Should I replace my State Select water tank after 11 years of service?

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trudeo

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I have State Select Water Heater in my finish basement (Model GS650YBRT – Built 03/18/2007). The 50-gallon water heater was installed in 2007 when the house was built. Most of my neighbors on the street have the same water heater in their garage… So, nobody cares if their water tank leak. However, in my case the water heater is in a small utility room (sitting next to the furnace) in a finish basement. The water tank is 11 years old and I have no idea if it will last another 10 years or if it will start leaking soon… I am a little worried that the tank will eventually start leaking and cause a lot of damages.

Is there something that I can look at to determine if my water tank is toward the end of its life? Would an insurance company deny coverage because of a "old" water tank?

I live in Woodinville, WA.
 

Reach4

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Leaks normally start small. I would not replace. I am expecting over 30 years myself. In your case, if you see a neighbor or two get a leak, maybe then replace before yours leaks.

You could get a water alarm to get an earlier warning. http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/ Cheap.

Other will think different.
 

LLigetfa

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I use a water alarm and it twice alerted me of a leak. The first was a State tank that was somewhere around 10 years old, and then 10 years later, it was a GSW. I'm hoping the Rheem I have now lasts longer.

As reach4 said, they normally start off as a slow leak. Also, the pH of your water may be a factor in how long the tank lasts. Some like me are unlucky while others go 30 years.
 

Reach4

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Thank you for the link to the Water Alarm! This is something I should definitely install!

Where would you install the sensors? My water tank is strapped to the wall on a stand. Should I put the sensors on the stand on below?

No pan under the WH? You could get a plastic one, cut places to clear the legs on your stand, and put the sensor in there. Maybe uses some putty or silicone around the cuts. The seal would not have to be perfect. If you do this successfully, maybe post a photo.

No pan? Maybe drop some water down the side of the WH. See where it pools. Put the sensor there. Ideally do it when the humidity is low, so that if toweling up the water after the test misses some, the water will dry.
 

LLigetfa

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As reach4 said, I would pour a little bit of water on the floor to see where it puddles and place the sensor there.
 

Terry

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If you're worried about what it will do, then replacement at 10 years is not a bad idea.
Do you take vacations? Long weekends? The alarm is nice if someone is in the home at the time. In many condos they like to see replacement at ten years to be on the safe side. This way, you pick the timing, not the water heater. It's common for gas water heaters to fail at 15 years. How much of a gambler are you?
The water heater in my Redmond home failed at 15 years. I had a pan for that draining to the crawl space. Otherwise, that would have been a big mess.
The Bothell home water heater was in the garage. I had a very wet floor on that one. On my mothers place in Bellevue, I changed hers out at 18 and I was lucky it lasted that long. I had one of those, My God moments when I realized how old it was. The replacement got a tempering valve.
 

Dj2

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I'd say replace it now, and here's why:
1. The existing WH is 11.
2. It's in a finished basement.
3. Like was said, you may not be around when and if it starts leaking, and your alarm sounds.
4. We also don't have a photo, and don't know the condition of the connectors.
5. Things are always more expensive when it's an emergency.
6. You're playing the odd, that's all.
 

Terry

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Friend told me about a leaking disposer in Bellingham. That was months ago. I told him replace it right away, it's not a hard job. They do go bad.
I hear from him yesterday. The condo association wants the owner to remove the kitchen island with the sink, and retile the kitchen floor. And replace the disposer. And repair the unit below that got water damaged. It was going to be just a simple little disposer replacement a few months ago.
Just the tile for the floor is going to be $4,000.00
 
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Master Plumber Mark

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Friend told me about a leaking disposer in Bellingham. That was months ago. I told him replace it now, it's not a hard job. They do go bad.
I hear from him yesterday. The condo association wants the owner to remove the kitchen island with the sink, and retile the kitchen floor. And replace the disposer. And repair the unit below that got water damaged. It was going to be just a simple little disposer replacement a few months ago.
Just the tile for the floor is going to be $4,000.00








I hear this all the time Terry.... especially with leaking heaters that dont appear to be leaking at all ...

A 'stealth" leak can do untold amounts of damage .... We had a 30 gallon electric heater imbedded under a kitchen
sink that fed the whole third floor condo.... It finally went bad and we found when we took it out that it had been leaking down through all three floors of this condo for years....... it totally saturated a whole lot of support beams throughout the place... It took the insurance company probably 4 months to get the place totally dried out..... and I have no idea what the final cost was......
 
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