After a false alarm tonight where I thought my hot water heater was leaking (never have I been so happy to realize it was “just” my basement sink overflowing), I’m wondering if I should still think about replacing it based on age. The water heater is from 1998, so going on 18 years old, and has worked fine as far as I can tell. Its a 40 gallon gas unit, and like I said its doing its job just fine, but from what I hear they have about a 10 year lifespan so I figure I’m already on borrowed time (unless I have that lifespan wrong). Are these things one would only replace when they fail, or is it sounding like a good idea for me to maybe think of doing it some time sooner, hopefully when its more convenient.
If it is indeed not a bad idea to replace a working hot water heater just because its 18 years old, is there a good or bad time of year to buy them, or any other way to maybe save a little bit of cash since I’m flexible on when I do it? I actually have some other appliances in my house that also may be in need of upgrade, so maybe I’ll try to see if anywhere gives a deal if you get a water heater, washing machine, and refrigerator all at the same time?
I also had a 40 gallon gas water heater that I replaced last year when it sprang a leak. It was 30 years old. No one believes me except the plumber who came out to replace it and saw it for himself.
Yes, yours has lasted longer than the conventional wisdom says it’s supposed to last. But that’s a good sign. You may have one of the lucky water heaters. Getting 10 more years out of your current heater will save you more than buying a new one on sale, provided you live in the house long enough to wear out two water heaters.
I’d wait until it leaks. Keep an eye on it. Dont let it leak very long.
Replace with a modern tankless water heater. Prices are steadily dropping every year. I hope to buy one in a couple years. They’ll always cost more than the old tank type. But the long term energy savings makes it worth it.
They typical failure mode for a water heater is for the tank to leak. The tanks leak because of corrosion. Because of this, the tanks are glass-lined. The problem is that, while pure water is neutral, it absorbs CO2 from the air, which makes it acidic. Fortunately, the earth is has a lot of calcium in it, which forms calcium carbonate (a base) that buffers the acidic nature of the CO2. Unfortunately, heating water decreases the amount of CO2 it will hold, which will cause the Calcium to precipitate as lime (which is basic). While basic conditions are good for slowing corrosion in iron, they can attack glass. So (getting around tuit), the tanks can’t last forever. It can be difficult to predict the life of the tanks, however, since you have to know how much calcium is in your water (how hard it is), and the CO2 content when cold, as well as how much CO2 is lost when it is heated (which depends on exact water chemistry).
So…, just wait until it leaks and replace it. You can do it early, but you might be throwing away a perfectly good water heater for no good reason.
Mine’s also about 18 years old. Last time the furnace guy was here, he told me to start thinking about replacing the hot water heater, just based on its age. So far it’s working fine, so I’m in no hurry to do that.
Based on its age, my own body needs to be replaced. When that’s available I’ll be the first in line.
When you do eventually replace it, if you live in an (sub)urban area and someone wants to charge you for hauling it away, put it at the end of your driveway and run a Craigslist ad in the “Free” section. It will be gone inside an hour.
My insurance agent called me to tell me my water heater was due to be replaced. It was 12 years old. She said that if it caused any damage, I would not be covered. It didn’t leak, it looked impeccable.
Check with your insurance.
If it leaks how damage can it do. Where will the water go?
I have heard of people being on vacation when the tank started to leak. With the heater inside the house there can be a lot of damage. In the basement or garage the damage can be limited.
If you chose when to change it you can limit the secondary damage.
Question: If you had a brand-new water heater and it leaked, would be you be covered? Water and flood damage are often not covered.
Is this one of those things like you see on the TV cop shows:
The cop says to the suspect “You better confess or else I will have to throw you in jail where you will sit with all the thugs until you get a court date.” He doesn’t mention that if you confess, he will also throw you in jail with the same thugs.
Personally, I’ve never had an insurance agent ask how old my water heater is, nor have I reported installing a water heater. My agent wouldn’t have any idea how old my water heater is.
Have you been flushing the tank regularly? That would show you if there is an accumulation of sediment in the tank, which can shorten the water heater’s life. Do you have a water filter installed? Do you flush the tank regularly? If the tank has accumulated a lot of sediment (like from well water ), it’ll take a few years off the water heater’s life.
I suggest you call your agent and ask him to point out that specific old water heater exclusion in your policy. Many insurance agents have no idea how the policy works on the coverage/claims side. I am unaware of that exclusion in homeowners insurance.
I have a good friend who is a general contractor. Just last week I talked to him about installing a tankless system; he was less than enthusiastic about it since I am limited to electric heating; gas is not available where I live. He was very enthusiastic about gas heated tankless systems. I mention this for what it’s worth.
I guess I am in the minority, but I say to replace it before it causes you trouble.
A few months ago my 12-year-old water heater sprung a leak on a Sunday. We both work full time and really needed it replaced immediately. We called a local (and reputable) company, the guy came out and that evening and said he could replace it right away. He quoted the price that clearly had a Sunday/emergency call premium built in. We bit the bullet and had it done. He was there until 11pm, but we had hot water the next morning.
If you wait until it breaks - and it’s going to - it may happen at a very inconvenient time for you. And you may end up either paying a premium or being even more inconvenienced than you already are.
If you replace it now, you do it on your terms. You shop around and compare options. You schedule it for a time that works for you. And you pay a reasonable rate.
mmm
Replace it if it starts leaking. With a gas water heater, have it serviced / replaced IMMEDIATELY if there is any rust on the smoke stack. You don’t want that to get a hole in it and gas you out of the house!
Get a carbon monoxide detector for your home as well.
Two very sensible practices when planning to leave your house unoccupied for any length of time:
Turn water heater off
Turn main water supply valve off
#2 might possibly be an issue if your house has some sort of routine need for water (fish tank fill system? boiler fill system?). But if a plumbing leak develops, damage will likely be major/catastrophic if water is flowing, and minor if not.
We used to rent a HW heater from our oil company. About five years ago, when the then current model was ten years old, they gave it to us. Stopped charging rent, but also stopped service on it. On Dec. 30 it started to leak. I called the oil company which directed me to turn off the water supply to the heater and sent a salesman that evening. We agreed on a new heater and they came on Dec. 31 and installed a new WH. There was a problem and they sent someone on New Year’s Day who fixed it. Not a pleasant experience.
First, place me squarely in the “wait for it to leak” camp.
Next, this comment from aceplace57:
“Replace with a modern tankless water heater. Prices are steadily dropping every year. I hope to buy one in a couple years. They’ll always cost more than the old tank type. But the long term energy savings makes it worth it.”
And from LouisB:
“…a tankless system; he was less than enthusiastic about it since I am limited to electric heating; gas is not available where I live. He was very enthusiastic about gas heated tankless systems.”
I’m a fan of what I call on-demand heaters but I suggest anyone contemplating such a system investigate the heating source costs and the usage requirements. In my low-usage case an on-demand system would never recover the cost of purchase and installation. Drat!
