It looks like my waterheater has a small leak at the bottom of the tank next to the wall ( in the back of the waterheater). I can't see exactly where it's coming from, but after drying it and looking carefully in the morning that looks like where the leak is. The water pools directly under the waterheater. Anyone have any ideas ? Thanks,
Dave

How old is it? I hear they only have about a 10 to 20 year lifecycle, and they are rarely repairable, unless it's an obvious problem with a fitting. Some people replace them before they go bad at a specific age, because when the go bad it can be a disaster. I don't know what that age is though. Mine's probably at about that age, since my house is 15 years old and so is the water heater.

X-Ray Dave:

Your only option is to replace it.

A leak signals thinning walls in the water jacket which unlike heavily built industrial water heaters cannot be safely sealed with a self-tapping boiler sealing screw.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

Just what I didn't want to hear. It's 10 years old. Thanks,

Dave

New water heater time unless you can prove it's a failed temperature-pressure relief valve or leaking draincock. Forget fixing a leaking tank - get a new heater.

Get one with magnesium anodes instead of aluminum (2 anodes better than one).

...and a swirl inlet dip tube - or you can modify the factory one. Keeps sediment from building up in case you're not rigorous about flushing the tank occasionally. Your choice about condensing burner or not, but I like my water heater to work even when the power is off... finally, you might consider a 50 gallon instead of a 40 gallon. AO Smith makes good heaters (no affiliation) and so do others. Warranty duration is one indicator of quality, but not the only one.

New ones are supposed to have a flame arrestor screen around the burner chamber to prevent ignition of flammable vapors and gasses creeping along the floor, but you might be able to get a better deal on an "old" model without the screen if you bargain with the supplier.

I'm going to write all that down. Like i said before, mine may be due in the next few years also. A bigger tank is definitely on my list. I'd probably even save money that way, because I could turn the temp down and still be able to take long showers.

Benton,

A good 50 gallon water heater has had a noticable effect on lowering my gas bill compared to the previous 40 gallon. And we simply don't run out of hot water in the morning crunch time anymore, despite turning the temp down. YMMV, but that's how it worked out for us.

Don't wait a few years, replace it now. I saw a slight drip under mine while I was replacing a pipe in my kitchen and though I'd have to replace it once I finish the kitchen. Well my wife called me one day at work because she heard water running so I had her shut off the main and drove home. We had to go to the hardware store and pick up another to replace it then so we could shower before work the next day. While I was buying the new heater I found this aluminum pan that looked like a big pie pan with a short piece of pipe sticking out the side. You sit the heater inside it and run the pipe to a drain so if it leaks the water doesn't ruin anything. I had to set mine one a scrap sheet of plywood for extra support because the plywood on the floor looked a bit messed up from the water, I need to pull the heater out someday and replace the floor now.

Heh. Good point. That's the right thing to do if it's not sitting on the lowest level (basement in my case) with a floor drain nearby. And codes have required those overflow pans for a long time. If you didn't add a pipe to the temperature-pressure relief valve to carry water down to the pan in the event it opens, you should do that, too - and not just to catch the mess, but also to divert any blast of steam and scalding water away from face-height of anyone nearby. Also a code requirement. Of course some areas don't have any codes, but those are good things to do, regardless of any statutory considerations.