My 10 year old electric water heater has some visible rust on the bottom, pic-related. I still get plenty of hot water though. Is a sudden rupture with 50 gallons of water on the floor a very real possibility? Should I get it replaced ASAP?
>>2969084That is not the tank.The real tank is inside and lined with cobalt glass most likely. As long as there is nocracks in the glass lining and there is no build-up of sediment you should be fine.Tips:Get it off the floor.Put an aluminum pan under it that drains into the floor drain.Clean/Flush out the sediment.Replace the anode rod, when you do, use a magnesium anode rod instead of the aluminum one.Do not drink hot water from your tank.
>>2969088I'm not sure what you mean by "that's not the tank". I sent the pic to chatgpt and it's saying I should replace it ASAP. Here's another pic of the rust. Is a rupture possible or likely?
>>2969115You’re taking pictures of the thin outside sheet metal shell. Behind that is a few inches of polyurethane insulating foam. And behind that is the actual tank that holds the water.The rust just looks like surface rust on the shellIt’s impossible to determine if there is a rupture.I’ve seen two tanks get holes after more than a decade and there was water on the floor.Two more tips:keep the water temp as low as you can.ai isn’t real.
>>2969115Between the user and the AI at least one shouldn't be retarded, so next time maybe use Grok. This second picture looks worse than the first, but you have to know if there was any past leak on the couplings, because a leak could've caused the same external rusting. Clearly there's no leak now, since there's no water on the floor. But it's old, even if it isn't dying now, it probably would die within a few more years, you don't have a drain pan and you don't want to be flooded, water heaters are cheap and you can replace it /diy/, so just go ahead and replace it.
>>2969115>I sent the pic to chatgptIf you don't trust it, you shouldn't have asked it anything. If you do trust it, you have your answer.
>>2969115>I sent the pic to chatgptoh my sweet summer child. chatgpt is retarded.why the fuck would you trust a chat bot when a human (who actually works on water heaters) says that is not the tank.fucking morons so quick to believe computers.that is surface rust on the out side of the covering of the heater. the tank is inside, and separated from the covering by insulation.also >>2969088a pan is only needed when a water heater is on a second floor or above a basement. yeah it's nice to have but it needs to drain somewhere.>>2969139>next time maybe use Grokwrong do not use AI.
>>2969084It nevered drained fully even when ruptured+valve openedt. Ruptured
>>2969168>a pan is only needed when a water heater is on a second floor or above a basement.So my house, a single story with a perimeter and pier foundation and entirely wood joists/subfloor, doesn't need one?
>>2969115It looks like it's leaking from the bottom heating element.
>>2969171Yes and no. A pan and drain pipe is required if the water heater is installed above living space. Like on a 2nd floor, or in a 1st floor above a basement. It's not required if it's installed on the 1st floor over a pier or crawlspace foundation. However I would still recommend it, as it can take the water away to someplace harmless should it start leaking.
>>2969115>I sent the pic to chatgptAnd you got a reddit answer.As the anon said it's not the tank. Also, replace it when you see water on the floor. It won't explode.
>>2969115What the fuck makes you think chatgpt would know? Most plumbing is experience based, either learned by doing or in person apprenticeship. It cant even have enough training data to have a coherent answer.
>>2969115>I'm not sure what you mean by "that's not the tank"That's just the outside shell, the part that actually holds the water is inside and there's a layer of insulation between the inside tank and the outside shell.
>>2969115If you had a leak, anon, it would be pushing out at house pressure, usually 45-50 psi. It would quickly soak the insulation and pool at the bottom. The rust would be around the seam. As another anon said, looks more like you have a leaking bottom element.
