Water Heaters - Am I facing WH replacement?

Hi all,

Would like to get your take on what seems to be continual WH issues.

Dealing with a Kenmore 50-gal electric, about 7 years old. It's given us concern on several instances over the past couple years. From time to time, we'll see a bit of slight wetness on the floor around the base. Also - when I've opened the lower access panel, sometimes the lower end of the insulation surrounding the stat will be a little moist. One time it's wet, the next it's dry as a bone. Additionally, there's a constant stickiness there as well. Not sure what that's all about.

We've had a couple episodes in the last few months where it's overheated - tripping the thermal cutout. Last night I noticed that the upper t-stat didn't seem to be properly seated in the mounting clip, keeping it from properly sitting against the tank. I fixed that - so that may take care of my periodic overheating.

While I was looking it over last night, I did notice a few slight rust streaks around the bottom exterior band of the unit, looking like there had been some leakage.

The last thing I want to do is needlessly spend the money and time to replace a unit that has more service left. Correction - the last thing I want is to replace a unit, after fixing the damage from a bursting tank.

It's functioning properly, and I see no continual leakage - but the occasional external seepage, and internal wetness do make me wonder whether replacement is in order. Also - what's the stickiness on the floor all about?

Would appreciate any thoughts you can offer. Thanks!!

When the plumbers here come along it might be helpful to know what series WH; i.e. what was the original warranty period on the unit. If it's a lower-end model, 7 years might be toward the end of the life expectancy.

Thanks TowGuy,

The model # is 153.316554. It's a PowerMiser 6. As in 6 years. Maybe it has hit its' normal life expectancy. I would have bet a beer that it was a higher level model.

So - it sounds like this water heater is at or beyond its warranty period. Is it pretty much standard for them to need replacement at that time - or is it common for them to have any useful life past that time?

Also - does the signs of seepage that I described indicate that a full failure is expected soon, or could there be another reason for this? And would anyone have any ideas about the sticky floor around the base??

Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

Water heater lifespans can really vary, irregardless of the warranty period. As a rule of thumb, gas water heaters generally don't last as long as electrics. One of the major factors affecting lifespan is the hardness and corrosivity of your water. Hard or corrosive water will greatly shorten the life of a heater. I'm on my fourth gas water heater and using the typically hard well water here in the midwest. My heaters have all failed at 9 years, all due to corrosion on the inlet connection.

As for the risk of catastrophic failure, that's impossible to predict. Generally you can expect any pinhole leak to slowly get worse. If the area of corrosion is large enough, its possible that a major area of the tank will give way. Obviously you have to weigh your risk tolerance, also considering the area the heater is in. If it ruptured or opened up a larger pinhole, how much water damage would that cause?

I'd take off the two access panels and make sure you're not getting some seepage or leakage from where the elements screw into the tank shell. You should be able to see any signs of long term seepage if that's the case. Make sure the drain valve isn't occasionally dripping. Also make sure you don't have seepage at the TPR valve or at the inlet/outlet nipples on top.

As to the sticky substance, I can't help ya there. :(