How Old Is “Too Old” for a Water Heater?

Nobody wants to go through the trouble of replacing an old water heater. It’s a big project and costly, so homeowners will often settle for poor performance from an ancient water heater and high heating costs rather than take the step of calling a professional to install a new one.

But if you have an old water heater that can’t guarantee you hot showers and costs far more to run than it once did, it’s much better to say goodbye to it and have a fresh start with a reliable and energy-efficient new system.

The big question is “When is a water heater too old?” Let’s take a closer look at the answers. (Yes, there’s more than one.)

The Age When Failures Start to Set In

The first five years of a water heater’s service life should have zero repair problems, unless the unit has a factory fault, which the warranty will cover. The system must have regular maintenance throughout this period to keep the water heater in the best shape. Not maintaining the water heater will increase the chance of repair, and it will also void the warranty.

After the first five years, the chance of a malfunction starts to climb. At 12 years or more, 75% of water heaters will have needed repairs due to a failure. After 15 years is the point where we recommend you start paying close attention to the water heater’s performance in all aspects: cost to run, water temperature, volume of hot water, and any noises from the tank. After 20 years of service, it’s time for a new water heater—you’ve gotten a great return on the initial investment, and you’re ready to begin reaping the benefits of a new, higher efficiency system.

Finding Your Water Heater’s Age

You may not have installed your current water heater and aren’t sure how old it is. No worries, this isn’t difficult to find out. All water heaters come with a manufacturer’s rating plate on them with their stats. On some of these plates, you find a manufacture date listed. Easy. On other models, the manufacture date will be in the first four digits of the serial number as “month/year.” If you can’t determine the manufacture date from the serial number, you can decode it online. Go to the manufacturer’s website and put in the serial number and you’ll receive the manufacture date.

Warnings Signs Are Warning Signs, Regardless of Age

The age of the water heater is irrelevant if the unit is showing major signs it’s failing. If the water heater is still under warranty, call for repairs for it when you notice these troubles. Otherwise, you probably will need to call our plumbers to have a new one put in.

• A steep rise in the cost to run the water heater that hasn’t gone down from repairs.
• Hot water is unreliable and people are going without hot showers in the morning.
• There is a rusty discoloration in the hot water around the house.
• Corrosion appears along the tank.
• The tank is leaking from cracks.

When it comes to water heaters in Glendale, AZ, we’re the experts you can trust. It’s right in our name!

The Trusted Plumber serves Glendale and the surrounding areas. Call us if you have any questions regarding replacing a water heater.

This post first appeared on https://www.thetrustedplumber.com