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| Why heaters lasting only 7 yrs? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 2nd, 2010 02:41 am |
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1st Post |
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Sammykins109 Member
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I don't remember my parents having to replace their water heater every 7 years in the 1960s-90s. I thought those things lasted 20 years. What gives?
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| Posted: Wed Jun 2nd, 2010 07:10 am |
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2nd Post |
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elenano Member 
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It does appear that water heaters back then were made of heavier gauge steel that took longer to rust through. Beyond that, though, best to go through the site and read the sections on Anodes, Sediment and What Kills Water Heaters. Not all water heaters break at seven years, and none has to. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Wed Jun 2nd, 2010 07:12 am |
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3rd Post |
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undee70ss Member 
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They don't build them like they use to. Where you live and type of water also has a effect on life. The anode protects the tank, if you keep a eye on it and change it when needed, plus other maint, tanks will last a very long time.
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| Posted: Wed Jun 2nd, 2010 03:07 pm |
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4th Post |
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elenano Member
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Anodes are certainly a part of it, but what I was getting at is stuff like overly high pressure. Lots of times, that is completely overlooked, but it will send water heaters to an early grave as readily as rust will. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Thu Jun 3rd, 2010 10:41 pm |
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5th Post |
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Sammykins109 Member
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Hi - thank you for commenting! I read I think almost everything I could get to, and yet, in the end, I felt stuck. "Our" plumber came out with a Lochinvar tank to replace an AO Smith Powershot. Both are/were 50 gal, gas, Power vent. Our plumber thinks our softener is not working properly. Old tank went in 10-7-02, new tank, 6-2-10. New tank is THIRD tank for this house, first tank (12-1-95 before 10-7-02) died when dip tube shattered, sending plastic bits to all faucets. (No our former plumbers were out of biz and we never got any rebate etc.) 10-7-02 tank, when drained, had both brown sediment and white chunks that dissolved on touch. Our plumber said that was lime, and the reason he thinks our softener is not working properly. He said he doesn't know anything about working on water softeners. Oh by the way, because of power vent, cannot see anything, flat/hexagonal, bumped, whatever, to find anode tube. Again, thank you and yes, I will certainly send other stressed out homeowners to this page!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 3rd, 2010 11:57 pm |
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6th Post |
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mikef135 Member
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http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com for questions on the softener itself (see the forum there) ... Gary is pretty opinionated but also very helpful to the point of helping support softeners he didn't sell from reading past posts there. -Mike
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| Posted: Fri Jun 4th, 2010 01:20 am |
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7th Post |
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elenano Member
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A few details change EVERYTHING. I thought your original post was a hypothetical question, Sammykins. If you soften, that very often kills water heaters in record time. The gunk could also have been aluminum oxide if the old heater had an aluminum anode. I doubt the softener had anything to do with it, but maybe a softener guy could tell you. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Sat Jun 5th, 2010 05:38 pm |
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8th Post |
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Sammykins109 Member
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Ah Randy, No offense, but I wouldn't be here bothering you all with rhetorical questions when I am literally aggravated with our situation. Our new heater says we should drain one gallon a month to clear sediment. (!) This may be natural for a plumbing person to do, but people who are running about with small children or busy teenagers, good luck! Meanwhile THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH for the advice - I will follow it!
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| Posted: Sat Jun 5th, 2010 07:18 pm |
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9th Post |
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eleent Member
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Hello: Reading through this thread, here's what I'd do. 1) Measure the level of hardness in your softened water and keep it between 60 and 120 ppm of calcium/magnesium. Don't take out more than that. 2) Check the anode in your new tank in one year to see how it's doing. It needs replacement when 6" of core wire is exposed. 3) Don't bother with the gallon per month draining as it will only give you a leaky drain valve. If you want to set up a new tank for "flushing" that's a different and better story. These things, taken together will keep your heater going a long time. Yours, Larry
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| Posted: Sun Jun 6th, 2010 04:36 pm |
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10th Post |
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elenano Member
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I agree about not bothering with draining it once a month, but I suggest you read my new section on emergency preparedness. I think everybody ought to replace their drain valves. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Sun Jun 6th, 2010 06:22 pm |
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11th Post |
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Sammykins109 Member
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My final comment is, I wish the water heater industry would build tanks that are built like, um, tanks and last as long as roofs. If they need revenue, perhaps they should follow the inkjet printer model - i.e. the machine itself lasts a long time, but they get a steady revenue stream from selling the "parts." The parts perhaps require plumber installation. I can't believe there isn't some water impervious material out there that would not react to either minerals or heat. This need to replace water heaters every 7-10 years is wasteful and non-green. It's not like there's a market for used water heaters. Also, people are just busy. Other industries have groomed us civilians to expect "maintenance free." My two cents, and I'm done. Thanks, everyone.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 7th, 2010 02:35 am |
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12th Post |
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elenano Member
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There is, Sammykins. Copper lasts a long time and Monel, a nickle-copper alloy lasts just about forever. But you've put your finger on it. Margins in the water heater industry are razor-thin, so much so that they don't even want to put a good drain valve on their heaters for fear the few extra dollars the valves cost will put them at competitive disadvantage. That said, you can buy a Marathon heater today. It's an electric made by a division of Rheem and has a plastic tank: no anode, no metal, no corrosion, no odor. But it's rather expensive. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Tue Jun 8th, 2010 06:46 am |
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13th Post |
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undee70ss Member
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Sammykins109 wrote: Also, people are just busy. Other industries have groomed us civilians to expect "maintenance free." Another reason for more gas water heater issues today is FVIR. All gas water heaters today have FVIR (flammable vapor ignition retardant) which is a safety device mandated by the goverment. FVIR heaters need more maintance than older models so the days of lighting a new heater and forgetting about it for 20 yrs are done.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 8th, 2010 03:35 pm |
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14th Post |
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mikef135 Member
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This FVIR one is a weird deal. My old whirlpool had a class action suit and they sent me some part I never installed. Have never had an issue with the pilot going out. This may just depend on where you live as to whether it will be a problem (environmental conditions)
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| Posted: Tue Jun 8th, 2010 05:04 pm |
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15th Post |
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elenano Member
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Mike, it has everything to do with dust buildup. If a screen on the bottom of the heater gets dirty enough, the heater will suddenly stop working until the screen is cleaned. Nobody ever had to do that before. Water heaters were install and forget. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Tue Jun 8th, 2010 05:34 pm |
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16th Post |
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mikef135 Member
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hehe, thanks If it's one thing I've learned from reading your site water heaters are more like cars in the maintenance department than I thought! Now they have air filters too! I heard that screen was tough to get to ... can you just blow some compressed air into the bottom or does this require major dis-assembly? -Mike
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| Posted: Wed Jun 9th, 2010 01:52 am |
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17th Post |
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elenano Member
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Read Ej's comments on it in the Tanklet on FVIR Issues. Randy Schuyler
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