On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 12:08:53 -0500, "tivo-guy" wrote:

I'm looking for some advice on when to replace a water heater. Obviously
when it ruptures and water goes all over your basement is a good time, but
prior to that, what is a good rule of thumb. The reason I'm asking is that
our local gas company is offering a $200 rebate to customers for their
purchase and installation of a new water heater. Our 50-gal water heater
appears to be functioning just fine but it's 10 years old. From what I can
tell it has a 5 year warranty from Rheem. I'm wondering if it would be wise,
or overly cautious, to replace it at this point. Any advice? Thanks.

Water heaters suffer from only a few problems, only two of which
require replacement. If the water heater leaks in the tank, you
basically need to replace it. And if the water heater is inefficient
enough that a newer heater can recover it's cost in a few years of
energy savings, it's time to replace. With the rebate you might be
able to meet criteria 2, but do the math.

Just about everything else on a water heater can be repaired/replaced
rather inexpensively. That's why the rule of thumb is to replace it
when it leaks, and not before.

Jeff