DIY & Home Improvement
Related: About this forumWater Heater longevity
I'm pushing my luck by mentioning it, but my glass lined electric water heater is almost 50 years old. I am appalled by the heaters sold today with 5 or 10 year warranties.
I've replace the upper coil twice, the lower coil once, and the thermostats once. The anode rod has never been touched.
I don't think most people would believe the age. Are there awards for longevity? I mean this is like a human living to 105 or so.
I attribute the longevity to 3 factors. Cleaning once every 15 years or so. It has a lousy cleaning mechanism, no swirl on the intake flow. To clean it you have to drain it, remove both coils, and remove sediment with a flat stick or spoon. And it doesn't do a very good job. Lots of sediment remains. There is also a bleed valve that I pop once a year or so but it doesn't do much.
Secondly there is iron in the water. Lots of iron. So there's no room for the corrosion to go into the water.
Finally, originally it was a terrible brand but when new they were trying to fix the company and built a run of glass lined insulated models. I suspect the original production run was to get good press and word of mouth. This is one of those units.
The company failed in the early 1980s in the Reagan recession.

Raven123
(6,869 posts)bucolic_frolic
(51,514 posts)but what do I expect?
Raven123
(6,869 posts)That is a valuable skill set
bucolic_frolic
(51,514 posts)Kali
(56,330 posts)I think it was less than $100 back then too.
brush
(60,609 posts)SWBTATTReg
(25,492 posts)that overly reacts w/ your water in the water heater. I have one pushing over 11 years so far, and it'll continue to go too, for, I hope much longer. I think the best thing is to periodically flush out your water heater, which I do (when I don't really need any hot water at the time, no showers or dishwater or washers are planned to run that particular day. This seems to help.
Congrats on a lucky (or not planned) purchase of an appliance that is lasting forever, how lucky are we in that sort of a purchase?!
bucolic_frolic
(51,514 posts)And as I said today's glass lined ones I saw in Lowes carry a 5-10 year warranty. Gives me no confidence in buying a new one. Because I'm sure the day is long overdue.
pansypoo53219
(22,405 posts)bucolic_frolic
(51,514 posts)This site has a history of water heaters, and the image shown below.
https://www.waterheaterpros.com/history-of-water-heaters
pansypoo53219
(22,405 posts)a ornate cast iron victorian water heater. heck. i just saw a dentil chair w/ cast iron mechanics. i actually saw a treadle drill at a sale.
my grandparents early 1900's gravity heater w/ a cast iron panel was the best.
Hotler
(13,359 posts)Alexander Allan
(4 posts)Thats remarkable longevity, 50 years is virtually unheard of for a glass-lined electric water heater today. Youve likely benefited from three key factors: minimal but targeted maintenance, high iron content limiting corrosion, and owning a rare high-quality unit from a strong production run. Skipping anode rod replacement would usually be fatal in modern heaters, which says a lot about the original build. Definitely a rare case worth appreciating some of the old models were truly built to last.
bucolic_frolic
(51,514 posts)I can mention the name. It's a W.L. Jackson.
Here's another guy with a very old Jackson heater: https://forum.nachi.org/t/w-l-jackson-heater-age/50861/4
Maybe they went out of business not because their heaters were of poor quality, but because they were too well built and cost too much for the public to buy? I think I have the original receipt ... something like $419 in 1976. Lot of money.