Electric water heater- 10 years old

[Chocaholic]

Will keep the question short.

10 year old Rheem electric tank heater (2012) installed in attic space for a portion of the house. All working fine. Not easily accessible. Do you proactively replace due to age or wait for it to fail?

Being in attic space, my concern would be eventual leaking and subsequent damage. Do relatively modern tanks rot out and leak due to age or just stop heating?

[KFC911]

I've been known to sleep on a mattress longer than 8 years... don't ask me .

[asphaltgambler]

Depends on if the unit was from a big box retailer or a commercial model. Usually the heater elements fail first, the lower one from sediment adhesion. the tanks will rust from the inside / bottom and will develop a 'drip' to let you know. They make water level alarms where the tank is inside a shallow runoff bowl and a the alarm is battery powered with a level sensor at the bottom.

At that age, if nothing is wrong, I would install a level alarm and forget it until something happens. Prices have gone waaay up and availability for some units are weeks out.

[Chocaholic]

Good advice. It’s in a pan that’s maybe 3cm deep...don’t know if there’s a level sensor. Just bought the house and not moving in for a couple of weeks. Will definitely check when we get in. Thanks.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Good advice. It’s in a pan that’s maybe 3cm deep...don’t know if there’s a level sensor. Just bought the house and not moving in for a couple of weeks. Will definitely check when we get in. Thanks.

I'm not an expert. Since you have not yet moved in, I'd get someone out to do all of the preventative maintenance done that I could (or do it yourself). I would think the drain thing and maybe replace the anode/cathode that gets replaced.

Depending upon how flush you are (most folks are feeling the outgoing $$$ after a home purchase) it seems like it would be a good time to do a replacement.

[gregpark]

Does the pan drain to outside the house?

[Evans, Marv]

Years ago, I had a Rheem, commercial, 75 gal. electric heater that lasted 17 years. When I realized it's age and started thinking about it is when it developed a leak & had to be replaced. All the prior advice is very good. If you replace it, you might think about a tankless water heater, which is a lot smaller, maybe can be relocated to a better place, and will supposedly last up to 20 years. Mine in my house are 13 years old right now and don't give any indication of problems. You might convert to gas with a tankless, because the electric ones draw a lot of amps.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Does the pan drain to outside the house?

That is key. Ours is unfortunately in the basement so we proactively replace after 10 years or sooner based on visual inspection.

We do the same with the sump pumps that get water from the french drains off the foundation. I have two separate pump locations, one can handle the load and I can visually see if one has failed.

Water is a constant here.

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

If you replace it, you might think about a tankless water heater, which is a lot smaller, maybe can be relocated to a better place, and will supposedly last up to 20 years. You might convert to gas with a tankless, because the electric ones draw a lot of amps.

I changed to tankless on the house in SC that already had gas lines in. If we keep the farm I am going to go with a gas/propane auto gen and a tankless WH.

[porsche tech]

We have the same set up and the pan does drain to outside the house. Occasionally I run water through the drain to make sure it’s not clogged. The plumber was here (because the water got extremely hot) and said it was 10 years old and it needed a thermostat but they don’t repair them if they’re older than 10 years. I got 2 new thermostats on Amazon for $50 and installed them. Been working fine for a couple of months now and occasionally I go up there to make sure there is no leakage in the pan. Anyway, sounds like 10 years may be closing in on the end of its life.

[stevej37]

How is the water quality? Is there a softener? Is it well water?
Hard water shortens the life of a water heater.

[Bill Douglas]

In most cases 10 years old is still young. As Tech mentioned it's all about the water. Maybe ask the neighbours about plumbing water tanks etc and how long their stuff has lasted.

I remember a water cylinder I took out of a place that was 40 years old. It had been on well water.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

In most cases 10 years old is still young. As Tech mentioned it's all about the water. Maybe ask the neighbours about plumbing water tanks etc and how long their stuff has lasted.

I remember a water cylinder I took out of a place that was 40 years old. It had been on well water.

My parents used to live in the FL panhandle and had a well. They had super clean, soft water.

Our water isn't rock hard but it's pretty hard.

[upsscott]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

That is key. Ours is unfortunately in the basement so we proactively replace after 10 years or sooner based on visual inspection.

We do the same with the sump pumps that get water from the french drains off the foundation. I have two separate pump locations, one can handle the load and I can visually see if one has failed.

Water is a constant here.



I changed to tankless on the house in SC that already had gas lines in. If we keep the farm I am going to go with a gas/propane auto gen and a tankless WH.

We’re getting ready to go tankless. I can’t wait.

[Por_sha911]

Being in the attic I would guess it has never been flushed.

The average life expectancy of a newer residential grade tank is 7-10 years (I can say this with confidence because I work for a business that deals with warranties). Like appliances, the efficiency of water heaters has improved but the life expectancy has dropped.

Having a sensor is a good thing but sometimes the tank doesn't 'start to leak' but just totally lets go without warning and you will have a waterfall coming through the ceiling. Because of the location, I suggest you replace it so that you will sleep well at night.

I have seen setups where a float inside the pan will activate the shutoff valve feeding water to the tank. I have no idea of the cost but I imagine it would be high.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Good advice. It’s in a pan that’s maybe 3cm deep...don’t know if there’s a level sensor. Just bought the house and not moving in for a couple of weeks. Will definitely check when we get in. Thanks.

Get the unit checked and make sure the *drain hose on the pan is clear.

(*assuming it has a drain hose)

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by KC911

I've been known to sleep on a mattress longer than 8 years... don't ask me .

Its ok the average mattress is 13-15 years old BUT did you remove the tag that says “Under penalty of law, this tag not to be removed? ” Thats a biggie.

[look 171]

14 years is average but we change out one in our rentals in 12 years good or bad because eventually it will go bad and don't need "That" phone call in the middle of the night.

Tankless is great but it has some drawbacks. One of them is cost to install, dedicated gas line, and having an electrical outlet near by and yearly flushing to make it live longer. Scale filter is a must depending on your location and water quality. I can go on and on. BTW, I have a tankless at my house. If I were to do it again, I install two small ones near the bath or kitchen.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by look 171

14 years is average but we change out one in our rentals in 12 years good or bad because eventually it will go bad and don't need "That" phone call in the middle of the night.

Good advice. With so much to do to get moved and settled, will add a water alarm temporarily. Once the dust settles on moving will replace the tank...probably once fall gets here and the attic cools off. Hopefully we can get that far without any leaks. All seems fine now.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Will keep the question short.

10 year old Rheem electric tank heater (2012) installed in attic space for a portion of the house. All working fine. Not easily accessible. Do you proactively replace due to age or wait for it to fail?

Being in attic space, my concern would be eventual leaking and subsequent damage. Do relatively modern tanks rot out and leak due to age or just stop heating?

Most attic installs require a pan to be installed in the even the tank has a leak. Personally, if your water isn't corrosive, I wouldn't worry much about it. The only reason I replaced my old electric water heater was due to recovery capacity.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Good advice. It’s in a pan that’s maybe 3cm deep...don’t know if there’s a level sensor. Just bought the house and not moving in for a couple of weeks. Will definitely check when we get in. Thanks.

Just saw this. Part of code in many cases is that the drain for the pan be in a location where the owner will notice water dripping from it. An occasional shot of air up the drain outlet will keep it clean and working in the event the tank fails.

For maintenance, the best thing you could do before moving in is to turn off the power and fully drain the tank. Then close the drain, turn the water on, let some water into the tank and drain it again. This gets any sediment out of the tank. Sediment is what tends to harm electric elements.

[flipper35]

Mom and dad just replaced theirs a few years ago. It was an AO Smith original to the house from 73 and they have a softener that they maintain religiously. We had an AO Smith when we moved in and it was just abut 10 years old when it rusted through the tank. Problem on that one was it is a 119g tank because the owners put a stupid Kohler Shower Haven in. We have a softener but the elements only get used a few months out of the year when the geothermal is not running. I checked the old unit's elements when we removed it and they had very little scale on them.