My water heater has had a small drip for quite a while. It can't do any damage where it's located so it hasn't been a big deal.
Was working for a customer who bought a condo. 12 years prior to her purchasing it an older lady had passed away. The family lives out of state and after her passing, they did a very nice remodel complete with crown molding, total repaint an added some very nice furniture
For 12 years after that lady passed away, not one family member ever stayed in that condo. It appears during the remodel they installed a new water heater. It was installed in the master bedroom closet.
The new owner had a water leak and replaced some pipes and while the water heater was out someone mentioned it was installed in late 2008. It was working fine but she bought a new one anyway.
I asked if the old heater worked and she said yes, it worked fine.
She said I could have it, so I brought it home.
Today I bought a new anode, not knowing the condition of the one it had in it nor what the condition of the tanks inside. I figured if the heater was junk, I could just return the plumbing stuff I had purchased.
I removed the anode and it was intact. Eaten up a bit, but probably 80% or more was still there.
I took apart an old LED flashlight that didn't work and removed the led and circuit board. I soldered on a 3 foot length of wire to make a lighting system to lower into the tank to check its condition. Worked out slick. The tank and elements look great.