Plumbing Advice
How Long Do Water Heaters Last in Arizona?
By Kenneth Parks ·
The manufacturer will tell you a tank water heater lasts ten to twelve years. That's a national number. In Phoenix, we replace a lot of them at eight, and some at six. Here's why, how to know where yours is, and how to squeeze more life out of it.
Why Arizona Is Hard on Water Heaters
Two reasons, and they stack. The first is hard water. Every gallon that runs through your heater carries dissolved minerals, and heating the water makes them drop out and settle on the bottom of the tank. Over a few years that builds into a layer of scale that insulates the water from the burner. The burner runs longer, the steel under the scale overheats, and the tank fails from the bottom.
The second is heat. Most Phoenix water heaters live in the garage, where summer air temperatures push past 110. That heat is hard on the unit's controls, the plastic parts, and the anode rod that's supposed to protect the tank from corrosion. Everything wears faster.
Realistic Lifespans Here
Standard tank heaters, gas or electric: many give out in the eight-to-ten-year range. Units that have been flushed annually and had the anode rod replaced can go longer. Units that have never been touched often don't make it to eight.
Tankless heaters: fifteen to twenty years is reasonable with annual descaling. Without it, in Phoenix water, the heat exchanger can scale up badly within a few years.
Signs Yours Is on the Way Out
Rumbling, popping or knocking when it heats: that's water boiling under scale. Rusty or discolored hot water: the tank is corroding inside. Water around the base that isn't from a fitting: the tank is leaking, and there's no repair for that. Hot water that runs out faster than it used to: sediment is taking up space, or a lower element has failed. A unit past eight years that needs its second repair: it's telling you something.
Running out of hot water is often the first symptom people notice, and it is usually a part or sediment rather than the end of the heater. We walk through each cause in why does my hot water run out so fast.
Repair or Replace?
A simple rule: if the tank is leaking, replace it. If the unit is under six or seven years old and the problem is a part (thermocouple, element, thermostat, gas valve), repair it. If it's past eight and this isn't the first problem, put the repair money toward a new unit. We'll tell you which it is without a sales pitch; we do plenty of both.
How to Get More Years Out of It
Flush the tank once a year. It takes twenty minutes with a garden hose and gets the scale out before it hardens. Have the anode rod checked around year three or four and replaced when it's gone. Keep the temperature at 120, which is plenty and slows scale. And if you're on the fence about a water softener, the water heater is the single biggest reason to get one.
When it's time to replace, our installation page covers what's included and how sizing works.
Water heater replacement with a six-year warranty