Water Heaters - Why replace it?

Hello,

My mother has a water heater in her home that is from 1976. It still works well. We have changed the element a few times, and this last time I drained it and cleaned the inside of the tank out well, removing the calcium and whatever deposits that accumulated in the bottom (that eventually led to the element failing).

She is now talking about replacing it. I have to wonder why. She mentions the fact that it may start leaking or go bad suddenly, and that it isn't as energy efficient as newer models.

I figure the thermostat might go bad one day or something like that, but what is there really to just up and "go bad" on one? It has a glass liner, so unless that breaks, I can't see it leaking and rusting out. The element is new, and how much more efficient can the newer ones really be? I mean, it's a heating element in the new ones too right? So unless the new ones have more efficient elements, are they really more efficient?

I don't mind replacing it if it should be replaced. Should it be?

Thanks for your input!

Cheese I agree with you. If the tank has a proper drainage pan under it and a proper pressure relief valve I see no reason to replace it unless she lives in a far away city that might cause a inconvenience to you having it changed if it does fail. A energy saving blanket can be purchased to make it more energy efficient. They also make cheap battery alarms that can be put in the drain pans of water heater tanks that could alert her that it is leaking.

I agree. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Other than insulation, there is not much you can do to make an electric water heater more efficient. 99.9% of the energy that goes into making hot water is used. If anything, measure up the water heater and find one that will slip right in when it does crap out. Also, if you can find when it goes on sale it will be that much better. Lastly, if it makes sense with the tax credit this year, it might be worth buying one to have on hand.

I think there are reasonable reasons for changing out such an old tank.

Water heaters can fail with a lot of water coming from them. Even relatively slow leaks can be damaging depending on where the water would go and whether the spaces near it and below it are finished and susceptible to damage.

The "glass lining" is no guarantee that you wont have such a leak.

The idea of replacing old equipment to avoid the need to replace it on an emergency basis is also reasonable.

I agree that there would be no energy saving advantages to such a change out.

I'd say there is no compelling reason to change out the tank. I wouldn't do it myse4lf. But there are reasonable reasons that might lead someone to decide that they prefer to avoid the risk and uncertainty of using old equipment, and prefer to pay more for the increased assurance of reliable operation that a new water heater would offer.

My electric water heater has a warning label that says the warranty will be voided if an insulating blanket is installed. I have no idea why.

High efficiency hot water heaters tout a 10%-15% improvement. You just have to decide if that savings is worth the expense of replacing the existing water heater. Personally, I'm a member of the "if it ain't broke" set.

Thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking. Another question though... do water heaters usually have the same type of connections in close to the same areas? If I do wind up putting in a new one, what problems should I be prepared for? I know there are a lot of possible things that no one could ever guess could go wrong, but I mean are there things like obsolete fittings, or updated configurations that might throw a wrench in the process, or is it usually a quick remove and replace operation?

If you have to replace the WH, get one that is the same size as the original and has similar dimensions.

Code may require that the WH be hard piped, or may allow or require flexible supply lines. If they are allowed or required, flexible lines make compensating for any variations in piping differences fairly easily. If allowed, use SS braided lines.

If it has to be hard piped, it may require some additional fittings or piping changes to get things to line up, but you won't run into issues like obsolete fittings.

Thanks! I'll talk with her and see what she wants to do. No big deal either way I guess. Thanks again for the input!