Should I replace my water heater

[Rmk9785e]

The 40 gallon natural gas water heater is my 2 story rental home in Charlotte, NC is about 15 years old. Most of the tubing is pex except for a portion on both sides of the water heater. It is installed in the attic at the third level. I am thinking of preemptively replacing it because of concern that it may leak and cause damage to the house. There is drain pan below the water heater that can probably handle small leaks but I don't know how badly water heaters go when they get old. At the same time I read Rheem water heater reviews and some of them say their new water heater was defective or broke within a few years.
Two questions:
1- Should I take my chances and let the old one run until it leaks or should I go ahead and replace it to stop worrying about potential damage.
2- Is it even possible to install the new water heater in the crawl space and short circuit the plumbing?
Thank you.

 

[Terry]

The Rheem heaters I pick up look to fitting out a bit different than the ones I see at Home Depot.
We haven't had any issues with ours.

Fifteen years is a long time for a gas water heater. You may want to change it out on your schedule, and not the heaters.
If it's leaking in the attic, how long before you even notice with the pan? It could be a slow leak for a while, and then a gusher.
Plus, these things start to fill up with lime deposits, so it's not really a 40 gallon after a while.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WJcandee]

I think you are making a wise move. Rheem is considered to be a good brand. How long one lasts really depends upon a lot of factors that would be hard for you to quantify, even with two identical units.

We had a ten-plus-year-old 28-gallon electirc water heater in the garage apartment burst on us about 7 years ago. It happened after I realized that it was up there running away even though the apartment was unoccupied, and decided like an idiot to turn it off. When I returned from dinner a few hours later and pulled into the driveway, I focused on what appeared in the dark to be some kind of substance running out onto the driveway from underneath the garage doors. It took me a good 30 seconds of looking at it as I pulled in and parked before I uttered the first expletive. Realizing what must have happened, I ran and opened the garage door, to see a waterfall pouring through the garage ceiling. Knowing that water and electricity don't mix, even though the thing was turned off at the breaker, I called the 24-hour plumber (on a weekend night) and two guys were there in about 30 additional minutes of waterfall to get everything shut off. I had Sears come out two days later to put in a new one, although there was no rush. The Sears-contracted plumbers, who were excellent by the way (and whose company we later used for a couple of things because they were real licensed pros and not hacks) put in a drain pan with a drain pipe through the stucco wall, but the dimension of the outflow pipe is such that it wouldn't accomodate a real gusher. The work they did to install that drain pan was a real work of art, and they didn't damage the stucco while penetrating it.

When these things go, one way they go is to split the vessel inside, and then you get water pouring out at whatever flow rate the pipe to the heater can muster.

Of course, what happened is that when I turned it off, and it cooled, the material inside contracted and, being old, gave way. If I hadn't turned it off, it might have lasted a while longer (but maybe not much longer).

 

[Reach4]

When you install a water heater above the bottom story being serviced, you should put in a vacuum breaker.

I would put an alarm for the water heater pan so that it sounds off if water goes there. I would make sure the tenants know how to shut off the water to the water heater and then turn off the water heater. Then call you.

"The Watchdog" water alarm http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/ is cheap, and the sensor can be remoted if you can splice the wires on this low power device. Replace the 9 volt battery maybe once per year as prevention.

 

[Jadnashua]

I like the concept of the Taco WAGS valve.
http://www.taco-hvac.com/products/hydronic_accessories/wags_valve/index.html

It does two things if your WH leaks...shuts down the burner and shuts off the water. No power required. It will become very obvious if the WH leaks...absolutely no hot water at all, so no alarm required. It uses a one-time disk that dissolves when wet to release a piston that shuts water off and flips a switch that deactivates the gas valve. Same trigger used on airplane life vests to inflate them when they hit the water...store for ages with no problems or battery issues.

Some condominium associations require their owners to replace their WH at 7-year intervals to help preclude damage to common areas. They can last anywhere from hours to decades, but 15-years is much longer than the average.

 

[hj]

Do you have the necessary height to install a gas water heater in a crawl space, and can you run the flue up through the roof? The gas line would be a factor also.

 

[Rmk9785e]

Thank you all for your words of advice. I concur that it would be better to change it 'on my schedule, and not the heaters'.

Any thoughts on the second part of my question? (Is it even possible to install the new water heater in the crawl space and short circuit the plumbing?) I'm thinking risk of damage to the building would be reduced if the WH is not in the attic.

 

[Reach4]

It uses a one-time disk that dissolves when wet to release a piston that shuts water off and flips a switch that deactivates the gas valve.

That would be nice. Do you know of such a unit with a replaceable disk?

 

[Jadnashua]

That would be nice. Do you know of such a unit with a replaceable disk?

As far as I know, that device is a one-shot deal, not field repairable. If the water level in the pan gets high enough, it triggers, you fix (probably replace) the WH, and install a new one. Now, could you replace that part and reset the spring? Maybe, but since it's not designed to get wet except in a failure, it may not like the fact it got wet, and may not be repairable. I've not tried to take one apart or searched for parts. To get the warranty, it must be installed by a trained installer and then registered.

 

[Reach4]

As far as I know, that device is a one-shot deal, not field repairable.

http://www.watts.com/floodsafe Watts Floodsafe would be an alternative that is resetable.

 

[Smooky]

CAUTION: Do not activate the WAGS valve to test its function. It is a one time use device.

http://s3.supplyhouse.com/product_files/Taco-WAGS7200-4-Install-Instructions.pdf

 

[Smooky]

Hot Water Leak Stop System:
http://www.rewci.com/flstwaheaush.html
More flood stop systems:
http://www.rewci.com/floodstopsystems.html
https://www.plumbingsupply.com/floodstopsystems.html
https://www.plumbingsupply.com/choosing-a-flood-prevention-system.html

 

[Jadnashua]

The hassle with any powered device is just that...power. Many (most?) gas-fired WH will work through a power outage. Those may be infrequent, but just your luck, the tank fails during that event and no warning at all. At least with the WAGS valve, it works with no power required. People don't trigger their airbags in the car to make sure they work, I'm not sure why you'd need to check the safety device. If it did fail, the included insurance policy should at least help cover some (hopefully all) repair costs from the failure. The thing is very simple, and sometimes, those are the best - little to fail.

 

[Rmk9785e]

Well, time has passed and the water heater kept on working. The renter preferred to avoid any interruption so we let it slide. Now the renter is moving on and we have the opportunity to replace the aging water heater.
I'm requesting recommendations for brand and model of gas water heater that can last 10+ years like this one.

 

[Rmk9785e]

Do you have the necessary height to install a gas water heater in a crawl space, and can you run the flue up through the roof? The gas line would be a factor also.

My apologies for a very late response. Didn't mean to ignore the question, just can't stay on top of things.
The crawl apace is about 5 ft at its deepest end and would have to vent through a wall. Gas line is very close. Alternatively I could put it in a corner of the garage on a pedestal and will need to bring gas and water connections through the crawl space to that location. My motivation to possibly relocate is to avoid any future damage from its being in the attic.
Would either of these be possible?

 

[hj]

In the garage, it would only have to be on a pedestal if there were no "bolsters" in front of it, or other ways to prevent damage from a vehicle.