Hi,
A few days ago, I saw a guy flush and later replace a water heater on This Old House, or similar program.
Something puzzled me. He said that after a flush, the old water heater may start leaking. He did not explain why.
I'm about to flush my 10 yo heater and wonder about what would cause the leak, after a flush.
Also wondering, how many people actually replace the anodes?
Regards,
Rich
Because ... the mineral buildup may be plugging leaks. Leaks that resulted almost certainly because of anode going bye-bye and no longer protecting.
People generally replace the anode, as required by local water quality, flow-rate and temp setting, separately or as part of new heater.
What makes you conclude that you need to flush it?
J----- Original Message ----- From:
Well, it's 10 years old and I doubt it's been flushed. It's a gas heater, I failed to state.
The only symptom which I see currently is that the temp is not very stable. I have it set low and at times the water temp is about 130F, at other times it's just over 105F. Seems at random.
Rich
At 10 years its near the end of its life, even opening the drain valve may be a one way event:( Valves are junk quality.
I would leave it be and shop for a new one. Or just buy a new one now at your convenience. Rather than having it fail at 4am and flood your basement, and no hot shower in AM.
Maybe its me, I replace my car battery at 4 years too.
It costs a little but saves a LOT of aggravation!
Won't the life depend on the quality? Wandering through a mall once, I paused to glance at a booth promoting a famous-name water heater. One of the people staffing the booth asked me how old my water heater was and I told him -- perhaps close to 10 years at that time. He said, "Oh, so you'll be needing a new one soon." I told him that we had a (cost little more than the famous-name one), to which he replied, "Oh, no, you won't need a new one for a long time yet."
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My last two cars had 72 month batteries. I replaced them in the first cool weather after 60 months. I hear stories about batteries lasting even longer, but I'd rather change it at my convenience that surely is not when the temperature is 5 degrees.
I though water heaters had a longer life though? Some have a 10 or 12 year warranty/
I heard that these gas tanks can go like a splash. In this case, even if you shut of the main valve, you still have 60 gallons of damage.
I just bought this house about 8 months ago, and it came with a 27-year-old Bradford-White gas water heater. Still working fine. The plastic cone-type drain has evidence of being opened many times with a wrench which is fine with me; apparently someone drained it periodically (to remove sediment). The dip tube on it vanished who knows how long ago, so I put one in two weeks ago. When the tank leaks, I'll get a new one. At $300+ for a new heater I'm in no hurry. I really wonder why people say throw it out after
10 years when occasional preventive maintenance - maintenance you can do - will extend that life quite a bit.The anode prevents the tank from rusting from the inside. Even though the tank is glass-lined on the inside, the anode is still needed because the coating doesn't cover everything. After ten years your anode is probably all gone, just the core wire is left. It should be checked every 3 years or so.
If it were me, I wouldn't worry too much about the sediment (unless the tank makes gurgling noises) and I would replace the anode. More than likely it will be difficult to remove. If you do remove it, wrap teflon tape around it once to make it easier to remove in the future.
Good site:
Why bother to spam when you won't even answer your email?
If it's one of the ones that has two anodes, I'd check them and see if it needs to be replaced. If it has only one anode, then you might be too late and you should start shopping for a new water heater and have one picked out.
I saw the TV show in question and do not recall any connection between the flushing and the dying of the tank. My recollection was that they called up two months later to say that it had leaked. I don't think they said that the sludge acted as a sort of stop leak.
Thanks for addressing my topic Scott :-)
My tank has just one anode. I called locally and the replacement is $18.
Well, it seems that the anode consumption would depend on local water chemistry, water usage and temp setting over the life of the tank. This is why you can't say it's dead, based on time alone.
The guy in the show was vague enough to make the info useless. He did not say the sediment plugged the leaks, it was someone replying here. The TV plumber did say that it may start leaking after a flush - why I have no idea - it's why I asked here :-)
After the TV plumber cut the tank apart, it was leaking at the top - not where the sediment was - again I see no relation to flushing. The anode in that tank was all consumed and there was lots of sediment, so the tank was quite old - how old they did not say.
Other thing they said, was that the tank life is pretty much a month after the warranty runs out. Again a half-truth. Depends on a lot of things. One website recommends getting a shorter life tank and replacing anodes or installing a "big one" at the time of purchase.
Wish that the show producers would do better job, if they bother at all. Of course the tape probably had no idea what he was editing and cut the pertinent stuff.
Rich
From the TV show, it appears that with the anode consumed, the next thing to go is the exposed metal (fittings at the top). Water runs down the tank, between the double walls and comes out at the bottom.
I already flushed it, just for good measure :-) Was not too bad. Will replace the anode. I've seen water heaters last a lot longer than 10 years, so I'm optimistic.
Rich
Exactly where did you find a new anode locally for $18? I don't see them in HD, Lowes, or Ace.
Place called Plumbers Supply - literally, but YMMV :-)
Called a place that sells furnaces and A/C compressors first, but they did not have it, and they sent me to plumbers supply. These are frequented by contractors, mostly.
Rich
I think the issue is related to the cr@ppy drain valves that are used on most water heaters. Open them once to drain the tank, and they may never close fully again.
The other concern is that on a 10 year old water heater, the chunks of calcium buildup may be large enough that they may not want to come out - just end up clogging the drain valve, possibly not allowing it to close fully.
Ran across an interesting website a few weeks ago,
FWIW, I'm not associated with this website at all. As a matter of fact, I'm one of those guys with an 8 year old water heater sitting in his garage that has never been flushed. We'll see if I follow their advice when it's time to replace it.
Jerry
You need to get them from a real plumbing store.
This makes a lot more sense - strange that the TV show could not say that :-). Later they show the same tank leaking from the top somewhere and the connection you make, is that it was the flushing that killed the tank.
If you never flush your tank, the sediment may be hard enough to prevent the drain valve from closing, if a chunk gets lodged in the valve. A ball valve would be less likely to fail, even due to dirt.
Of course, if the leak is from the drain valve, even on an old tank, why not install a new one, rather than pitching the whole thing.
This may be, so you get greater surface area for the chemical reaction. The next step being a second dip tube, but that's more major work.
Rich
It saves no aggravation, it just cost more and it is extremely wasteful. Most replacement auto batteries have a 72 or 84 month guarantee and have greater capacity that the OEM batteries. Occasionally a battery just goes kaput, but age has little to do with that. Ordinarily batteries just age and if you can't tell when the battery is beginning to go bad maybe you shouldn't be driving.
I have never had a battery last less than 5 years (and that was back in the 60's) and most last 7 or more years. Just replaced the original battery in my 1994 Explorer but that was a real exception. And yes I knew the capacity had diminished for over a year. And you would have been your 3rd replacement.
BTW, the normal failure of a water heater is for it to leak a little, not burst and flood the place.
For anyone who has changed the anode, is it difficult to do? How much overhead clearance is required? My basement ceiling is only about 7 feet high, which doesn't leave a lot of room over my tank to install a long anode rod. I've heard that the main difference between a tank with a short warranty and a long warranty is the length of the anode. My 3 year old tank (Sears 'Miser' - I forget who the manufacturer is) has a 12 year warranty, so maybe it has 2 anodes.
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