Have7year old sears 50gallon 40000btu ngas water heater.How long beforeit dies?Are new ondemand type any good?

Question

To all who answer...thank you.

Answer 1

The old one should last at least 3 years. The on demand units are good. You save money by not trying to keep a tank of water hot all the time.

Answer 2

Nobody can answer that question exactly... BUT...

If you have maintained it then you might have a couple more years left. By Maintaining it I mean draining it once a year from the bottom to remove built up sediment.

I would also examine it for signs of rust. If you see rust on the tank by all means replace it immediately.

If no rust and the unit has been drained on occasion and it is in good working order you might get away with another couple years.

Then again you just never know... I'm in the same boat as you. No rust on tank and I have drained the tank a couple times in past years but I have a bad drain pan (rust) so I plan on replacing it this year.

The drain pan is designed to stop a flood but if the line is clogged or the pan isn't setup right you have just flooded your house..Major Work....


BTW...If you do replace it, buy a Hot Water heater Jacket (they are cheap) and install it at the same time as the water heater. It will save you money on the utility bill. Good Luck.

Answer 3

You've gotten several very good answers so far. Water heater life expectancy is difficult to predict because of "X" factors like proper maintenance, differing water conditions (amount of acidity, water hardness, etc.). All Sears units now have what they call "roto-swirl" for the incoming cold water supply. If your unit has this, it helps prevent extreme sediment/mineral build up, thus increasing the life expectancy. The advice regarding draining the tank down annually is very valid, you are "flushing" any sediment or mineral build-up out of the tank. Unless you have an extreme incoming water condition, you should expect at least 10 - 12 years of service from the unit, anything past that is a bonus. Regarding the "on-demand" water heaters, what has been said by others is very true, on the surface it sounds like a great idea, however to retrofit an existing standard installation is extremely costly, and the benefits aren't realized for many years due to the high initial costs of the unit itself, the installation, and the increased electrical consumption.

Answer 4

No one can predict water heater lifetime. It depends upon the water you have (some is more corrosive than others), the volume going through it, etc. Unless you are seeing problems (drips under it suggesting initial leaks, etc) it is ok for now.

One demand types work as defined. Retrofitting them into an existing house is a lot of work and the costs are substantial. They are not energy savers as some believe; they provide hot water on demand and heating happens just before the point of use so it appears to be there quicker. To do this however, the heater has to be much larger on a per unit volume of water bases (more kw / gallon heated) and there is a lot of heat radiated elsewhere.

Because they are mounted in walls, they are made of stainless and have a longer life than conventional heaters but this adds markedly to the cost.

Given the substantially higher cost to buy, major install costs, and in fact overstated and not usually observed savings I do not feel these on demand units are economically worth installation in most new applications and extremely uneconomical on a retrofit application.

They are more a fad than a value.

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

the only reason to replace your heater is when the tank has a leak........forget about it. Before you even consider buying a tankless heater - take a look to see what http://appliancequickfix.com/ has to say about it.