01-18-2012, 08:20 PM
Well, going a day without hot water during the snowstorm didn't sound that pleasant for the wife and kid. So I probably shouldn't have, but I moved the dryer and climbed back by it. It doesn't look that bad up close. The discoloration on the side isn't very much. I peeked inside the pilot light area and, yeah, it's rust colored but it looks pretty much like what iron looks like, not like water has been in there.
A few more drops have come out of the drain valve, but that sounds normal.
So I relit the light and turned it on.
Turns out a friend of ours who does remodeling also installs a half dozen gas water heaters a year so he know them fairly well. He can also get them at a discount. He's going to install one tomorrow. I'll probably ask him about the anode later today. Maybe we'll just get a good quality (possibly dual anode) model now, and repair them in the future as needed.
A few more drops have come out of the drain valve, but that sounds normal.
So I relit the light and turned it on.
Turns out a friend of ours who does remodeling also installs a half dozen gas water heaters a year so he know them fairly well. He can also get them at a discount. He's going to install one tomorrow. I'll probably ask him about the anode later today. Maybe we'll just get a good quality (possibly dual anode) model now, and repair them in the future as needed.