Water heater rusted due to roof leak. Slab is sorta wet. fubar'd?

50 gallon rheem wh. Replace soon?

utility room roof leaked for years, leaving the slab wet, with the w.h sitting directly on the slab.

roof is fixed, but slab still has a damp spot next to the back of the w.h.
see picture.
upper right of photo is dry slab.

looking at the rust , do you think it rusted into the reservoir?


I'm regretting that the installers put this wh directly on the ground like this.

do modern water heaters have built-in legs?

and if not, can the wh jacket bear the load sitting on bricks spaced around the bottom?

 

A water heater is a sealed tank, insulation and wrapped in metal skin (shell). Some areas code has changed where a WH must be installed in a drip pan made of plastic or aluminum. You can use bricks and spread the load across the bottom but CA has strict seismic bracing that may not allow it. Water heater stands can be bought for garage installations for gas water heaters. Gasoline fumes hug the ground that can be ignited by the burner.

 

Rust on the bottom of that WH is likely just cosmetic. But, it's constantly wet, you likely have a leak and that's not.

MOdern new WH are built to prevent explosions caused by vapors, so generally, can sit on the ground. Depends on your local code and what rev they're using. Some have not adopted new code for many years.

 

you're right.

it was cosmetic, and the leak was coming from above at the cold water intake pipe valve, and dripping onto the ground.

today I removed the foam jacket around the supply line and finally saw the leak.

whew, $700 saved.