People don’t usually think about purchasing a new water heater until they notice that the heater is broken or leaking water or they are upgrading their house or basement and investing in new plumbing and efficiency.

Signs of water heater problems include the following:

• The pilot light is on but the gas water heater flickers
• Circuit breaker trips for an electric heater
• Burner or heating element doesn’t respond or fails
• Thermostat breaks
• Valve sticks
• Water leaks
• No hot water even though heater seems fine

Repairing or replacing any of these parts is fairly inexpensive. A plumber can typically do the job for a couple of hundred bucks. But if the tank is more than 10 years old, or if it is leaking, or the job costs more than a couple hundred dollars, then you are far better off simply replacing the water heater with a brand new energy-efficient water heater. You could even save on your monthly water bill with the new energy-saving water heaters now available.