Water Heater Repair

[jyl]

Want to get advice on water heater.

I have a 50 gal, AO Smith, power vent water heater, about 20 years old. Has worked fine. The vent fan went out a few years ago, I bought a replacement and installed. A week ago the hot water went out, I tried the re-lighting process (turn fan off, turn gas valve off, wait, turn back on) but didn't work. 24 hours later I tried again and it worked. The water heater has been working fine since. Nevertheless, wife was so traumatized by 24 hours without hot water that she called a water heater service to come look. They advised the thermocouple is bad and the burner is corroded, said they won't repair such an old water heater because it is end of life and I'd spend $400-500 but the heater could start leaking the next day, and are giving me a bid to replace with a 50 gal Bradford White for $2200 or a tankless for $3000.

A quick glance online shows AO Smith burner assemblies for $100. I haven't checked for my exact model.

Is this something I can do myself? Should I?

Why do water heaters only last 15-20 years? Is that even true?

[rwest]

Originally Posted by jyl

Want to get advice on water heater.

I have a 50 gal, AO Smith, power vent water heater, about 20 years old. Has worked fine. The vent fan went out a few years ago, I bought a replacement and installed. A week ago the hot water went out, I tried the re-lighting process (turn fan off, turn gas valve off, wait, turn back on) but didn't work. 24 hours later I tried again and it worked. The water heater has been working fine since. Nevertheless, wife was so traumatized by 24 hours without hot water that she called a water heater service to come look. They advised the thermocouple is bad and the burner is corroded, said they won't repair such an old water heater because it is end of life and I'd spend $400-500 but the heater could start leaking the next day, and are giving me a bid to replace with a 50 gal Bradford White for $2200 or a tankless for $3000.

A quick glance online shows AO Smith burner assemblies for $100. I haven't checked for my exact model.

Is this something I can do myself? Should I?

Why do water heaters only last 15-20 years? Is that even true?

Consider yourself very lucky to have gotten 20 years out of one. Heating water with all the different minerals and such can eat apart or scale up a water heater. In places with very hard water, they die in less than ten years.

[billybek]

Yep. 20 years is a good long life for a water heater.
I wouldn’t have put the ventor fan into either.
Better to do a preventative disaster change out.

[motion]

I buy good ones (9 year?) for my rentals and they seem to last around 5 years. I have a guy that installs them for $200 including pickup and haul away of the old one. So for around $1,000 its no big deal.

[pavulon]

what is the life expectancy of a tankless water heater?

[dad911]

Originally Posted by jyl

......
Is this something I can do myself? Should I?

Yes, easy job. Shark bites for water lines, threaded gas connection, and a vent.

Originally Posted by jyl

Why do water heaters only last 15-20 years? Is that even true?

Yes, 20 years is a good stretch. Rust and mineral buildup.

[fintstone]

Hardest part is draining and hauling the old one away IMHO. They are not hard otherwise Especially if you stick to the same type (w tank) and same size so that height is similar.

[drkshdw]

Water heaters don't break, they corrode. If you maintain the sacrificial anode rod, you can easily get 20-30 years out of a water heater. Problem is, it's easier to ignore and replace the whole shebang.

If it were my water heater, I'd drain the tank and see what kind of condition the water is in at the bottom. If it's clear and no sediment comes out, replace the burner and be done with it. They aren't expensive and can easily be done DIY. And replace the anode to make sure the tank doesn't become the food for the corrosion.

Also, if you decide to go new and don't already have one, code requires an expansion tank to be installed with a new water heater which will add another $500 to the bill if a plumber does it. The tank itself is only $40 but it's required so you pay whatever one charges to install it. Just something to think about if your plumber hasn't mentioned it.

[Bugsinrugs]

+1 on the Anode. You can easily extend the life of a water heater just by monitoring the corrosion on the anode. I check mine every two years.

[944 S2]

Originally Posted by pavulon

what is the life expectancy of a tankless water heater?

Well first off I do like mine, although I didn’t switch to save money, just like the idea of nothing running 24/7. As far as life expectancy I can only say my top of the line model Rheem started leaking after 5 years! Was told they used cheaper parts and have a new design. Anyway replaced under warranty, but had to pay the price of a regular water heater for the labor!

[wdfifteen]

20 years is a great run for a water heater. I 'd put in a new one and move on.

[hcoles]

I've been figuring 10 years is about the safe limit. At that point I put in a new one. I think if you don't have a "closed" water system an expansion tank is not needed. BTW - I recently installed a system that uses the cold water pipes as a path for recirculating hot water to reduce waiting for hot water at the sinks/etc. It works very well.

[look 171]

Hey John, its time for a new one unless you like working on such puzzle every couple of years. The going rate is about 350 bucks for a local small time plumber or handyman (should be cheaper) to come and replace it and haul the old one out. They usually take it to plumbing supply houses and recycle them. A few bucks more for replacing the supply lines and ball valve.

[Evans, Marv]

Yep, time for a new one. I had a good quality Rheem (from a plumbing supply, not a big box store) that lasted 17 years, and I thought that was amazing. I have tankless in my house now. Consumer Reports says their service life is maybe 20 years but who knows.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Yep, time for a new one. I had a good quality Rheem (from a plumbing supply, not a big box store) that lasted 17 years, and I thought that was amazing. I have tankless in my house now. Consumer Reports says their service life is maybe 20 years but who knows.

Gotta maintain them. Run CLR through, read their instruction on how to procedure to open all valves for the flush. Clean all necessary part per instruction. They are all very similar, but yet a little different. My old Takagi want out in 10 years but that's because I never serviced it. not once

[Evans, Marv]

Mine are eight years old. I serviced them at the three year mark and didn't get anything I could see (ran vinegar through them). I have a good softening system, but maybe I should flush them again.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I have a good softening system, .

This is a huge part

I just have a scale filter. When I changed that out yearly, there's a bunch of flakes in it.

I know everyone likes vinegar because its natural. Takagi recommends CLR as its much stronger and will get rid of any hard water deposit.

[rfuerst911sc]

Question: if you are on a septic system how disruptive ( if at all ) would rinsing with CLR be ? Or are tankless heaters setup with a bypass for the flushing ? Asked another way where does the flushed water/chemical go ? We have well water and a septic system and currently have a conventional electric water heater . When this one bites the dust I would consider an LP fired tankless that's why I'm asking about the flushing .

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Question: if you are on a septic system how disruptive ( if at all ) would rinsing with CLR be ? Or are tankless heaters setup with a bypass for the flushing ? Asked another way where does the flushed water/chemical go ? We have well water and a septic system and currently have a conventional electric water heater . When this one bites the dust I would consider an LP fired tankless that's why I'm asking about the flushing .

You flush it by filing a bucket with 3 gallons of vinegar or CLR and run a recirculating pump for 30-45 minutes, per the YouTube videos I have seen. I am overdue.

[Evans, Marv]

Yes, the valves isolate the heater from the rest of the system. After closing them, you hook lines up to circulate the solution through the heat exchanger, drawing from a 5 gallon bucket of solution and the outflow goes into another 5 gallon bucket (at least that's how I did it). I bought a small submersible pump at Harbor Freight to circulate the solution. After circulating the cleaning solution I circulated plain water. It's an operation but not too involved or time consuming.