Has anyone encountered this? I didn’t talk directly to the plumber but was told they will not flush a 30+ year old tank. I wonder if the plumber is concerned that it’s so fragile that flushing would cause leaks.
If your hot water tank is 30 years old it’s going to blow any day now and I wouldn’t touch it either.
In my case it’s likely in a terrible state because during my timespan of ownership (last ~25 years) I never replaced the anode rod. I only recently learned about them. So the tank has probably eaten itself alive.
But what if I had diligently replaced the anode rod periodically? Wouldn’t a tank last much longer? The plumber who said they would not flush a tank that old would not have known whether the anode rod was routinely replaced.
Even if it was meticulously maintained I wouldn’t touch a thirty year old hot water tank.
At that point it’s a simple straightforward replace.
Our old hot water tank rusted from the inside out at the weld seam.
At 30 years old, just break down and get a new one. I wouldn’t trust that old one no matter what you do.
I should first clarify the point of the thread: to understand the plumber’s reasoning. How old is too old for an abused tank and how old is too old for a well maintained tank? SMCF says 30 yrs is past both thresholds but I would like to know where those thresholds are (considering warranties are generally shit [esp. in the US] and a useless indicator of life expectancy).
In a good buyer’s market replacing the tank now is the right move for sure. But the house is in the US, in a region where prices are extortionate. Buying a tank is about triple the cost of a tank in Europe and almost as costly as buying a tankless combi boiler in Europe. And buying a tankless boiler in this part of the US (which is what I would prefer) is well over $2k last time I checked, and that’s not even a combi. So I’ve been holding out for prices to become reasonable.
I guess if I don’t replace it now, I should leave the sediment in the tank to avoid the risk of it falling apart when flushing it.
If the hot water heater blows you are gonna have a much bigger bill than “well over 2k” I just spent nearly 2k on a moving company. You can replace a goddamn water heater.
Every plumber and every comment in this thread is telling you one thing.
Don’t flush it replace it.
Your unwillingness to do so and getting hung up on quotes and talking about the market makes me think you’re landlord scum. If you are then definitely replace it because your tenants will sue you on top of repair costs. Rent isn’t cheap if we can pay 4 grand a month we can get a lawyer.
I’m just gonna let an expert explain it…
https://youtube.com/shorts/TkmeJANSDSw
Don’t fuck around, just get a new hot water tank.
I can’t renew my house insurance if my tank is over ten years old, so that’s where the insurance company puts the threshold.
People have already answered here but I just wanted to thank you for asking this question, since I learned something new today :)
The manufacturer should have an expected lifetime of the device. This is seperate to the warranty. As you have done no maintenance on the unit in 25 years then I would say the unit is due for replacement.
In Australia our systems are outside and are subject to environmental wear but manufacturers say about 15 to 20 years is the life of a tank.