PSEG Worryfree plan for old water heater - does it make sense?
I wouldn't have a plan on a 17 year old water heater even though the cost is low. Even if some control goes bad and PSEG covers it, you're on borrowed time with the structural integrity of the tank. Also consider the damage that could be done if the tank fails. I'd be looking to replace it and sleep well.
Save the money. The leak is what is most likely to happen. B.T.W, Lowes sells heaters with 12 year warrantee.
I agree. Drop the service. I did after "grilling" the PSE&G service guy that came to fix my dryer. My water heater is old too and living on borrowed time.
Back in 2010, our 8-year-old water heater gave out while we were on vacation and flooded the basement with 2 feet of water. We were told then that, unless you get a very high-quality water heater, they have an expected life span of about 8-10 years. We replaced it with one that came with a 10-year warranty rather than 5, but I wouldn't want to be trusting an old heater.
The issue was ours was that the bottom of the tank gave way, and water just kept trying to fill it. Before it happened, we hadn't seen any signs of leakage or any problem with it at all. We hadn't been able to shut the water off, since there was some work going on while we were gone and the workers needed access to hot water. You don't want to come home from vacation and find 2 feet of water throughout your basement, believe me.
Just replaced an 11-yr-old water heater that looked perfectly fine and had no issues because the insurance inspector said it had to be done in order to be insured by his company.
The plumber who did the job said he was surprised, when he removed the old one, at what bad shape it was in.
Luckily, my home-owners warranty covered much of the cost
Recommendations for someone to do that work? My longtime plumber seems to have vanished so I guess I am in the market for a new one.
We just had ours replaced by Right One. Probably not the cheapest price, but they do good work and I trust them.
Ours was only 8 years old, but it was making popcorn sounds whenever someone took a shower, and as cody pointed out, I'd rather be ahead of it failing than find our basement flooded.
Thanks to everyone for their opinion. I guess it makes sense to drop the plan. I should have mentioned that another form of "insurance" I have is a $11 water alarm from Home Depot that is situated right next to the water heater (and another one next to the washing machine). Someone is home most of the time and I turn off the hot water when we go away for vacation.
A water heater replacement is not covered, however PSE&G will come out and give you an estimate on a replacement which is typically as good or better than most plumbers and you can pay it in installments, interest free, with your electrical bill. We have the plan for the furnace and so far it has more than paid for itself when our furnace went out the night before Thanksgiving. PSE&G sent someone out on Thanksgiving day who got the furnace running, and then they returned on Saturday to replace a piece. The work would have cost us about 1K or more since it was Thanksgiving. We paid nothing aside from $9 per month coverage. Because we have that coverage they will also come out and give you an estimate on the water heater even if that item is not part of your plan.
What is your experience with the promptness of response on this? I have heard of people having to wait quite a while when they called, so I have just stuck to using my local contractors for plumbing and heating.
I can only speak for myself, with the service contract from PSE&G. When I need a repair they have always come out the next day. I have called on the furnace, washer and dryer. So I guess about 7 times over the last couple of years.
ellenlynn said:
I can only speak for myself, with the service contract from PSE&G. When I need a repair they have always come out the next day. I have called on the furnace, washer and dryer. So I guess about 7 times over the last couple of years.
That's not bad. But my appliance repair guy and my plumber almost always come the same day as when I call.
sac said:
What is your experience with the promptness of response on this? I have heard of people having to wait quite a while when they called, so I have just stuck to using my local contractors for plumbing and heating.
We called on Wednesday night the day before Thanksgiving around 8:30pm when we arrived home and realized we had no heat. They sent someone the next day between 10-12pm on Thanksgiving day. That gentleman McGivered the furnaced to get it working but told us that we needed to replace a part. The furnace is over 10yrs old so he had to dig around for the part. He came back on Saturday morning to replace the part as it took him a little longer than anticipated to located. So from our point of view their turn around time was really good.
We've also had a good experience. Haven't called often, but when we have, they always came promptly and did what was needed.
We have a 40 Gallon AO Smith water heater that was installed by a previous owner in 1999. Since we became the owners 8 years ago, I've flushed the water heater on an annual basis and I replaced the anode rod a couple months ago. The old anode rod was virtually gone. The water heater has never given us any trouble.
I've had a PSEG Worryfree policy on the heater for a couple years at a cost of about $30/year.
I recently read the policy document to see what is covered. It explicitly says that a tank leak is not covered. My question is: given the various items that can cause a 17 y.o. water heater to fail, what is the likelyhood that the Worryfree plan covers it? In other words, is this plan worth keeping?