Water heater leaking from the bottom — repair or replace?
Found a puddle under the electric water heater in the store cupboard, and it seems to be coming from the bottom of the tank itself, not an obvious pipe. Unit is maybe 6 to 7 years old.
Is this a repair, or am I looking at a full replacement? Trying not to overpay for something that is dying anyway.
3 answers
If it is genuinely weeping from the base of the tank, that is almost always internal corrosion — the steel has rusted through from the inside, and there is no fixing that. It is a replacement. First step: switch off its breaker and close the isolation valve feeding it, because a corroded tank can go from a drip to a burst.
If instead the water is actually coming from the pressure-relief valve or a fitting on top and just running down the side, that is often a cheap valve swap. So the exact leak point decides it — and note this is different from a heater that runs but gives no hot water, which is usually the element or thermostat. At 6 to 7 years, a corroded tank is not worth chasing.
Quick way to be sure while you decide: dry the whole area, lay paper towel under it, and check in an hour where it is actually wet — top fitting versus base tells you repair versus replace before anyone quotes. If it is a replace, size it to your real usage so you are not paying to heat a huge tank for two people. Any plumbing service can swap one in about an hour.
Learned this the expensive way — ignored a small base drip for a week and came home to a flooded cupboard. Do not wait on a bottom leak.
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