When do you know for sure that your hot water tank needs replacing besides the obvious(blowing out underneath?
Answers:
Check the adonized rod that screws in from the top, call ur local plumber & he'll tell u how to do this over the phone or hardware store guy will show you . Also if your elec bill is increasing. Any visable rust. Heaters must be on bricks & not directly on the ground. Buy a solar, they last 20 yrs & save you money w/ the state tax credits.
Other answers:
when your electric bill is outragous its time to have it checked or if it starts leaking,check your water bill compare it to some old ones
when your electric bill is outragous its time to have it checked or if it starts leaking,check your water bill compare it to some old ones
When we had to replace ours it just had a trickle of water coming out of it. When our real estate broker was looking at the house with us he said that hot water heaters last about 10 years and ours lasted exactly 10 years.
when your water temperature starts to go down sooner than normal
Inlet or outlet pipes are corroding.
You start getting more sediment in your hot water. Sediment collects on the bottom as minerals in the water precipitate out, like a tea kettle get sediment. As the mineral layer accumulates, it forms an insulating layer, so the water heater doesn't work as efficiently.
If u do prevennted maint on it you can prolong the "obvious".flush it out everynow and then.kinda like a radiator ona car...if theres no leaks your good to go.flush it out.
Only reason to replace the tank is if its leaking or you want a more energy saving model., Sometimes they will get lots of sediments in them, But still can be cleaned out. And both gas and electric are fairly cheap to repair, compared to the price of having someone replace it.
Some interesting answers here but.
There is no true way to know when it is going to go out on you.
But here are some things for you to know.
1st- On the side of the tank there is a hose bib every 6 months hook a hose up to it and run the hose outside. Turn on the valve let it run out about 5gallons of water or untill the water is clean.
The reason for this is to clean it.
What happensover time is dirt will get in the tank and go to the bottom and sit. This is a major problem with tanks and when they are not cleaned.
2nd I have been in the plumbing filed for 20yrs plus and I have seen tanks last 5yrs and some 20 There are alot of factors that go into this.
How much it is used
How the water coming into your house is
And so on.
NOTE- If you have your tank turned up ALL the way this will also shorten the life of the tank.
Also if you replace the tank dont get a $99.00 special
Either get a AO Smith or Brabford White tank
They cost a bit more but they are well worth it.
Lets say you have a BW tank and for some reason it blows up in a year. The company is so sure of there product you wont pay a dime to fix it. They pay for the service call and new tank and install.
Most of the time you here 100% Gur- on stuff but you have to pay for labor. With these products you dont have to.
If you have any other ?s on this or more of a certain ? about your tank feel free to drop me a line at
kos101@yahoo.com
if it works fine, but it's more than 15 years old, you living on borrowed time. Think about replacing it as soon as funds are available, instead of waiting for it to start leaking.