Quote:
Originally Posted by mtdjed
What was the problem with the water heater? Was it leaking or just not heating the water? I was told by a reputable plumbing company that I needed a new water heater to replace my gas water heater. My water heater had no leaks, rust or damage. It just did not heat the water. At the advice of a friend with plumbing experience, he suggested replacing the thermocouple. That cost less than $50 and all is well. Tank is 18 years old.
I agree that the older a tank gets, the more likely it is to fail. But a water tank is nothing but a tank to hold water and a means to heat water and valves to safely deliver fuel and water.
When my tank failed to heat water, I could visually see that the pilot light was out. I tried to use the ignitor to restart but the pilot flame would not stay on. I called "reputable" plumber, and two reps came. They told me that ignitor not working and valve any other parts would need to be replaced and cost not worth it on an old water heater. Having used the ignitor before calling, I knew it was a scam. They never even suggested that it most likely would be the thermocouple.
By the way, I got my $100 fee reimbursed when I related my story.
It would be great if someone could find or put together a simple troubleshooting guide to help residents understand options and costs.
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All reputuable companies should recommend replacement on a 10 year old or more water heater no matter what's wrong. At that point you are gambling on when the heater will fail and possibly cause major damage to your home. Some heaters can last for 20 years or more and there's always "that guy" bragging about it. But most fail within a couple years of their warranty date depending on your water. What you don't hear are "those guys" who gambled and came home to a flood where not only did the heater need to be changed but they had the added expense of repairing all the damage to the home. And lets not forget the "guy" who's heater was leaking and they didn't know it only to find out after the fact and had to deal with mold as well. So you have a choice. Replace your heater within a couple years after it's warrenty is up and be able to shop around and get a good contractor and price at your convenience or gamble on when it's going to leak and deal with all the colleratal consequences of the leak and have to rush and install any heater, usually with emergency pricing, to get your hot water back.