Guess it just hasn't been my month. An hour ago I carried a hamper of clothes down to the laundry room and noticed that I was wading through water (I'm alert about such things). It traced right back to the water heater which is in a closet under the stairs. Real quickly I threw the clothes in the washer, ran upstairs to start the dishwasher, and took a quick shower. Of course I know what will be coming up tomorrow morning whether I can afford it or not.
The water heater is electric, 52G, and made by a company I've never heard of "W. L. Jackson Manufacturing" in Chattanooga, TN. No idea how old it is beyond the fact that it was in place when I bought the house eight years back. Certainly no visible date of manufacture on the label. Also I can find no trace of the manufacturer through Google besides some lawsuits over faulty gas valves which won't affect me.
I had originally started posting here to ask if there was any other possibility for a cause of non-visible leaks but then I realized that I'll just have to bite the bullet and replace the beast. So, what is a good brand of heater that won't break the bank? Is it worth it to buy one of the "best" heaters at the borg besides the longer warranty? I'm going to be sure to put in one of those water catcher trays under the new heater but am still unsure how I will manage to run a drain from that to the sewer or outside -- one thing at a time I guess.
At least this wasn't one of the "bottom dropped out" failures I experience with two gas water heaters. A slow leak is much more forgiving. And it gave me a chance to see how well the Fein Turbo-Vac works with water (very well indeed).
Guess I had better turn off the breaker and valve to the heater now that the laundry is spinning. Probably should hook a hose to the tank drain and empty it too...