how to know when water heater is going bad

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JHZR2

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Hi,

Besides the obvious huge puddle or lack of hot water, how does one know when their hot water heater is going bad? Mine is 12 years old.

Ive flushed it once. It works well, except in our shower, where we barely get any hot water. I figure that is a blending valve, however, if some large user of hot water, either a washing machine, dishwasher, other person showering used hot water PREVIOUSLY (not at the same time so there is a lower pressure on the cold water), then the water is much hotter in the shower.

I have to wonder if the controller is getting lazy.

Is it smart to unbolt and check the anode rod from time to time? Replace it?

I just would prefer not to have any suprises... but then a hot water heater is expensive enough for it to not be worth it to replace just because its getting older.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

JMH
 
some times the control dosent react as fast as it should and you can turn the temp up a little bit to see if that is the case.

some times water heaters build up minerals in the bottom of them which makes it very hard to heat the water up, you can tell if you have minerals in it, because when it fires up you will hear a slight pounding or boiling of the water inside the tank, it will make strange nosies, the noise, is the sound of water boiling when it touches the side of the tank, as the tank is warmed up it expands away from the minerals allowing water to flow in and it boils there, the danger is the tank expands and contracts out side of the normal tolerances and can make the tank split open.

hope this helps
 
Might check the dip tube, if you water heater was built between 1993-1996 there is a good chance it has a defective polypropylene dip tube. If you plan on keeping it I would definitely replace whats left of the anode.
 
You might want to google-up on dip tube problems, as there was an industry wide problem between 1993-97. The dip tube directs incoming water to the bottom of the tank to be heated, when they rot away, as the affected ones did, screwy things happen. I am not sure that your symptoms correspond, but you might check.
 
If its electric..just replace the elements. Not worth brain power going any further. Make sure its wired correctly and the stats work.
 
Its gas...

It was made in 96, so the dip tube could be an issue. This is a GE model.

Thanks for all the replies, it will help me to determine what it needs, and if its worth sapping for a more efficient model...

Best,

JMH
 
I replaced mine last year. It was made in 1995. How did I know it was time? When filling the tub with water, sometimes the water had a slight rust color to it. Also, the water was not getting as hot as it used to. Oftentimes the first person to take a bath or shower in the morning only had "warm" water and not "hot". My old one was a "State" and my new one is a "GE". After replacement, the difference was night and day.
 
I installed a bosch tankless hot water heater last year ($500 from sutherlands). Reasons: experienced similar problems and the goverment was giving $300 back on taxes ($500 purchase became $200). If the rebate is still there it is worth checking into imo. Make sure the tankless is right for you (research). We love it but probably not for everyone. Anyway, with rebate, it is worth a look/consideration.

take care.
 
I just replaced the 44 year old water heater in my mother's house after it sprung a leak. I wanted to replace it 15 years ago as a precautionary measure, but a knowledgeable person told me not to, because the old water heater would probably outlive anything I put in there. They were built better back then. Plus it was maintained by flushing.
 
I replaced my GE a couple years ago due to the dip tube issue, after researching I decided on a Vaughn water heater. It ended up being only about $100 more than the Whirlpools/ GE's I was looking at. My electric bill immediately went down $15 a month, the water heater has nearly paid for itself.
 
Vaughn looks like a good company, but we use gas.

Ive been toying with the idea of a small (10-20 gal???) electric to serve as a pre-heater, coupled with an instant-on gas unit.

I wonder if there is real benefit to this.

JMH
 
Right, this is why my thinking is that say I install a 10 gallon electric hot water heater, so that in very low flow situations, or any situation, really, I have nominally hot water... for washing hands, etc.

Then when I turn on the big guns, I get hot water from the tankless unit.

Thinking is that though electric hot water is expensive, it is nearly 100% efficient as a means of water heat-up, and by keeping it at a low setpoint, 100F maybe, its not drawing a whole lot. Since it is small, its drawing even less, too...

JMH
 
Probably a rotted dip tube.
I'd replace with a good high efficiency gas tank .. don't get fancy.
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Quote:
how to know when water heater is going bad
After you shower, you find that your 'nads are retracted up around your diaphram...
wink.gif


Seriously though, we had to replace ours (electric) about two years ago. Be sure to consider your capacity needs. I went up a size, which pretty much* cured our running out of hot water problem.

*that would exlcude trying to bathe in the 15-20 min after the wifey washes her hair...
smirk2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Brett Miller
At 12 years, I would replace it ASAP! Good rule of thumb is to replace at the end of the warranty period.


Sort of. It really depends on the local water supply and how gentle or harsh it is in composition. Some water destroys them quickly my previous town it was quite gentle on the tank itself.
 
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