Plumbers?

[Delphinus]

How old is the tank?

[Seriak]

11 years

[Delphinus]

Seems to me they're supposed to last longer than that, but IME anything after 10 years is "anything goes". I don't know anything about dip tubes, interesting, will have to read up on that. I just kinda thought that the tanks just got less and less capacity as they got older and then poof one day they start leaking and then you go get a new heater.

I kind of like the idea of an on-demand/inline heater instead of a tank ... when the time comes to replace my tank I was thinking I'd look into that.

Good luck!

[The Codfather]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Seems to me they're supposed to last longer than that, but IME anything after 10 years is "anything goes". I don't know anything about dip tubes, interesting, will have to read up on that. I just kinda thought that the tanks just got less and less capacity as they got older and then poof one day they start leaking and then you go get a new heater.

I kind of like the idea of an on-demand/inline heater instead of a tank ... when the time comes to replace my tank I was thinking I'd look into that.

Good luck!

Make sure you do your homework on that Tony, not as good as one would think......lots of problems with a lot of units.
Some are not that bad though.
You're lucky if you get 5 years out of the new tanks with out any service, but it does truly depend on the water conditions. I hooked a water softener up to my system, this is probably the best thing you can do in a household system.

[Seriak]

I was reading up on tankless heaters and I will not go that route. My parents have had one for years, but you have to turn on the water then brush your teeth , vacuum your house, take out the trash, goto work for a few hours then the hot water is finally ready. And if it wasn't quite the temperature you wanted you make an adjustment and wait for it to take affect again. Also can have issues running multiple showers / appliances at the same time without booster pumps, etc. Not for me. At least not yet.

[The Codfather]

Originally Posted by Seriak

I was reading up on tankless heaters and I will not go that route. My parents have had one for years, but you have to turn on the water then brush your teeth , vacuum your house, take out the trash, goto work for a few hours then the hot water is finally ready. And if it wasn't quite the temperature you wanted you make an adjustment and wait for it to take affect again. Also can have issues running multiple showers / appliances at the same time without booster pumps, etc. Not for me. At least not yet.

As long as they are properly sized for the family, and have an adequate gpm, the newer units actually work fine. The largest problem is maintenance, which is never done by average home owner.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by The Codfather

As long as they are properly sized for the family, and have an adequate gpm, the newer units actually work fine. The largest problem is maintenance, which is never done by average home owner.

that and putting in older homes with 1/2" lines. the lines need to be upgraded also.

Steve

[The Codfather]

Its more than likely the dip-tube. Just remember that if you changed the setting on the tank to anything higher than normal, return it to normal after replacing the tube, or you're back to square one pretty quick.
I redid the dip-tube in my tank 5 years ago, it is still the original tank, something that will have to be done periodically. The tubes used to be made of copper, not crappy plastic......