"Roger Shoaf" wrote:

If you factor in the time value of the money, getting 2 to 3 times the life
out of a water heater buys a new TV set and a good one at that.

I think the problem is that if you consider the money value of time, you can
spend a couple of hours replacing a tank and know that you've reset the clock
for another 10-15 years, or you could spend a saturday pulling the tank, looking
at the anode and dip tube, replacing one or both, replacing the tank and not
knowing if you'll be revisiting the another problem 6 months down the road.

Not saying you can't do it - just that for some people spending the maintenance
time may not be worth it.