Most tank water heaters fail slowly before they fail suddenly. If you know what to look for, you get to replace it on a weekday afternoon instead of a Sunday night with water on the basement floor.
Six warning signs
- Age. Check the label on the tank. A manufacture date more than 10 to 12 years ago means you are on borrowed time, whatever the water looks like.
- Rusty or cloudy hot water. If only the hot side is discoloured, the tank is corroding from the inside.
- Rumbling or popping. Sediment on the bottom of the tank boils water trapped underneath it. The noise means the tank is working harder and the steel is being stressed.
- Water around the base. A damp ring under the tank is a slow leak. Tanks do not heal; it will get worse.
- Not enough hot water. Sediment takes up tank volume, or a heating element or burner has failed.
- A pilot that keeps going out on a gas unit, or a thermocouple that needs replacing more than once.
Repair or replace
A failed element, thermostat, thermocouple or pressure relief valve is a repair, and worth doing on a tank under eight years old. Corrosion, a leaking tank, or a unit past its service life is a replacement; the parts are fine but the tank itself is finished.
What replacement involves
We shut off and drain the old tank, disconnect the water and gas or electrical, set the new unit, connect it with new flexible lines and a new shutoff, and test. For a gas heater the work is done under a Technical Safety BC gas permit by a licensed gas fitter, with an inspection. Most straightforward tank swaps are done in a morning.
Tank or tankless
If you are replacing anyway, it is the moment to consider a tankless unit. It never runs out of hot water and takes up almost no space, but it needs enough gas capacity and the right venting, so we look at the house before recommending it. Our water heater page covers the trade-offs.
If your tank is showing any two of the signs above, call us for a free assessment anywhere in Greater Victoria.