Thanks for the tip. Two years ago I replaced my water heater with a hybrid water heater— the idea being more on saving in monthly energy costs, which it’s really good at. But your approach might be better in the long run saving on maintenance.
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Buy a new water heater and save it for when your existing one dies.
Have you ever tried to remove the existing anode? Requires you to chain your pickup to a come along.
I’ve been using a Rheem-Ruud Point-of-Use Water Heater, gas fired, for the past 16 years, and it’s doing just fine. Set-up costs were high back then, for gas/electric/water line routing, but payback is amazing in electric over those years.
I had a very early model — seen on “This Old House” in 1989 — in my 20ac Nursery.Garden Center Complex back in 1990 — and it was still working fine when I retired and closed the business in 2012.
Find an old Ruud water heater made in the 1950s that has a monel tank. Pass it on to your grand kids.
High water pressure wears out all the plumbing fixtures in your house, the ballcocks in the toilets, the valve in the dishwasher, faucets, the shower valves, the washing machine, and the hoses on the washing machine are more likely to burst, high water pressure is bad, bad, bad.
The best answer is a conventional GAS water heater (burner under the metal tank).
Don’t pay “extra” for a longer warranty, its just insurance, the water heater is no different.
When it craps out, buy a new one.
No draining/flushing or suffering with low water pressure.
Also “brand” (in conventional water heaters) is meaningless! Get the best deal you can. “What’s on SALE?” buy it!
Having personally sold/replaced/installed HUNDREDS of water heaters, I know what I am talking about.
I have replaced many Monel tanks in my day. They didn’t last forever, but I would tell my customers who asked about replacing their very old looking Ruud Monel tanks to wait until it leaked because it was the best water heater ever made. No telling just how long it might last.
140 degrees ONLY! Any lower grows bacteria.
On demand water heaters SUCK!
Indirect fired water heaters (a separate water tank heated by your boiler by a coil) are great. Especially when coupled with a high efficiency “gas” boiler.
NOT a coil IN THE BOILER ITSELF! (VERY BAD IDEA)
Be aware, when you replace the ANODE, you probably want to look into replacing your pressure relief valve as well.
While you can indeed extend the life of the anode, there is a reason tanks are designed to fail... because eventually that pressure relief valve will stop working.
If it stops working that means you can wind up with a bomb. So, yes you can replace your anode every so many years and keep your tank from rusting, but over time the pressure relief valve will eventually freeze shut. If this happens, and should your tank have some other malfunction that can build up pressure... well, this is the potential result.