gas water heater questions

leslie2004

9 years ago

I have a 7 yr old Bradford White 40 gallon gas water heater. I just noticed patina and a white crusty substance on the hot water outlet pipe. Looking at posts here it sounded like possibly it could be from the installer not wiping flux off after soddering so I tried to clean it off (as suggested) with soapy water & toothbrush. Some came off not all.
Looked at it last night and the pipe is now wet to the touch - not dripping but wet.

So a plumber is coming next week to replace that part of the pipe.

While he's there I want to have it flushed because I have never done that. There's no drain or outside access in the basement. Out of not knowing what to do and/or laziness I've not ever flushed it. I'm not sure if they'll have some kind of pump and a long hose to run it up the stairs & out the front door -- I can't imagine they would do it by the bucketful.

There is a small amount of rust on the top right under the draft vent hood (sorry to not know right terms). It's slight. I need to ask if that's normal from condensation or if it's a drafting problem and if so how that can be corrected.

Should I also have the anode tube replaced now?

My biggest question is - if there are no other problems with this water heater that I'm aware of (no rust around bottom, no issues with our hot water) would there be any reason to replace it now after only 7 years? Not to be cynical but I imagine the plumber recommending that even if it's not really necessary because of the rusting on the top and maybe a lot of sediment having built up due to not having done any maintenance on it.

If it starts to fail eventually with a leak (as the one it replaced did) I would have to hope it would be a slow leak and not something that would start gushing since, as I said, there's no basement drainage. Is it accurate that the odds are it would be a slow leak? I do have an alarm by the water heater which is hooked to my house security system that will go off if there is a leak but by the time I know that if I'm not home that would be a disaster.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Comments (5)

jakethewonderdog
9 years ago
Hi,

Let me put your mind at ease a bit.

Most gas water heaters last between 12-15 years, some go much longer. They usually have a problem with lime buildup in the bottom, not catastrophic tank failure. In addition, Bradford White has a good reputation.

The truth is that I've never seen any benefit to flushing a heater, and it usually instigates problems. The lime on the bottom is rock solid and doesn't get flushed out, and the drain valve often just gets clogged with crud and then has to be replaced. Replacing the drain valve turns into a lot of hassle for no real benefit.

The rust on top probably is nothing. Your plumber can check for backdrafting, but an occasional backdraft (when it first starts, for example) isn't an issue. It's an issue when it's a chronic problem.

You should have a CO detector in your home if you have gas appliances - that should ease your mind about backdrafting.

In general, I would simply replace the water heater every 14-16 years and otherwise not worry about it unless you see a problem such as a leak around a fitting or such.
User
9 years ago
And different experience...

Our water is 45 grains hard. That's ludicrous hard. Average life of a WH around here is around 2 1/2 years. Some go a year or so longer but no one I know has gotten longer than 5 years. The plumbers around here love our water.

We have a softener that is correctly sized and gives us 0 hardness water

I drain and flush the WH every spring and all I get out is clear water and the plastic drain valve is smooth and operates like the day it was new.

I've pulled the anode every five years and at last check it was deteriorated some but not ready for replacement.

Our 50 gallon A.O. Smith LP water heater was installed in 1995... 19 years ago and shows no signs of needing replacement. Not even a snap, crackle, or pop when the burner fires.

In my experience the life of a WH is directly proportional to the quality (or lack of) of the water it sees and the preventative maintenance it gets.

Seven years into your softener's life it won't help to change up now. As Jake said the drain valve is probably seized or clogged with crud and whatever calcium deposits are precipitated at the bottom of the tank are like a cinder block, BUT think about these things when you do replace your WH and start out on the right path and get longer service life.

This post was edited by justalurker on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 17:32
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leslie2004
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you both. I definitely feel some peace of mind from your comments. I was sensing that trying to flush it would end up being a series of problems -- having read stories here of people having to change the valve since it was crudded up, etc. So, I'll just tell the plumber to not drain it and just ask about the backdraft situation. And have him correct the leak around the solder that I made worse by trying to clean off the patina buildup.

We do have a CO detector and also I've never smelled gas in the basement and I do go down there every day to carry a bucket of water upstairs from the dehumidifier. I guess if there was a backdraft problem the gas smell would be noticeable and/or the CO monitor would go off.

Hopefully I can get several more years out of it and will do the proper maintenance on a new one when it gets replaced.

Last thing: is it a good idea to ask that the anode be checked/replaced?

Thanks again.
User
9 years ago
Like the risk of trying the 7 year old drain valve an attempt to replace the 7 year old anode might lead to problems and a new WH.

If the anode has a hex head then they can usually be removed with an electric impact and a correct size 6 point socket, BUT if the anode is part of the connection nipple then you risk snapping that off.

If it were me I'd leave the anode alone.
leslie2004
Original Author
9 years ago
Sounds good, leave it alone.
Thanks!!