In this article, we are going to see some lessons we can learn after cutting up four different Water Heater Tanks and taking a closer look at them.

Tank A

●     2000 model

●     Electric Water Heater

●     Loads of scale at the bottom of the tank

●     Anode rods totally covered in scale

●     It is not going to harm our health after drinking water from it

●     Terribly inefficient - used twice as much electricity as when a brand new or clean one would have used.

●     Steel tank on the inside and outside both and has a spray foam insulation in between

●     Rusty color at the bottom

●     Bare wire showing of the anode rod

●     Never flushed

●     Never maintained

●     Lasted 17 years by overcoming typical lifespan of Water Heaters of 15 years

●     If we had used a softened water system or flushed it regularly, we could have maybe gotten more life out of it and would’ve worked way more efficiently.

Tank B

●     2016 model

●     Gas Water Heater

●     Inside metal is in a fantastic condition

●     Baked-on finish on top which prevented rust

●     Very little scale at the bottom

●     The anode rod at the top where it connects is about to fall off

●     Anode rod in a Water Heater Tank needs to be replaced every 5 to 7 years

●     A problem with replacing anode rods is that we have to screw them at the top by pulling them all the way out. This will need us to have a good head height on top of the heater which is sometimes not possible to get especially when it is in a closet.

●     We can use segmented flexible anode rods, so that we can drop those in segments inside the tank

●     Segmented anode rods are expensive but they last longer and also do a better job.

●     The wall thickness is one and a quarter inches which is lesser than Tank A

●     .56 EF rating (efficiency)

●     According to the energy guide scale which is from the least to most energy used, the tank falls in the upper half which is a combination of insulation and burner efficiency.

Tank C

●     2000 model

●     Natural Gas Water Heater

●     Two and a half inch wall thickness which is double of Tank B

●     .65 EF rating (efficiency)

●     10% more efficient than Tank B

●     According to the energy guide scale, its arrow falls in the first third of using the least energy.

●     Important to buy a Water Heater whose efficiency is in the first third of the scale so you get a thicker wall

●     Scale present on the walls and the flue

●     Anode rod in good condition but pretty corroded

●     Replace the anode rod every 5 to 7 years and flush the tank once a year for descaling to get more life than the 15 year standard

Tank D

●     2005 model

●     Electric Water Heater

●     Thickness of the insulation is one and a three-quarter inches

●     Burner elements in good shape

●     Just a little bit scale at the bottom

●     No rust in the tank

●     Anode rod is degraded

●     Need to replace the anode rod every 5 to 7 years to get as much as 30 years from this tank

Lessons for having a long lasting Water Heater

1.    Maintain your Water Heater regularly

2.    Replace the anode rod every 5 to 7 years

3.    Flush the tank once a year

4.    Select the Water Heater that has a higher EF rating (closer to 0.7)