What causes a water heater to leak?

A standard water heater will last between eight and twelve years.  Most tanks today are steel lined with glass or porcelain and over time can oxidize and deteriorate.  Most tanks will eventually leak – in some cases it will be a slow leak and in some cases it will be a more dramatic leak.  For this reason it is a good idea to know where your dedicated water shutoff valve is located.

Although it is not common, there are homeowners that will see fifteen and in some cases twenty years of useful life from their water heater.  It is important to keep in mind, that although a water heater may still be working, most water heaters decrease in efficiency over time as sediment builds up inside the tank.  

Tankless water heaters can last two to three times longer than a traditonal tank as long as the home owner cares for the tankless unit properly.

There are a few things that can extend your water heater’s life:

2nd anode rod: Installing a 2nd anode rod will greatly increase the life of your water heater.  The anode rod is a sacrificial rod made of magnesium or aluminum that undergoes galvanic corrosion over time sacrificing itself and thereby preventing corrosion of the tank.

Cleaning or flushing out your tank: For older tanks, flushing the tank out annually can help prevent sediment buildup and maintain higher efficiency of your tank for longer.  Many newer model water heaters are self cleaning.

Installing a Pressure Regulating Valve or PRV: If you have very high water pressure above 80 PSI, your water pressure can damage your appliances and can also cause your water heater to fail prematurely.  By installing a pressure regulating valve, system pressure is reduced; this also reduces wear and tear on all of your appliances.  Keep in mind, if you have a PRV it’s also a good idea to install an expansion tank.

Water softeners:  Some areas of the United States have water with very high mineral content (often referred to as hard water).  Hard water causes scaling which is a precipitation of minerals which deposits onto surfaces of an appliance.  This can drastically reduce the life of a water heater.  In many cases, installing a water softener can help reduce wear and tear on the plumbing system due to hard water.

TANK FLUSHING REASONS

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It is recommended and a good idea to flush a water heater tank yearly. The reasoning behind this is to flush out sediment and rust particles that will naturally settle and accumulate on the bottom of the tank.

Sediment is found within almost all supplies of water more to some degree. Rust comes from the tanks interior, due to normal tank ageing, the piping within your houses own water piping system, those of the main water supply from the streets piping system.

Water heaters that make noises or sounds like they are percolating is caused by excessive sediment deposits on the bottom of the tank.  Which means the heat must transfer through a layer of sediment before it can heat the water, which causes the water to actually boil close to the bottom of the tank, and causes more energy to be used than should be.

Tank flushing usually but not always resolves the problem. Tanks that have not been flushed yearly may have an excessive amount of sediment which has already baked onto the bottom of the tank which can not be removed.

Older tanks also acquire this problem despite frequent flushing and tanks used in high sediment water supplies. If flushing does not resolve the problem, their could be another problem with the water heater’s dip tube.  The dip tube is a plastic tube inside of the water heater on the cold water supply side of the tank. It’s job is to take the cold water that enters the tank to the bottom where the heating source is. These can break down over time, in that case replacing the water heater is the solution.