Your hot water tank will be replaced. The only question is whether you pick the date or it picks for you.
How long they actually last
A conventional tank water heater lasts roughly 6 to 12 years, with most failing somewhere around year 10 or 11. Tankless units run considerably longer, often 15 to 20 years. Two things shorten that: a household that uses a lot of hot water, and sediment build-up, which insulates the burner or element from the water and makes the tank work harder for the same output.
You can usually find the build date encoded in the serial number on the rating plate. Most manufacturers put the year and week in the first four characters, though the format varies by brand. Send us a photo of the plate and we will read it for you.
The signs it is going
- Rusty or discoloured hot water — the tank lining is failing, and this one is terminal
- Rumbling or popping when it heats — sediment on the bottom, boiling underneath the layer
- Hot water running out sooner than it used to, with no change in household use
- Damp or rust at the base — a slow seep that becomes a fast one
- Water around the drain pan or on the floor — stop reading and call someone
A tank rarely fails gracefully. The usual pattern is a seam letting go, which empties forty to sixty gallons onto the floor in a few minutes.
Why autumn specifically
Tanks fail hardest in winter. Incoming municipal water drops close to single digits, the tank runs longer on every cycle to reach the same setpoint, and a unit that was marginal in August gives up in December. That is also when every plumber in the Lower Mainland is booked out on emergency calls.
Replacing in September or October costs the same in parts and labour. What changes is that you choose the unit and the appointment rather than taking whatever can be fitted the same day.
What it costs you to wait
A planned replacement is a half-day job. A failed tank in a finished basement is a replacement plus flooring, drywall and possibly an insurance claim. Water damage is the leading home insurance claim in Canada, and the average claim is around $23,550 — considerably more than the tank.
If yours is over eight years old, it belongs on this autumn’s list whether or not it is misbehaving yet.
Booking it
We work across Langley, Surrey, Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, the North Shore, the Tri-Cities and the Fraser Valley. Licensed and insured, with a written workmanship warranty set out in our Service Guarantee.
This is one of eight jobs we cover in the autumn plumbing guide for the Lower Mainland.
Related guides
- Sump Pumps in the Lower Mainland: Test It in September, Not November
- Backwater Valves: The One-Way Gate Between the Sewer and Your Basement
- Perimeter Drainage: Why Basements Get Damp in November, Not August
- Outdoor Taps and the Lower Mainland Freeze Nobody Plans For
