On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:32:59 -0800 (PST), N8N wrote:

by "bottom" if you mean "bottom of tank" then yes, it needs to be
replaced.

I read in Consumer Reports that sometimes the pressure-relief valve leaks
but that is on top and it's dry as a bone. The water is pooling in a slow
drip (I'd guess an ounce an hour or so) somewhere in the back of the bottom
of the unit. There is nothing dripping out the top where the two curly
pipes for the water seem to come in and out.

Depends on your exact situation. There's resources online to help you
select the proper sized water heater. Do you have any issues with
your old one?

The current model "40HMEV" ho****er heater was fine at 40 gallons, FHR of
65, 34,000 BTUs. I can't read the Energy Efficiency (EF) rating because
it's behind the earthquake straps.

Tankless WH's have a much higher BTU/hr rating than tank
tyle and therefore use gas at a much higher rate. You have to both
feed and exhaust it properly (kind of like hot-rodding a car.)

I think that's too complicated for me so I'm giving up quickly on the
tankless. I'll try to find a good price for a good tank installed today. I
see Home Depot is deprecated so I might have to go to Sears. I hope they do
same-day install.

Can I just throw the old one in the trash or does it have recycling toxics?