i take a different view, after having one start leaking with house
guests coming right before christmas.
i replace mine at the time of my choosing, on my schedule.
peace of mind and lack of hassles plus no worry about water leak
damage, and can shop around for best deal, and get better efficency
from new tank and i went larger with a high output tank.
do you wait for everything you own to totally quit before replacing?
Generally, yes.
hot water tanks are low cost.
my current one is 7 years old. its on borrowed time
I guess I take a different tack; probably has to do with my upbringing
(whole family is from rural PA, very, um, frugal...) I figure
inspecting the anode regularly will tell me what I need to know about
the tank condition and I can make an informed decision from there.
You may recall from my previous posts that I just replaced the anodes
back in November on two ancient (80's) water heaters in my basement;
it turns out that they were both still in good shape despite the solar
one appearing to be near failure - the outside shell is very rusty and
looking to be in poor condition but the anode was still intact enough
that it appears it was never unprotected on the inside. Also I had
thought that the solar one was leaking intermittently but it now
appears that that was due to dry rotted condensate drain lines in the
furnace and the slope of the floor (solar HWH is located near a low
spot) repairing the furnace drain seems to have fixed the issue.
Basically, when you live in an area like I do where the housing costs
are so high, you can't afford to simply replace stuff on a schedule,
you replace it when it really needs to be replaced. I'll continue
flushing and inspecting the anode; when this anode is gone (if I'm
still living in the same place) then maybe I'll consider replacing the
tank, as it'll be 30-40 years old by then
(and hopefully I'll be
making enough money by then that the mortgage won't be eating up half
my take-home every month)
Yes, I "shop" for light fixtures and other supplies in the "free"
section of Craigslist as well, and just bought a couple paneled doors
for $12 each from the home salvage place up in Edmonton.
I'd like to think that when it does come time for me to move out of
this house, despite the fact that I'm replacing very little, that the
new owners will still find far fewer problems than I did upon moving
in simply because I do address problems as they arise, and I do
everything I can myself so I know it's done right.
nate
(officially licensed and certified cheap b*****d)
