Hot Water Tank Replacement

[Gr8Stang]

We were told by the home inspector when we purchased our new place in Calgary that the hot water tank should be replaced asap. At the time, it was just under 10 yrs. old. Fast forward to yesterday, and I installed a new Rheem Marathon 50 Gal. electric hot water tank. The outside and inside of the tank is completely plastic. The heating elements are the only metal inside the tank along with the drain valve at the bottom. As a result, Rheem offers a lifetime warranty on the tank. Corrosion/deterioration is no longer an issue like traditional tanks. It was breeze to install.

The old tank, which was 62 Gal., was the typical standard metal tank. It was fun moving that out of the way (not!) once it was drained. Even drained it still weighted a ton and I believe I now know why. I decided to remove the anode rod to see what condition it was in after a little over 10 yrs. use. See the picture below. No doubt the tank was on its last legs if this is any indication of the build up/destruction taking place inside.

My advice: If you have a metal hot water tank, turn it off, drain it and pull the anode rod every 12-18 months and check it out and replace if necessary. Could help lengthen the life of your tank and save you waking up to a leaking/non functioning tank.

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[xeninworx]

Why does it look like a stasis pod? Are you secretly harbouring an alien? And I don’t mean the Mexican kind.

[5.4MarkVIII]

Interesting. Wonder what plastic or wrap they are using to meet the pressure requirements.

[Spock]

most of the time its hard water that causes problems.
Lime that's dissolved in the water solidifies around the heater elements causing them to overheat & burn out
If you have hard water you can listen to the water heater & actually hear the popping noises of lime chunks blowing off the element & building up on the bottom of the tank

[Gr8Stang]

Why does it look like a stasis pod? Are you secretly harbouring an alien? And I don’t mean the Mexican kind.

LOL! Yah, they are definitely different looking.

[Gr8Stang]

Interesting. Wonder what plastic or wrap they are using to meet the pressure requirements.

Good question. They've been around for a number of years. They have a standard pressure relief valve, but also a vacuum relief valve on the cold water inlet. Per the manual "Certain conditions in the field may produce a vacuum or negative pressure condition inside the water heater’s tank. This negative pressure can cause the tank to fail. The vacuum relief valve provides a means to eliminate the negative pressure or vacuum by admitting air into the tank to equalize the pressure."

[Gr8Stang]

most of the time its hard water that causes problems.
Lime that's dissolved in the water solidifies around the heater elements causing them to overheat & burn out
If you have hard water you can listen to the water heater & actually hear the popping noises of lime chunks blowing off the element & building up on the bottom of the tank

Yes, we've heard the municipal water is pretty hard here, and judging by the anode rod condition, they aren't lying. Also noticed lots of people with water softeners when we were looking for a home. I plan to check the heater elements periodically.

[5.4MarkVIII]

Good question. They've been around for a number of years. They have a standard pressure relief valve, but also a vacuum relief valve on the cold water inlet. Per the manual "Certain conditions in the field may produce a vacuum or negative pressure condition inside the water heater’s tank. This negative pressure can cause the tank to fail. The vacuum relief valve provides a means to eliminate the negative pressure or vacuum by admitting air into the tank to equalize the pressure."

that would make me think its some sort of wrap. as that would not protect against collapse from a vacuum issue.

[ChickenLips]

My most recent basement flood was due to a corroded tank. I'm hoping to sell the place in the near future and had been cutting back to all but necessary repairs and spending.

At least the flood was city water, coulda been worse.

[Gr8Stang]

My most recent basement flood was due to a corroded tank. I'm hoping to sell the place in the near future and had been cutting back to all but necessary repairs and spending.

At least the flood was city water, coulda been worse.

I experienced the same when living in Oshawa; woke up one morning to find our rental HWT leaking. Thankfully wasn't a really bad leak and the tank was close to the floor drain. With this new plastic tank, hopefully won't have to ever worry about that again.

[Gr8Stang]

that would make me think its some sort of wrap. as that would not protect against collapse from a vacuum issue.

According to the info., it has a fiberglass-wound outer exterior and a polybutylene interior tank. Quick vid of the metal vs. marathon tank.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMBbSZrUDD0

[ChickenLips]

I experienced the same when living in Oshawa; woke up one morning to find our rental HWT leaking. Thankfully wasn't a really bad leak and the tank was close to the floor drain. With this new plastic tank, hopefully won't have to ever worry about that again.

My basement floor flatness isn't great and the water heater is 25' away from the sump hole. I had significant pooling all over the floor and must've filled my wet vac 40+ times. I'm in my basement multiple times a day and was down there before turning in near midnight. The thing must've popped as soon as I turned my back and it was a corrosion hole at the water line at the top of the center exhaust tube under the vent hat. The result was a jet of water shooting up, soaking a wall and then flooding the basement.

First indicator of trouble was a cold shower, followed by a full day of cleanup. Not my first rodeo so nothing damaged, just a lot of time consumed.

[ChickenLips]

I opted for a rental water heater replacement since I'll be moving and this is a knock down with space for 4 houses.

The water heater guy had a great gig. He has his own corp with all the attendant write offs but sub contracted to Reliance. They did all the dispatch, billing etc. He only dealt with customers happy to see him. He got paid by the tank and could do up to 7 a day. Easily 6 figures annually.

Nice guy too, a recent immigrant with a few things to say about Trudeau (my kind of guy).

I helped him with the install and taught him a few plumbing and venting tips.

I've been trying to convince my younger friends this is a great gig, forget college. Where ever there's people, there's water heaters. Almost as guaranteed as funeral homes and prostitution.

[5.4MarkVIII]

According to the info., it has a fiberglass-wound outer exterior and a polybutylene interior tank. Quick vid of the metal vs. marathon tank.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMBbSZrUDD0

Thanks. Always interesting to see new tech.

[shakin]

Looks like a great tank Scott.
No more anode changes for you... I change my anodes every few years and take note of the condition. If they are wearing really slowly, I may just reinstall the old one and just keep the new one around until it's required. They don't go bad as they are aluminum or aluminum/magnesium usually with a steel rod core. They usually cost between 20-30 dollars. If you can follow instructions and use teflon tape or plumbers dope and a 1 1/16 deep socket. YMMV

[Gr8Stang]

[QUOTE=shakin;414226]Looks like a great tank Scott.
No more anode changes for you... I change my anodes every few years and take note of the condition. If they are wearing really slowly, I may just reinstall the old one and just keep the new one around until it's required. They don't go bad as they are aluminum or aluminum/magnesium usually with a steel rod core. They usually cost between 20-30 dollars. If you can follow instructions and use teflon tape or plumbers dope and a 1 1/16 deep socket. YMMV[/QUOte

Thanks Ian, a little spendy up front, but over the long run, will be worth it, especially with not having to change the anode, which was definitely not touched on the original tank.

I couldn't remove it on the tank I had back in Oshawa, even with a breaker bar and feared snapping it off, so left it in.