Load Noise - 30 Year Old Water Heater

Last month, Elly & I heard a loud clang noise that came from the kitchen/garage area of the house.  It sort of sounded like the garage door springs breaking.  We checked all over and found nothing that was broken or didn't work, so we didn't give it anymore thought.  Well, two weeks ago, I went to the basement to look for some paint and found that the metal jacket on our water heater had burst open.  No water on the floor, not leaking, just the jacket burst.

Water Heater split at the seam

 It's one of those "stone-lined" water heaters that we put in when we built the house over 30 years ago.  So I guess we got our monies worth. The Styrofoam lining was soaking up the water from a small leak somewhere and expanded, causing the metal jacket to open at the seam. After taking the heater apart, I think one of the fittings failed, not the tank itself.

So, off to the plumbing supplier to get a new water heater.  Two days later, after retro-fitting the outdoor boiler to the water heater, we once again have hot water!  This tank only has a 6 year warranty.  I guess it what keeps the economy moving!.

The new heater installed