What are the signs you need a new water heater?
Water coming out of the tank body is the sign that settles it. A tank that has rusted through cannot be patched.
Other signs point the same way. Rusty or brown hot water. Rumbling or popping as sediment boils on the bottom. Hot water that runs out sooner than it used to. A label showing ten years or more.
Read the age off the label instead of going from memory. People are often surprised by how old their heater really is. Under eight years, most faults are worth fixing. Past ten, a repair is usually money you could put toward the replacement.
Not every puddle means the tank is done. A fitting, the drain valve or the relief valve line can leak too, and those are repairs. Close the cold supply valve on the heater and have it looked at before deciding.
Lukewarm water alone is not a death sentence. On an electric heater it is often one failed element, and on a gas heater it can be a thermocouple or a dirty burner. Those are repairs worth making on a tank with years left in it.
Want it looked at?
Send a photo of the label and any rust or water you can see, and we will tell you which side of the line you are on.