Life span of gas water heater?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

About ten years ago when we had to put in a new gas water heater, I heard that the life span of a water heater was only about five years. That sounded quite wrong to me, and certainly our heater has lasted longer! We're a household of four and wash probably 80% in coldwater.

Anyone have a more realistic estimate for this? What can I do to extend it's lifespan? We do not have very hard water, and as I said, it burns gas.

Do the things done to save on energy used to heat water have any effect (positive or negative) on the life of the water heater?

[markio26]

ours usually lasts 12 yrs.. we have an 82 gallon tank... i don't know what to do to extend the lifespan.. we drain ours once a year.. we check the heating elements... the gas line, etc. gas hot water heaters deliver 5 times the hot water quicker than electric at half the cost. i will purchase a tankless hot water heater when this one dies.

[tgavin71]

When we moved into our house in 2001 there was an tankless gas water heater. Installed during renovations in the late 1970s. It finally packed it in April 2005. The brand was Everdure or something like that anyway. Not sure if being tankless affects the life span or not.

[sweeps]

Warranties on gas water heaters usually are 5 years (although you can get longer). A well-maintained water heater should last a lot longer though.

[Lemony]

Timely thread -we just replaced ours last week. The old one had been there since the house was built in 1989, but had started to rust and finally sprung a leak. I imagine 10-12 years is probably a realistic timeframe for your average gas water heater (ie: don't let it go quite as long as we did!)

[funnyvalentine]

We replaced our industrial one after 6 years, but the one in my house has been here for the 9 years I've lived here and who knows how long before that.....