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On-line advice says residential gas water heaters last about 8 to 12 years. I have lived here for 12 years and my neighbor says my water heater was 5 to 10 years old when I bought the house. So the water heater may be 20 years old. It still works fine but I wonder if I should get it replaced while I have time to find a good plumber rather than waiting for it to fail and have to use the first available plumber? Thanks for any advice, especially from plumbers.

On-line advice says residential gas water heaters last about 8 to 12 years. I have lived here for 12 years and my neighbor says my water heater was 5 to 10 years old when I bought the house. So the water heater may be 20 years old. It still works fine but I wonder if I should get it replaced while I have time to find a good plumber rather than waiting for it to fail and have to use the first available plumber? Thanks for any advice, especially from plumbers.

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[–] • 2 pts (edited )

What most people don't know - the sealed off holes in the top of the water heater have sacrificial anodes attached to them. You can replace them and significantly extend the life of your water heater. It's really easy to do as well.

The way these work; they sacrifice themselves to corrosion instead of the metal parts of the water heater. Over time, the sacrificial anodes dissolve due to corrosion. Eventually, they disappear, and this is when the water heater itself begins to decay. (they should be replaced when they are about 50% consumed).