Opinion on old Bradford White, fix or replace?

[JoshRountree]

Looking for opinions before I decide what to do. I've got an old Bradford White that's worked awesome forever, but I think the thermostat is either going out, or has minerals on it. If no hot water has been called for in a long time the water is lukewarm, but after the thermostat kicks on the temperature is what it should be. It's like the water has to get really cold before the thermostat will kick on the gas. Here's a picture of the model/serial. It was here when we bought the house in 2017, but it looks to be from around 1998.

I'm a homeowner and feel comfortable with supply pipes and replacing DWV already in place, but propane/gas is where I call in the PROs.

What would you do, replace the thermostat, or put in a tankless (wife wants the tankless, so I guess I've already made the decision, lol)

Thermostat is around $114

 

[Terry]

The Bradford White site has a chart to determine age of their water heaters. Which will last between 7 and 15 years typically. Sometimes 20, but something that you can expect.
It might be a good time to plan on replacing it. Tankless does give you constant hot water. The venting will not be the same as for a tank water heater, so changes will happen there.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JoshRountree]

The Bradford White site has a chart to determine age of their water heaters. Which will last between 7 and 15 years typically. Sometimes 20, but something that you can expect.
It might be a good time to plan on replacing it. Tankless does give you constant hot water. The venting will not be the same as for a tank water heater, so changes will happen there.

Thanks Terry! I just looked it up, 1998 - they sure don't make them like they used to. Time to replace.