The note penned on the side of the water heater said "installed 4-25-96".
When we arrived in 2006 it was already 10 years old, a decent life expectancy for a water heater having had minimal maintenance, heating hard, mineral-laden water and sitting within seasalt-spray of the Pacific Ocean.
But it was still working, so, after draining it and refilling and replacing the feed & supply connectors, I wrapped it in an additional insulating jacket and let it do its thing, for 7 more years.
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| In 2009, when my apprentice had both ears and hearing. |
Until this morning.
The floor being wet, I investigated and found the TOP of the tank leaking, the insulation & cavity between the inner tank & outer tank cover saturated.
With guests arriving tomorrow, the prospect of the possibility of a catastrophic tank failure loomed in my anticipation of the coming weekend.
I called my plumber, Peninsula Hydronics Inc., just to get on their radar for a replacement when they could squeeze it in maybe next week.
After getting the gist of my plight, Lisa, who works the phones & calendars for PHI, said she'd call me back. Ten minutes later she did, and offered to send out 2 plumbers with a replacement water heater after they finished their lunch.
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| I hooked up a hose, turned off the gas and started draining the old WH. |
The boiler room where the WH sits is the furthest possible distance from the driveway, and it took 3 men to navigate the 80 gallon unit down rocky paths and several stone stairways and through a door 1/4" wider than the heater.
4 hours later, we have a gleaming new water heater,
and the floor is starting to dry out.
Thanks, Peninsula Hydronics!
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