I got a new Maytag 40 gallon water heater (HRN4940TN) about 2.5 years
ago. At about the two year mark it started making loud metallic
clanking sounds when heating. Called maytag and played the noises
over the phone and they had no idea. Went to store where I bought it
and they suggested that I had sediment and needed to flush it (which I
did but with no results). Called a plumber who charged me to tell me
that it didn't have sediment and that there was nothing he could do,
claiming that there was a metal rod that ran the length of the heater
that was making the noise. He also said that it wasn't going bad and
that the noise could be ignored. Easy for him to say since he doesn't
listen to it every day. Any ideas? Did I just get a turkey? It
doesn't strike me as a very long lifespan.