TURTLE wrote:
"Paul" wrote in message
...

Electric water heater is an A.O. Smith 40 gallon "low-boy"
(short and fat) about 10 years old.
from what I see, no dielectric unions
I see a moderate amount of corrosion where the copper
fittings connect to the heater. No leaks.

Now I will say this. the tank you have now [ 10 years old ]
is probley in better condition than any new one you would
buy today. Why trade off a good piece of equipment to
install the newer piece of trash they have today.

What have they done to the newer heaters to make them worse? I just
replaced a leaky Rheem from the early 1990s with a State.