Okay Opinions please

Paul Douglass

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Location
S E Washington State
My HW (hot water) tank is not producing much HW. Worse case,, for around maybe $70 to $100 I can replace the elements and thermostats... and probably fix it.. BUT I installed it in 2003. It is a 9 year warranty tank... Do I try to fix or replace.. Will be around $600 or equivalent tank... fix and tank fails I'm out $700 verse $600.. I never know what to do in these cases...
 
Third for replace.

Worst case the anode is gone and the tank is half eaten .. which would be even worse than the cost of a replacement if that fails. I'm a bit dubious on why the element, etc.. failed. It could be lime scale (which is probably not terrible.. for the tank..) or it could be some other issue,,
 
My HW (hot water) tank is not producing much HW. Worse case,, for around maybe $70 to $100 I can replace the elements and thermostats... and probably fix it.. BUT I installed it in 2003. It is a 9 year warranty tank... Do I try to fix or replace.. Will be around $600 or equivalent tank... fix and tank fails I'm out $700 verse $600.. I never know what to do in these cases...
ok, 18 year old tank, 9 years past it's 9 year warranty, my guess is that it is pretty well filled up with sludge. time to replace outright.
 
Considering my history of water problems associated with a water heater I am hesitant to give advice.

That said I will offer an alternative suggestion....go ahead and replace it.:p

P.S. Pay for it with some of that old moldy money just sitting in your wallet not drawing 0.5% interest (if you are lucky).
 
Hopefully it's where access is easier than mine... I had to replace my hot water heater shortly after I moved in here... it's in the back of the master bedroom closet, behind a wall... I have to take the wall out, and all the clothes in the closet.... strangest place in the world to put a water heater.
 
I have a stainless steel Super Store indirect hot water heater. It is a separate zone fed by my furnace. I expect at least 20 - 30 years out of it. I have absolutely no problem getting ALL the hot water I need. I also have a whole house filter feeding the water going in. It is the second filter in line - so all the hot water is double filtered.

WOW - glad I am NOT electric on the hot water

Any chance you can do something like that? Will cost more, but in 10 years you will not even think about it.
 
Our water down here is so hard that a water heater will last 5-6 years. I did everything myself until we moved into this house. Now the WH for the bathrooms is in the ding dang attic. I replaced it six months after we moved in. I called the plumber.

Your options:

Replace elements. Requires draining the tank. Whenever I touch old plumbing, it breaks somewhere. I was going to replace the elements on the one in the attic. The tank was so corroded it would not drain. Called the plumber. If the element fix is successful, you are still sitting on a time bomb. If the tank starts leaking (which it very well could after draining it) you'll have a mess that you have to fix right then regardless of whatever else is going on. If the element fix is unsuccessful, then you still have no hot water.

Replace water heater. Problem solved. Move on to next thing.

Alan
 
Shortly after moving into our present home about 20 years ago the bottom fell out of our almost new GE hot water tank. It was still under warranty. Rotsa ruck getting that warranty honored. The plumbing shop and GE simply would not act. Too little money involved to bother with a lawsuit. I ended up getting a Marathon plastic tank, under lease, from the electric company. I know monthly payments add up to more than outright purchase price. But, for me, the peace of mind I get with this rust proof tank and the arrangement have proven well worth it. Recently, I called to report the tank was making strange noises. Next day they replaced it with a new one.
 
What I do to prolong the life of mine is I change the elements out about every two years. During this change out I have a special hose thingie that runs of my shop vac and I stick it in the hole the bottom element goes into and clean the sediment out. I have well water that is not run through a softener or anything. The last time I did it about a year ago I fished a heavy wire in there and did my "thump" test on the bottom of the tank. Very solid sounding thump. So far so good. I don't know about city water, but if you are on a well, this procedure will save you money on the electric bill big time. Kinda like keeping the coil clean on your central air and heat.
 
WOW - glad I am NOT electric on the hot water

Where we are it's cheaper than gas per BTU... Our electrical rates are silly low though. I also have a gas hot water heater because that wasn't true when the house was built (gas has gone up, electrical less so..) and the payback for wiring it in isn't worth it.. but it's very regional for sure.
 
Okay... thanks again for your input.... I bought a new one,,, installed it today... What would have probably taken me an hour or two in my younger day took me a lot longer today at 77 years old.... Most of the time was spent looking for the tool I had in my had just a moment before... a lot was spent thinking and worrying things I would not had worried in my younger day, but I do not really trust my brain anymore... I am tired, like I worked a 16 hour day... In my younger day I would have been looking forward to the next project.... I hate getting old!! But I have hot water again... And for the first time,,, I took a copy of my DD214 with me, when I bought the tank, to see if I could get a veteran discount... I did... and my kids and wife would have been proud of me...
 
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