Water Heaters - Water Heater - Knowing When to Replace?

Hey - I've got an electric water heater about 8 1/2 years old. It sits in a plastic drain pan, but I've never seen any water in the pan except a little bit that escapes when I flush the tank once a year. I have just begun to see a little rust on the very bottom curve of the tank, where it touches the drain pan, but there's no water present.

Is that a sign of impending doom? :eek: I'm not real excited about replacing it, but I guess I'd rather do it a little too soon than wait too late. If I wait too long, what's the chances I'll get a catastrophic failure, rather than a slow leak? It's in a garage so I can deal with a small leak, but I travel a good bit with work so a major burst is a problem.

Thanks for any feedback,
Whit

Electric water heaters typically have a longer life than do gas water heaters. Ten to fifteen years is common with electric water heaters and more than fifteen is not unlikely. In my previous house I got eighteen years out of my electric water heater.

I personally know of an electric water heater that has been going strong for 35 years and I have no idea how long prior to 1973 it was installed. On the other hand I also know of water heaters by the same manufacturer (National, I don't even know if they are still in business) that didn't make it to 15 years.

At any rate, most water heater failures are relatively slow leaks and not catastrophic gushers. Of course you may be one of the unlucky ones that does get a gusher, you just can't know.