[jrref]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

Whichever brand or model of water heater you choose, add a Watts pump that recirculates the hot water throughout your house. You will then have hot water at each tap within seconds. You'll save a few dollars on your monthly water bill by not wasting water while waiting for hot water to reach the taps. More important is the pleasure you'll receive by not standing naked and out of the way of the stream of water in your shower, waiting for the hot water.

Drain and flush the tank of the new water heater every year. This removes sediment from settling in the bottom of the tank. This is particularly important with gas water heaters as the sediment can grow to inches thick at the bottom of the tank requiring that it be heated before the water is heated.

Finally, replace the anode rod every 5 years. This rod will be aluminum or magnesium and is "sacrificial" which means that it will corrode instead of the iron tank. After the first replacement, you can adjust the number of years before making future replacements of the anode. If at the first replacement at 5 years, the aluminum or magnesium is completely gone, make the next replacement at 4 years. If the anode still has a fair amount of aluminum or magnesium at 5 years, you can extend the time for the next replacement to 6 years.

It is corrosion in the iron tank that, ultimately, creates a hole in the tank that requires its replacement. With regular draining of the tank and replacement of the sacrificial anode, a water heater can last for many years. Ours is now on its 22nd year. If the tank is not rusting the only parts that can fail are the heating rods in an electric heater, or the burner or the thermocouple in a gas heater.

With the heater's tank protected by a functioning sacrificial anode, the item in the system that is most likely to fail is the expansion tank. The metal wall of the expansion tank is relatively thin, will rust and, eventually, develop a leak.

I know to expect a response to this post by a good ole boy who will say that he's NEVER replaced the sacrificial anode and that doing so is a waste of money. Should you read that, remember that there are people who never change the oil in their cars.

You are doing the right thing. The problem is if you can do it yourself great but if you can't I believe a plumber will chage $200-$300 to drain and replace the rod so most don't do it.