Hot Water Heater Longevity

[Mistress Sirena]

Originally Posted by Parrothedd

A cruising friend told me that he leaves his hot water heater on all the time, even when they are not on the boat because keeping hot water in the tank prevents it from rusting inside the tank.

Has anyone else heard of this theory, or have any thoughts on its validity?

Thanks

Glenn Tuttle
GB-46
Tothill
Punta Gorda, FL

Greetings more info needed many HWH use aluminum tanks some use stainless some are steel Is this full time live aboard or weekend use ?
I have found the aluminum lasts about 5 to 7 years stainless are all a crap shoot due to very thin construction and constant flexing under pressure and pin hole corrosion. Steel as used in house hold seem to hold up best 10 to 20 years.all under live aboard conditions. allso does your HWH have a heat exchanger for the engine heating.

[hellosailor]

Never heard of that one. But I've also almost never heard of anyone replacing the magnesium anode, despite every manual saying it MUST be inspected annually and replaced when it starts to be consumed.

Shoreside, I think the plumbers endorse the "you don't have to worry about that" because they know it guarantees new sales--which were totally unneeded if the owner did the annual anode check.