[RickFLM4]

Thanks for the feedback. I got the tank swapped out for a new one today. I didn't go tankless on this one because it was going to take a lot longer. I would need an electrician to come out next week to re-wire to panel (more amps). Further, since our street is getting dug up and re-paved early in the week (perfect timing) it wouldn't be until late next week at the earliest, so likely more than a week without hot water in kitchen and laundry room + higher price made it tough to do right now.

However, we are getting ready to remodel our master bath where we have another tank. I'm giving serious thought to swapping that one for tankless since it is inside the house (where leaking water would be a disaster) and a planned large tub would require a tank about 2x the size of the one we have. Great tip above on "cold water" and activing heater - will need to investigate.

I'd prefer to go with gas but it is a major project to put a tank in so electric is really the only option right now. I looked into putting a tank in a while back for a standby generator and it is a big investment and invasive project with our landscaping, so unless we were looking to switch other appliances to gas + add generator + add pool heater (which is too much on top of other higher priority projects), it is difficult to justify for just the hot water heaters. If I were building from scratch or doing a major remodel I'd put the tank in without question.