Water Heater Repair & Replacement Options
On average, a storage tank water heater should last between 8 and 12 years. However, during that lifespan, it isn’t unusual to need a repair or two. One of the most common parts requiring replacement is an anode rod. In fact, it’s a part explicitly designed to fail. An anode rod’s job is to sacrifice its metal content to prevent the corrosion of your water heater tank. Most anode rods need replacement roughly every three years. Here in the Tampa and Sarasota areas, our notoriously hard water can speed up an anode rod’s deterioration.
Another part of a water heater that can fail prematurely is a thermostat. It’s the component that tracks the temperature of the system’s stored water. When necessary, the thermostat activates the water heater’s heating elements to ensure a ready hot water supply. A malfunctioning thermostat can lead to inconsistent hot water temperatures or a total loss of hot water.
You may even eventually experience a heating element failure in your storage tank water heater. It’s a problem that’s more common in electric water heaters than gas-fired models. Electric heating elements can have more problems due to sediment buildup. Sediment can damage the heating element if your tank is not flushed regularly. But a gas water heater can also develop heating element issues.
Look for the following signs that you need a water heater repair:
- Unusual noises
- Discolored hot water
- Unusual-smelling water
- Low hot water pressure
- Running out of hot water early
If you have a tankless water heater, it can last up to 20 years with maintenance. However, they may develop problems requiring a plumber to repair within their lifetime. A common issue with tankless water heaters is a defective flow sensor. It’s the part that lets your heater know when you’re calling for hot water. If it stops working, your water heater may fail to activate when required. Tankless water heaters can build up sediment and minerals. This can hurt their performance. If your home doesn’t have a water softener, such problems are pretty likely. Our plumbers have the training to repair tankless water heaters of any make or model.
You should know, however, that repair isn’t always an option when a water heater breaks down. For example, if you have a storage tank water heater that develops a leak from something sharp cutting into the tank, it requires replacement. There’s no safe way to reseal a leaking hot water tank. Additionally, it is very important to watch out for corrosion on fittings and brown-colored water coming from the taps. That likely means other components will soon fail if they haven’t already. That would mean a near-endless need for repairs that would quickly eclipse the cost of a replacement.
Tankless water heaters also eventually need replacement. For them, a serious decline in energy efficiency or an increase in demand may prompt that need. That can happen if your home now has more people living in it than it once did. It may also occur if you’ve added new water-dependent appliances you didn’t have before. If your tankless heater is often unreliable and needs many repairs, you might need to replace it. In any case, we can provide you with a quality new water heater that meets your needs and budget.
Our plumbers can also help you convert between water heater types. More homeowners are choosing tankless water heaters. They like them for their efficiency and convenience. Our plumbers can carry out the conversion process for you. We’ll start by figuring out your home’s hot water demand. That informs the capacity of the tankless water heater you’ll need. The installation typically involves modifications to your home’s hot water plumbing. Since tankless water heaters aren’t floor-standing, you will even gain some space in the process.
