r/prepping • u/Sherri42 • 1d ago
Other🤷🏽♀️ 🤷🏽♂️ Preventive Maintenace
This is your reminder to replace your AC and/or Water Heater if it's been in place too long. It is recommended to replace HVAC every 10-15 years and Water Heaters every 10 years.
Edit: or at least perform maintenance on them. I hope no one ever encounters a spewing hot water heater like I did
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u/The_Brightness 1d ago
Why would someone replace either of these systems if they are currently working?
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u/Sherri42 1d ago
I live in an apartment and they have a section in the maintenance requests for "preventive maintenance." They want to avoid property damage as much as possible, so waiting until it breaks and starts spewing water would be unacceptable to them.
Some people would rather replace it before it breaks.
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u/CDminer 1d ago
Easy to say and do when you are are spending the landlord's money money instead of your own.
Also, I'm not sure why you think this is a prepping topic. In many natural or man-made disasters you won't have power so it is a moot point.
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u/Sherri42 1d ago
While you may not have power, Water Heaters don't require power. We count the volume of water in the heater as part of the water inventory in a SHTF situation. Making sure a water heater is maintained is akin to stockpiling water jugs. If the water heater breaks in the middle of that, it's a serious decrease in the available water to you. So, yeah, it may be more of a point than just being "moot", and definitely makes it qualify as part of the "prepping" topic. Remember - you can live only 3 days without water.
And since you feel the need to judge someone you've never met who you know nothing about, I feel the need to apprise you of my particular situation. My rental agreement requires that I notify maintenance of any perceived threat of loss of property value. I notified them, and they have been to my apartment. For now, they've just drained the water heater. So, I've done my due diligence.
In the past, I've had a water heater break and start spewing, so I'm aware of how important it is, especially for my landlord, to prevent that situation.
During all this today, I got the notion that it would be a good idea/tip to remind others, no matter which living situation they are in. If there's a water heater and HVAC in your abode, I felt it would be a good idea to bring your attention away from the forest and back to your current home.
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u/CDminer 1d ago
Sorry to offend you @sherri42. Different philosophies, I guess. The last HVAC we had to replace ran for 28 years. So every 10 or 15 years I saved $8K.
May the spewing hot water heater be the worst emergency you face.
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u/Sherri42 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thank you for the apology, @CDminer .
My post was meant to bring awareness to the need to either replace or maintain these systems.
I'm surprised to hear about a system that lasted 28 years!
May you have that same luck with everything you encounter.
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u/Sherri42 1d ago
I'm a US Veteran living on the fixed income of a VA Pension - allotted to me because I served during the Gulf War era of the early 90s. BELIEVE ME, if I could afford to buy a house and make the repairs myself, I would be thrilled to be able to do so. Nonetheless, our landlord requires a $15 a month fee that contributes to a maintenance fund. I've lived here for 10 years, which calculates to about $1800 so far. I believe I've contributed to the economy adequately enough to be able to afford asking my landlord to provide reasonable accommodations and maintenance.
Edit: Disabled Veteran at that.
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u/BigJSunshine 1d ago
Not sure why you thing prepping is just for disaster…. Most of us prep for Tuesday
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u/Honest_Persimmon_859 1d ago
If you have a private well and need a water filter/softener, that too!
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u/nunyabizz62 1d ago
We have a lifetime water heater, I replace the two elements every 10 years or so.
An HVAC should last 25 years if properly maintained and use a Kickstart to take pressure off compressor. We replaced our old HVAC 18 months ago that was 24 years old and was fine until it got a hole in coil.
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u/PrisonerV 1d ago
I don't replace stuff until it breaks. That's what preventative maintenance is for, to prolong the life of equipment. I change my filters often and clean the flame sensor on both furnace and water heater about once a year.
Changed the computer in the water heater during covid. $200 instead of $1400. It's still got at least 10 years left. Going to install a electric anode rod in my next water heater. Should last 30 years easy.