Do I need a new water heater?

[JackBurton0913]

Woke up to no hot water. Went to check water heater and it is leaking(gushing) water from the top. THe water is coming from the tank, it seems from both(definitely the hot) where the hot and cold water lines mate with the tank. There doesnt appear to be any fittings right where it mates with the tank, where it appears leak is coming from.

What could cause this?

Is my water heater dead in the water? This a sign that the tank has ruptured/corroded/broke internally?

The wife also says she heard a loud "bang" late last night.

 

[justin_dewan90]

Replace it.

 

[Geofd]

how old is it,the loud bang doesn't sound good is it gas fired???
the first poster may be right if its was gas sounds like delayed ignition

 

[voletl]

If it's gushing water replace it it's broken destroyed no good

 

[JackBurton0913]

how old is it,the loud bang doesn't sound good is it gas fired???
the first poster may be right if its was gas sounds like delayed ignition

Not sure on the age. It visibly looks pretty nice/newer(comparing it to some other places ive lived). I also looked up the model/type/etc. and it apparently is a fairly high end unit(1200 dollars). I also read it should have a lifetime warranty(gotta look into that tomorrow though).

It's electric.

 

[Geofd]

don't fool around with it.......just change it...

 

[DFBonnett]

Not sure on the age. It visibly looks pretty nice/newer(comparing it to some other places ive lived). I also looked up the model/type/etc. and it apparently is a fairly high end unit(1200 dollars). I also read it should have a lifetime warranty(gotta look into that tomorrow though).

It's electric.

Don't go by looks. Mine is 13 years old and still looks brand new. I've never heard of any water heater with a lifetime warranty.

 

[voletl]

Some commercial units have lifetime tank warranties

 

[JackBurton0913]

https://www.rheem.com/products/water_heating/tank/marathon-electric-water-heaters/

Website says they come with lifetime warranty. No idea if that means they just reimburse expenses when they go bad, or pay for a similar replacement or what. Anybody got experience with something like that?

According to how this website defines how to read the serial number, my water heater is from September 2011.

Wow. Only lasted 7 years. Not sure i want to deal with this company again, warranties or not haha, yikes.

UPDATE: Figured they had just never registered the heater for the warranty, so i went on the website and did it. So now it supposedly is lifetime warrantied, but now i have no way to establish proof of purchase for a claim haha. They need receipt from installation, closing papers on new residence, or certificate of gas/electric activation. I have none of those things haha. Ah well.

 

[havasu]

Those warranty's usually only cover the original purchaser, with so many loopholes, I'm sure they would not honor the warranty, kind of like a marketing ploy.

I'd still like to see a picture of the top of the tank where it is leaking from. Are you certain it just isn't a faulty connection or a rotten di-electric or heat trap nipple?

 

[Matt30]

I have the Rheem Marathon lifetime warranty electric heater. The lifetime warranty is not transferable, BUT does become a 15 year warranty to the next owner. Pretty good peace of mind buying a house knowing you don’t have to worry about a water heater for 15 years

 

[Matt30]

Because of the marathons construction, there is very little steel to rot. I would look the unit over and make sure it’s not just one of the dielectric nipples gone bad

 

[TomFOhio]

State had a lifetime tank and it hurt the company pretty bad. I think the only other tank that I knew was lifetime was the one that weighed a ton and it took 3-4 guys to get it up and down the stairs. I think it had a concrete type of material for the tank, not sure.

 

[SHR]

That is a plastic tank water heater so I would agree with havasu, one of the metal connecting parts probably rusted out.

 

[TomFOhio]

Jack, when a water heater was leaking on top I would shut the water off and drain about a bucket full out of the bottom. Then take a shop vac and suck all the water up at both fittings on top until you can get it dry. Then slowly turn the water back on and watch both fittings closely to see if water is coming out of threads. If not then you have a hole in the top of your water heater. There is no fixing of the tank. Let us know what you find.