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Posted by Bob F on October 30, 2006, 5:05 pm
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> Sorry to annoy you, but the simple fact is 10-15 years is a typical
> lifespan for gas water heaters. And, IMO, depending on where the tank
> is located, anyone trying to push the lifespan of one of these is
> foolish. Sure, inspecting and changing the anode is a good idea. The
> difference is, I look at that as a way to get to 13 years with some
> extra safety margin, not a way to extend the life indefinitely, which
> it cannot do. And when they go, the failure can be sudden and
> depending on where it's located, catastrophic. Would you rather have a
> bill for $500 for replacing a 13 year old heater, or a bill for $10K in
> damages caused by a water heater that suddenly starts spewing water?
And of course, all water heaters can be expected to last the same time,
no matter what the water is like, or what the heater is made of.
Bob
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Posted by THO on October 30, 2006, 10:02 pm
show/hide quoted text
> > Sorry to annoy you, but the simple fact is 10-15 years is a typical
> > lifespan for gas water heaters. And, IMO, depending on where the tank
> > is located, anyone trying to push the lifespan of one of these is
> > foolish. Sure, inspecting and changing the anode is a good idea. The
> > difference is, I look at that as a way to get to 13 years with some
> > extra safety margin, not a way to extend the life indefinitely, which
> > it cannot do. And when they go, the failure can be sudden and
> > depending on where it's located, catastrophic. Would you rather have a
> > bill for $500 for replacing a 13 year old heater, or a bill for $10K in
> > damages caused by a water heater that suddenly starts spewing water?
>
> And of course, all water heaters can be expected to last the same time,
> no matter what the water is like, or what the heater is made of.
>
> Bob
Good news. The copper tank lives! The plumber said something about the
water temperature being set too high causing the release valve to open
(That doesn't make sense since the temp has been set like that for
years). In the end, the cold water valve and pressure release valve
were replaced and we have hot water again.
Luckily, the tank is in an old cement basement that is very porous so
when the tanks leak they don't cause any problems.
I've never found an anode on the copper heater. Do all tanks have anodes?
Thanks.
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Posted by Bob M. on October 31, 2006, 10:44 pm
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> Bob M. wrote:
>> > trader4@optonline.net wrote:
>> >> The wind blowing the pilot light out would not cause water to be
>> >> released from the relief valve. One big question here is how old is
>> >> the unit? If it's older than 10 years, and depending on where it's
>> > Try not to laugh ... its a copper tank model that is 24 years old. :)
>> A copper tank is worth keeping IMO. Mine is a glass-lined steel tank and
>> it's going on 28 years old. Replace the anode every couple of years and
>> you'll go well beyond the usual lifetime of a steel tank.
>> It's kind of annoying to hear people say "they only last 10-15years
>> anyhow"
>> when the problems leading to such a short life are easily and cheaply
>> fixable. (drain the tank yearly to get rid of sediment and check/replace
>> the
>> anode every few years)
> Sorry to annoy you, but the simple fact is 10-15 years is a typical
> lifespan for gas water heaters. And, IMO, depending on where the tank
> is located, anyone trying to push the lifespan of one of these is
> foolish. Sure, inspecting and changing the anode is a good idea. The
> difference is, I look at that as a way to get to 13 years with some
> extra safety margin, not a way to extend the life indefinitely, which
> it cannot do. And when they go, the failure can be sudden and
> depending on where it's located, catastrophic. Would you rather have a
> bill for $500 for replacing a 13 year old heater, or a bill for $10K in
> damages caused by a water heater that suddenly starts spewing water?
10-15 years is the average only because people aren't checking the things
that can be checked & fixed easily.
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Posted by hallerb@aol.com on October 29, 2006, 10:12 am
Al wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> WHY? Can you be more specific?
> > tankless poor choice in many areas
Cost of tank including new gas line, electric outlet and possibly Flue
will likely exceed the energy saved over the life of the tank.
tasnkless only warranteed for 10 years, regular tanks last about that
long.
so as a example a tankless for $1200 or a regular tank for $400 their
warranty life about the same.
That means that you would need to save 800 bucks on gas over the life
of the tank before you save one cent in actual costs. to pay back the
initial investment.
Now in regular tanks today the foam insulation makes standby losses
low, I have turned off a tank and had a nice hot shower a day later.
while doing some remodeling here.
If your tank lives indoors in a part of the country that needs heat in
the winter the stanby losses help heat your home so they really arent
losses at all for maybe 1/2 the year.....
so double your tankless payback period.
now the fellow who loves his tankless... sounds like he lves in florida
where oudoor temps dont freeze hard in the winter.
A tankless in the summer may work fine, when the incoming water temp is
65 degrees, in the winter with incoming at 40 degrees showers may be
shiver sessions.
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Posted by kyle york on October 31, 2006, 12:55 pm
Greetings,
Al wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> WHY? Can you be more specific?
Around here where every few years we lose water for a day or so it's
nice to have 50 gallons of fresh water always available.
Also, don't forget the opportunity cost of the money when determining
payback. Folks tend to forgot about that.
--
Kyle A. York
Sr. Subordinate Grunt
DSBU
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Page 4 of 4 << first < 1 2 3
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> lifespan for gas water heaters. And, IMO, depending on where the tank
> is located, anyone trying to push the lifespan of one of these is
> foolish. Sure, inspecting and changing the anode is a good idea. The
> difference is, I look at that as a way to get to 13 years with some
> extra safety margin, not a way to extend the life indefinitely, which
> it cannot do. And when they go, the failure can be sudden and
> depending on where it's located, catastrophic. Would you rather have a
> bill for $500 for replacing a 13 year old heater, or a bill for $10K in
> damages caused by a water heater that suddenly starts spewing water?