Good day gents, need some opinions. I'm about to finish my basement but have a electric water heater that is 14 years old but hasn't given us any issues. I have American Home Shied as my home warranty but they won't help cover this since there aren't any problems with it. I'm thinking I just bite the bullet and pay the 2k-3k i'm thinking it will cost for the unit and labor down here in Delaware. If not I run the risk of the water heater leaking messing up the newly installed flooring/sheet rock???????
OT: Water Heater
- Thread starter miket007
- Start date
You sort of answered your own question. And if you have any thoughts of selling in the next few years it would probably pay for itself in the sales price.
Grok says:
At 14 years, your heater is well into (or past) its expected service life. Many units fail between 10–15 years due to internal corrosion, even if they still produce hot water today.
The big risk at this age isn't gradual decline—it's a catastrophic tank leak that can dump 40–80 gallons of water with little warning. Repairs on a 14-year-old unit are rarely worth it long-term, as other components (elements, thermostat, valves) are also aging.Is It Wise to Replace Now?Yes, in these common scenarios:
At 14 years, your heater is well into (or past) its expected service life. Many units fail between 10–15 years due to internal corrosion, even if they still produce hot water today.
The big risk at this age isn't gradual decline—it's a catastrophic tank leak that can dump 40–80 gallons of water with little warning. Repairs on a 14-year-old unit are rarely worth it long-term, as other components (elements, thermostat, valves) are also aging.Is It Wise to Replace Now?Yes, in these common scenarios:
- The unit is hard to access or a leak would cause expensive damage.
- You have hard water or haven't flushed it regularly (sediment buildup accelerates failure).
- You're planning a home renovation, sale, or want peace of mind.
Do it. I put off doing a pre-emptive replacement and it failed. It sucked. Mine was 19 years old, put in the day before Rutgers beat Pitt in 2007 to clinch a bowl berth that year.
Hate to break the news to you, but the one you put in in 2007 is now 19 years old
Yes. And as I said, it failed, it sucked and I wish I had replaced it sooner. That's why I advised the OP to go ahead and do it now. Did I miss something or did you?Hate to break the news to you, but the one you put in in 2007 is now 19 years old
Not sure what your experience with the home warranty company is, but my experience with them was they do everything they can to not replace things. And when they do, it’s with bottom of the barrel options. I’ve only had them as part of a home purchase/sale so maybe they weren’t great, but I’d suggest just replacing it.
Alternatively, there are various inexpensive leak detectors to let you know when the leak has started. Leaks usually start slow and grow, and don't just burst the tank.
Having looked into these, we concluded the same. Usually the options for repair were less attractive then setting the whole house on fire (sarcasm).
This past summer, my 10 yr warranty gas heater (which was on year 14 of use!!), opened the floodgates into my finished basement. I was lucky to catch it fairly quick but still had to pull up some floating floor, replace partial sheetrock on 6 panels, and cut a small amount of carpet to pull and dry on another part of the basement. Big pain in the ***, especially as we were doing major renovations upstairs and plenty of stuff was being stored downstairs. My buddy who came over to install the new one repeatedly said "replace it before or as the warranty expires". Even if your heater has a 10 yr warranty, you are 4 years past. Time for a new one. Avoid the potential headaches.
I did, sorry. I thought the situation you were describing was an incident in 2007 on a 19 year old water heater (i.e. installed in 1988). I now understand what you meant.
Don't minimize the possibility that your existing HWH could go when you are not home for several days/weeks. Would be an absolute disaster.
We were in a similar boat as you are currently and we bit the bullet and changed it preemptively.
We were in a similar boat as you are currently and we bit the bullet and changed it preemptively.
No problem! Since the OP is renovating his basement, it's totally a no-brainer to replace it now. It could last a few more years or a few more minutes. Not worth a bunch of water and potential mold damage to a newly renovated space.
I thought the same thing as you when I first read the post. Therefore it's RuPete's fault!
Kidding!!!!It's funny, but it shows how people can interpret the same line or written expression in very different ways. I may need to run my posts through a clarity checker from now on.I thought the same thing as you when I first read the post. Therefore it's RuPete's fault!
Was just having this discussion with a work colleague. You read e-mails from certain people, and it seems in most e-mails they are yelling at you. You meet those people in person, and they are one of the nicest people you ever met. We see this type of thing on social media a lot too. You were very kind in your questioning, whereas I could see some totally ripping into the person who asked an innocent question.It's funny, but it shows how people can interpret the same line or written expression in very different ways. I may need to run my posts through a clarity checker from now on.
Yes, agreed. The world needs more rational people like @Knight Shift @RUPete90 and @ClassOf02v.2 (yeah, throwing myself in there) to work through misunderstandings in online communication.
It's funny, but it shows how people can interpret the same line or written expression in very different ways. I may need to run my posts through a clarity checker from now on.
In this case, I think it was reading too fast. I did the same and had to read it over again to make sure I understood, but the wording said what you meant and wasn't ambiguous ...Just easy to misinterpret with a quick read.
Can't say the same for all posts!
As to OP ..floods suck, change that water heater while you're working and have peace of mind into next decade.
Thanks for the reminder! We need to replace our 2009 gas water heater (direct vent). Gotta call Gold Medal.