Plumbing Guide
Repair the water heater or replace it
By All Purpose Anytime Services LLC
A water heater usually warns you before it fails, and the warnings are easy to miss. By the time it is making noise or leaving rust in the hot water, you are choosing between a repair that buys time and a replacement you are going to make anyway.
The symptom that ends it
Water coming from the tank itself is not repairable. The vessel has corroded through, and no amount of work on the valves or the burner changes that.
Water around the base is not always the tank. It can be the drain valve, a fitting or the relief discharge, and all of those are repairs. Somebody should find out which it is before anyone quotes a tank.
What is worth repairing
Thermostats, elements, thermocouples, gas valves and relief valves are ordinary repairs. On a tank under eight years old they are almost always the right call.
The noise is telling you something
Rumbling and popping is sediment on the bottom of the tank boiling under the burner. Early on, flushing helps. Later it costs you capacity, then efficiency, then the tank.
A tank that has never been flushed in a hard water area will not reach the age the label suggests.
Questions worth asking
- Where exactly is the water coming from
- How old is the tank, going by the date on its label
- What does the repair cost in writing, and what does replacement cost
- Is the tank the right size for how this household actually uses hot water
- What does the warranty cover and who registers it
Repair or replace, the short answers
Is it cheaper to repair or replace an older water heater?
Repair is cheaper on the day, and on a tank under eight years old it is usually the better buy. Past ten years, a repair often buys months before the tank itself gives out, so the money is better spent on the replacement. A leaking tank body has no repair at all.
Is a leaking water heater dangerous?
It can be. A tank seeping through its body has rusted through and can split without warning, emptying its whole load of hot water onto the floor. Water near a gas burner or an electrical connection adds risk. A drip from a fitting or the drain valve is less serious, but treat any leak as urgent until you know the source. Shut off the power or gas and the cold supply valve, and keep clear of hot water.
How do I know a plumber is giving me a straight answer about replacement?
Ask what failed and ask to see it. A straight answer names the part, explains why it failed and gives you the repair price even when the plumber recommends replacing. Check the manufacture date on the heater's sticker yourself. If you are pushed toward a new heater for a tank under eight years old with a failed element or thermocouple, get a second opinion.
Not sure whether to fix it?
Send the age from the label and what the heater is doing. You get a plain answer on repair or replace, with the price for each in writing.