Believe it or not, most people (especially new home owners)
have no idea where the hot water heater is in their home. Once you’ve located
it, take a look at the label on it (a sticker approximately 3×2’ located on the
side of your water heater). Find the serial number. Most manufacturers show the
date of when the unit was made in the first four digits of the serial number.
For example, lets say the serial number was 09934FR563 – we know it was made in
September of 1993. Other manufacturers will list the week and then the year;
for instance, 23934FR563. Here we know that the water heater was made on the
23rd week of 1993.
At Triangle Plumbing, we tell our clients that the average water
heater lasts approximately 9 -11 years before it starts leaking; however, it’s
not unheard of to see a water heater 20 years old. We highly recommend
homeowners be proactive about replacing their water heater before it leaks to
avoid the costly problems a leak can cause. For example, if you have a hot
water heater in the attic or in a crawl space, you may not know your water
heater is leaking until you notice secondary damage that it has caused or get
an unusually high water bill in the mail.
