Additionally, having a licensed plumber perform routine maintenance on your heater is a great way to keep your heater running great while also being able to keep an eye on the health of your heater. Knowing the age will give you an idea of when you need to replace your water heater. Nobody likes taking a cold shower and no one wants to deal with a leaking water heater. Knowing the age of our unit is a great way to be proactive. If your water heater was inspected upon installation, then you can check the inspection date on your water heater to find out when it was actually turned on (look for an inspection tag from your city or state to find that date). With that being said, however, some heaters are made but aren’t installed until one or two years later. You can also see in the example below, it actually has the build date, however, not every sticker has this information. So for this example, the water heater would have been made in February of 2005. Look for the serial number on the manufacturer’s sticker, this will provide a date code like, “1048J004046.” 10 is for the month (October) and the next two digits, 48, will indicate the week that it was made. If you’re not sure the age of your water heater, then there are a few ways that you can figure out how old it is. How to tell the age of your water heater. You’re more likely to experience problems the older your water heater gets. If your water heater is older than 10 years, then it’s good idea to pay attention and start thinking about replacing your water heater, even if you haven’t necessarily begun to experience problems yet. Most manufacturers suggested life expectancy is between 8-12 years and most warranties only cover up to 10 years (for a reason!). It’s crucial to know the age of your water heater this will help give you an idea of when it’s time to replace your heater before it becomes a problem and a potential hazard. So how do you know when it’s time to replace your water heater? 5 Clues That Your Water Heater Needs Replacement 1. Waiting too long can lead to bigger problems like leaks and water damage to your home. Replacing your water heater tank before it’s a problem will help saves you time, money and frustrations. Somewhere in the code specific digits represent the year of manufacture.As a homeowner you know that like any appliance, water heaters break down over time and need to be replaced. In order to find out when your water heater was manufactured look for its serial number. That is why most home inspection professionals determine the manufactured date of the tank as a basis to estimate in-service age, and in turn, its remaining reliable service life. It is safe to say that hot water heaters are installed in short order after their manufactured date. There are few consumer products that a clearly marked with a manufactured date and hot water heaters are one of them. The reliable life expectancy of hot water heaters is usually related to in-service age. If you are buying a home with an older tank, you may have to replace it to satisfy your underwriter. Insurance underwriters tend to categorize aging water heaters differently than newer ones so ultimately it is their opinion that is the one to be recognized. So your tank may appear to be operating just fine and probably is, but your insurance underwriter may require a new tank to reduce risk. Hot water heaters can last decades without a problem, however for insurance purposes, the widely accepted reliable service life of tanked water heaters ranges from 8 to 12 years (or the published warrantied period). How often should you replace hot water heater? Be careful though, there have been rare times when plumbers have gone out to replace a hot water tank and what was discovered was that the leak was unrelated to failure of the tank itself and a routine fix was conducted. When it comes to hot water tank leaks, it’s a safe bet to say that the leak is non-repairable and that the unit will need to be replaced. Of course, the most common indicator that the hot water tank needs to be replaced is that it is leaking. The bottom line is that we should make calculated decisions to replace our deteriorating hot water tanks well before they can cause pressurized water damage to a home. They are actually big questions with many different answers. How is the hot water tank? Does it need replacing? These are some of the hot water tank questions that I am asked daily while conducting a home inspection.
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