Hi Karl,
More important than the price or the warranty on the heater is that
you need to change out the sacrificial anode rod every five years if you do
not soften your water, and every three years if you have a water softener.
The anode rod will be fully consumed after about five years depending upon
your water and your usage, and then at that point, the liner of the tank
begins to "sacrifice itself."
I think you can keep a water heater almost
indefinitely if you routinely change out the sacrificial anode every
three-five years, depending on your water.
Most of them screw in from the top
next to the water inlet pipe. Some are actually inserted through the water
inlet pipe.
The cost is between $20-$75 depending upon the size of the tank
and whether you want to aluminium, zinc, or composites. You can order them
off the web if you local plumbing supply store does not stock them (many do
not).
Aluminum works great but potentially can add aluminum to your water.
Not a problem unless you are drinking large amounts of hot water.
I have
been changing them out for years and have yet needed to replace a water
heater. I currently have a 75 gallon water heater that is 15 years old and
am just ready to replace the rod again. It has limited clearance above the
tank so I need to use flexible anode rods so that I can feed them through (the
rods are about the height of the tank and the space above the tank is less
than the height of the tank).
best,
doug
________________
'72 BSA B50SS
'74 Moto Guzzi 850T
'01 HD XHL 883
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'07 Aprilia SXV 550
'13
Aprilia Tuono V4R
________________________________
From: Karl Vacek
<KVacek@Ameritech.net>
To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Sent: Tuesday, December
10, 2013 2:25 PM
Subject: [Shop-talk] Water heater quality
Are there any
truly good, durable, natural-gas-fired conventional water
heaters made
nowadays? It appears that most of the major brands come from
two main
conglomerates: Rheem/Ruud/Richmond/etc. and
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