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My hot water heater is going to die isn;t it?

I feel like the shower just isn't getting as hot as it used to and the hot water doesn't seem to last as long either. I'll be in the shower say 15 minutes and it's hottest temp at the end is lukewarm at best leaving nothing for the second person. It wasn't that way last year.

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Vacantfever41 · 46-50, F

it could be that it isnt big enough or also if an element is out, we had one that got cold too fast and one of the elements were blown

Threepio

Sounds like (as a minimum) it needs flushed.

-Unless it has been drained and cleaned periodically (the hose bib at the bottom of the tank) then it is continually filling up with fine sludge from the water supply and the decomposition of the "sacrificial anode".
-This causes the VOLUME of the tank to decrease as it fills with foreign matter. Hence your 40 gallon water heater may only be heating 20 gallons. The other 20 gallons has been displaced by the accumulated sludge.

I don't work on gas ones so I cannot advise you on how to safely service them …

But for Electric:
You can shut it off at the circuit/breaker box, get a hose hooked up to the bib and drain it to the OUTSIDE (if it isn't too clogged up). Then pulse the input water (Using the input valve on the line to the tank if it has one OR the water supply shutoff valve where the water line enters the house). A bunch of GUNK should start coming out the end of the attached hose.

Then (if you know what you are doing), you can inspect and replace the sacrificial anode if necessary.

If it says 1998 on the back...it was probably installed in your dwelling within 2 years of that date... so it is probably close to the end of its life cycle.

Where I live .. the water heaters usually last about 20 years if it has been "ignored" over the years. Our water has a lot of "Mineral content"

Good luck.

SW-User

@Threepio I'm an idiot so I'd probably have to have someone come look at it. I don't think it's ever been serviced though I could be completely wrong.

Threepio

@SW-User $100 … give or take

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Threepio

@SW-User Look up on the top of the tank...does it have a BIG cord going to the wall (electric).

Or does it have a gas line attached to near the base?

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SW-User

@waleskinder Nope.

@Threepio it's for sure gas there isn't a plug to the wall

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

Likely full of silt and guck. Drain it and descale it and see what happens.

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hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@waleskinder It doesn't take as long as you think. Of course it also depends on your water source and how much silt etc gets through the treatment plant or well.

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hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@waleskinder Of course they should be replaced regularly too. They are a pressure vessel under stress and if they fail they can cause a lot of damage. My friend had his pressure relief valve fail while he was at work. He had to redo his basement.