Water heater maintenance (1 Viewer)

Well you all know what a cheapskate I am.....


It was time for some water heater maintenance. I do an annual drain to get the crud out the bottom, but this year I decided to replace the anode rod too. After all I'm in my 9th year of a 6 year warranty heater.


The anode rod is a sacrificial metal, magnesium or aluminum, that corrodes away silently inside your heater to protect the steel tank from rusting. Debates upon which metal is better is like DVD-A vs. SACD arguments.......


I picked up a 42" aluminum rod for $15 at the local store. I drained the tank then went to unscrew the old rod. It wouldn't budge with a 3 foot breaker bar so I got out my giant air impact driver. A few pulses and the rod came loose.


The old rod was only 28" long. That's a strange way to try to save a few pennies making a new water heater. The old rod was certainly at the end of its useful life. It was only a few minutes work to install the new rod, fill the tank, and start up the gas again.


Maybe I can squeeze another 5 years out of this water heater for a $15 maintenance part. From what I've read, the 6/9/12 year warranty units are all the same but you basically are paying up front for an "extended warranty". But sometimes the makers will cheapen the 6 year units with a "short" anode rod like mine.

I've thought about doing this, but I've got minimum overhead and would require one of the flexible/hinged(?) type rods, and I've never looked into it thoroughly. I'm otherwise on top of household maintentence, and avoid pro labor costs, but this is one area where I've lagged behind. I do the other maintenance - draining twice a year and operating the pressure relief valve a few times a year - on the water heater to get maximum life out of it. 9 years has been the average lifespan of my waterheaters, I have pretty hard water.

I've been lucky to get past 8. My current one at the 2nd house is an enourmous State. The gas valve "sensed an over high temp" and jettisoned itself( White Rodgers control...and its only "fail safe"...is to kill itself).

Already replaced one(part was free, $140 labor/house call on a Saturday).

The one at the main house is enormous as well(will fill up a three person garden tub and still have hot water for the dishwasher and washer).

Neither one is over 18 months old. Both died the same month...

How odd. Mine is a State too, one of the several A.O. Smith brands. It was installed when the house was built and the permit sticker lists the date as December 2005. So far I've had zero problems with the unit. I may have changed the anode rod just in time.


I took the opportunity to read up on reviews of water heater brands. There are lots of negative reviews of most brands, and IIUC most brands actually have similar reliability. There's a small number of units with, say, random defects in the tank which cause them to rust out early.


What triggered my interest is my neighbor had to buy a new heater - the first in the neighborhood to do so. All the houses were built at the same time so I'm expecting to see people replacing water heaters in the near future. His was a Bradford White. I guess I should explain that my subdivision's developer didn't build any houses at all but rather sold buildable lots to small independent builders. This means the water heaters and HVAC gear in the neighborhood is sourced from differing manufacturers.

The State that had the issue, the repair guy said, "we see this once a year...".

Even he doesnt know why W-R designed this control that way, but it is a popular control. It has 6 lights in a row, green far left...rest yellow. The temp up down is right and left arrows that you press together, once the "temp set" shows, raise or lower.

Those 6 lights double as the "failure code".

Almost every failure code reports "gas valve rendered inoperative, call for service". First water heater I've ever had that kills itself...instead of shutting off.

Having suffered through a water heater flooding my home, when my warranty is up on the replacement water heater, I'm just going to replace it for the peace of mind.

Sam,

My State is the more basic version: no "idiot lights". IIUC you have the "Energy Star Certified" model and I hear that they are nothing but trouble because of the complexity of the controller circuits.

Patrick Sun said:

Having suffered through a water heater flooding my home, when my warranty is up on the replacement water heater, I'm just going to replace it for the peace of mind.

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Where the heck did they put your water heater so that it flooded the house? Mine's in the garage, so if it leaks it just drains across the garage floor and off down the driveway.

In Indiana, water heaters must be installed in the house, garage doesn't count. If you live on a slab...

Sadly, my water heater is in the house, which is a single-story ranch style house on a slab. I'd love to have it in my garage, believe me, I really wished it was in the garage...

I'm on the 20th year of my water heater. It is a Sutherlands Hardware store brand tank (They were once Crate Deals and I don't know what they became after Sutherlands.) I feel REALLY good now. [emoji2] Last year I had to replace my RUUD central heat and air unit after 21 years of continuous service.

Clint,

So what kind of care did you lavish on your water heater? What do you claim is the reason for its longevity?

schan1269 said:

In Indiana, water heaters must be installed in the house, garage doesn't count. If you live on a slab...

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New code? My parents ranch has the water heater in the garage. The house is about 15 years old.

DaveF said:

New code? My parents ranch has the water heater in the garage. The house is about 15 years old.

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Could be county specific...

Last I knew you were not supposed to "break the fire wall" with anything but a door. Was the garage an addition to the house?

This thread make me think about my water heater, it's 31 years old. When it goes I'll go tankless.

schan1269 said:

Could be county specific...
Last I knew you were not supposed to "break the fire wall" with anything but a door. Was the garage an addition to the house?

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New construction in Indy with reputable Builder.

DaveF said:

New construction in Indy with reputable Builder.

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Apparently it became code around 2000 that you could put them in the garage. Never seen one in a garage...

If gas, 18" off the ground, unless FVIR.

Must have a mimimum layer(based on location) of pipe insulation.

However, outbuilds for water heaters and furnaces have always been allowed(separate room in the garage made from 5/8" drywall). Those I have seen.

Patrick_S said:

This thread make me think about my water heater, it's 31 years old. When it goes I'll go tankless.

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Tankless for my next one as well.

I hear little good about tankless water heaters. If they worked well, everyone would probably have one by now.

Have you ever used one?

I have and it worked great. The key is to buy a good one and they are not cheap.

I disagree with "if they worked well, everyone would have one", the sticker shock is probably keeping a lot of people away because they are too lazy to figure out the ROI.