I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant otherwise.
Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater and shutoff the
water. When I turned things back on recently I notice a small leak on the
bottom of the hot water heater that the plumber said required replacing,
which I did. I also have a water softener which I also shutoff when not
there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed. That
seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water softeners reduce
the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I have never
drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the hot water heater.

Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.

Les wrote:
I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant
otherwise. Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater
and shutoff the water. When I turned things back on recently I
notice a small leak on the bottom of the hot water heater that the
plumber said required replacing, which I did. I also have a water
softener which I also shutoff when not there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed. That
seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water
softeners reduce the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I
have never drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the hot
water heater.
Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't and do agree with your plumber. While I don't agree that water
softeners reduce the life of a water heater (why would you have a hot water
heater to heat water that was hot?), I would tend to think that the water in
areas that you need a softener for are likely to be areas where the water
will also be hard on water heaters.

Ask around among your neighbors and I'll bet they all have short service
life from their water heaters. I suggest that you can drain the new one
regularly and make sure you replace the anode rod like once every year or
two. If you have not drained water and the water heater is more than a
year or two old, it is too late to gain much from it. I would also strongly
suggest that you either get a water heater with a quality drain valve or
replace the one most come with, they don't last.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

"Les" wrote in message
...
I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant otherwise.
Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater and shutoff the
water. When I turned things back on recently I notice a small leak on the
bottom of the hot water heater that the plumber said required replacing,
which I did. I also have a water softener which I also shutoff when not
there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed. That
seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water softeners
reduce the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I have
never drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the hot water
heater.

Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.


One of the preventative measures you need to do is inspect the anode rod
every 2-3 years and replace it if needed. It's there to prevent the rest of
the tank from corroding & leaking. (it gets consumed before the steel tank
does).

buffalobill wrote:
see:
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pag...intenance.html

Les wrote:
I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant otherwise.
Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater and shutoff the
water. When I turned things back on recently I notice a small leak on the
bottom of the hot water heater that the plumber said required replacing,
which I did. I also have a water softener which I also shutoff when not
there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed. That
seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water softeners reduce
the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I have never
drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the hot water heater.

Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.

keeping the temperature set as low as possible also helps a lot.

Mark

Joseph Meehan wrote:
Les wrote:
I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant
otherwise. Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater
and shutoff the water. When I turned things back on recently I
notice a small leak on the bottom of the hot water heater that the
plumber said required replacing, which I did. I also have a water
softener which I also shutoff when not there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed. That
seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water
softeners reduce the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I
have never drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the hot
water heater.
Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't and do agree with your plumber. While I don't agree that water
softeners reduce the life of a water heater (why would you have a hot water
heater to heat water that was hot?), I would tend to think that the water in
areas that you need a softener for are likely to be areas where the water
will also be hard on water heaters.

Ask around among your neighbors and I'll bet they all have short service
life from their water heaters. I suggest that you can drain the new one
regularly and make sure you replace the anode rod like once every year or
two.


I think you mean to check it every year or two. If he replaced it
every year or two, it would get expensive real fast. Also, based on
the rate of deterioration, the inspection interval can be adjusted
accordingly.



If you have not drained water and the water heater is more than a
year or two old, it is too late to gain much from it. I would also strongly
suggest that you either get a water heater with a quality drain valve or
replace the one most come with, they don't last.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

wrote:
Joseph Meehan wrote:
Les wrote:
I live in my condo the 4 summer months a year, and it is vacant
otherwise. Each year, I shut off the breaker to the hot water heater
and shutoff the water. When I turned things back on recently I
notice a small leak on the bottom of the hot water heater that the
plumber said required replacing, which I did. I also have a water
softener which I also shutoff when not there.

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed.
That seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water
softeners reduce the life of a hot water heater.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something else? I
have never drained the waqter from the valve on the bottom of the
hot water heater.
Your comments / suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't and do agree with your plumber. While I don't agree
that water softeners reduce the life of a water heater (why would
you have a hot water heater to heat water that was hot?), I would
tend to think that the water in areas that you need a softener for
are likely to be areas where the water will also be hard on water
heaters.

Ask around among your neighbors and I'll bet they all have short
service life from their water heaters. I suggest that you can drain
the new one regularly and make sure you replace the anode rod like
once every year or two.


I think you mean to check it every year or two. If he replaced it
every year or two, it would get expensive real fast. Also, based on
the rate of deterioration, the inspection interval can be adjusted
accordingly.

Correct, it should be checked every year or two, but considering his
water heaters are only lasting a short time, he may find that he does need
to replace it every couple of years.




If you have not drained water and the water heater is more than a
year or two old, it is too late to gain much from it. I would also
strongly suggest that you either get a water heater with a quality
drain valve or replace the one most come with, they don't last.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

The previous hot water heater was only 8 years old when it failed.
That seems relatively a short time. The plumber said that water
softeners reduce the life of a hot water heater.

In our former neighborhood, all the homes were plumbed with STATE brand W/H.
They were guaranteed for 7 years..All of then died within the first 5
years..what junk. Getting them replaced under warranty was a PITA. The
heater was free but the local plumbing shop charged over $ 300 for labor and
hauling the old carcass away. I dont think the builder even paid $ 300 for
them new !

buy a 12 year warranteed heater if it bugs you.

just divide the heaters cost by number of years in service.

generally you will be under 50 bucks a year, if looked at it this way
its pretty cheap