"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
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On 11/18/08 11:35 am wrote:

DONT MESS WITH ANODE ON SUCH A OLD TANK, IT CAN CAUSE LEAK

As a first-time homeowner in the USA, I had not realized that water heaters
typically have such a short life. My home in Australia had a 25-yr warranty
unit.

Here we have a Ruud gas water heater which looked new enough when we moved in
5 years ago that I thought no more of it.

Now you have me worried. I looked up this unit and found that it had only a
6-year warranty which expired 6 years ago already. I knew nothing about
checking the anode until reading these messages, so I'll do that ASAP.

And I see that manufacturers state that life is related to water pressure.
What is considered reasonable? The last time I checked ours at an outdoor
spigot it showed 80psi.

I assume that a new one is going to have to be installed by a professional?
Typical cost?

If you can do routine plumbing, doing it yourself is not a big deal.