the heater, the cooler the water temp. the longer it lasts, especially gas. This minimizes the flexing of steel and cracking of glass linings. A 5 yr heater, getting its anode replaced every 5 years can last 30 years. I proved it! Well water breaks all the rules and many a heater. Installers make a difference in heater life and performance. Water pressure makes a difference. How much, I do not know. Maximum code pressure; 80PSI. In Baltimore it can get over 130PSI at night. Relief valves begin weeping at 140. Heaters can reach 300 psi and bulge tanks which is never under any warranty. Expansion controls are needed especially in a closed system.

Debris in water will fail a gas heater quicker. One 10 year period the major dip tube manufacturer changed its formula. They supplied almost all the different water heater brands. The dip tube dissolved. Many people switched brands to avoid it, not knowing the brand was not the cause.

Today the simple gas fired standing pilot has been replaced with complex controls that have higher fail rates, even if not leaking. No one can guarantee a leak free heater but a good warranty will fund the replacement and insurance may cover the damages.

My personal choice for a tank, is Bradford White 50-80 gal. For tankless, a Rinnai, and maybe a few other brands. Heat pump water heaters are a failed idea that wastes more than it ever saves. And no plumber will ever fix unless they have an HVAC license. But most manufacture's replace what the will not repair if warrantied. Most "heat pumps" on the heater we worked on failed within 2 to 4 years. Others could not be service without removing pipe built be installer.

what? like any new tank you buy is going to be terrible and put a pan to it so you can direct it to a drain. a powered anode will help, it will work better with a tank with a separate anode vs one where the anode is built in to the outlet. what ever you replace it with will be much worse than what you currently have. the efficiency might be slightly better without the sediment in the bottom as @hot_rod pointed out but you can buy a whole lot of gas for the cost of a new tank. find someone that is competent to replace it so you know who to call when the time comes.

@montek You have done your homework, and you have done it well. That's a lot more than most others have ever done.

You are ready to change your water heater. The electric anode rod and the brand are great choices. I'm a big fan of Bradford White. Don't worry about the wye fitting, it's all good there with a great water heater. While you're at it, add a drip collection pan to the new install and maybe a leak breaker device.

In my view, at this point, I would not change it till you need to. I guess it's just a matter of how you measure the inconvenience. Do it before it leaks in a planned way, or do it with a little more inconvenience and possible delay when it does leak.

Hi, I wrote a book on water heater maintenance in 1992. I can promise you, lots and lots of anodes get replaced. Look online and see how many are selling anodes. That plumbing supply guy may not be aware of these things, but I'd replace that anode right away to give your present heater every chance of keeping going. I've worked on over 5000 tanks and the failure rate remained under half of one percent. I helped lots of tanks live over fifty years. Anode replacement works.

Yours, Larry

Hi, About pressure, I'd put a pressure gauge, the type that has a separate needle showing the highest pressure the gauge has seen, and put it on the tank's drain or some other hose bibb. This will let you know if pressure is really a problem. I like to see 40-60 psi and never higher than 80.

About the magic tool that will tell you the condition in the tank… it's the anode. It can be "read", so you have a very good idea of the tank's condition.

Yours, Larry

I don't know of an actuary table for water heaters, that seems to be the gist of the conversation.

It is not a matter of IF it will fail but when, and under what conditions it will fail, a seep or a stream of water.

Will the water flow valve turn off water if you are not home? Possibly.

Could a leak result in a little or lot of damage?

I don't know anyone that can give you the answer to now or later, as far as the replacement.

There are only a handful of residential tank manufacturers and even the big names swap tanks between them and just provide different labels. So a brand with name recognition and local warranty support would be the one to look at.

Bradford White has long been the contractors "choice"