Flame looks good. I did forget to mention that it's a natural gas
heater.

I doubt it's ever been flushed/drained.


wrote:
I'm assuming I have a failing hot water heater but thought I'd run it
by others first.

On some days The water is nice and hot and some other days it's much
cooler. No rhyme or reason for the fluctuations.(thermostat settings
the same) Wifey is starting to get annoyed so it's time to address
it.
It's about 8yrs old.

Is my best bet to replace the whole thing? or is there an obvious
fix?
thanks