Proper routine preventive maintenance will prolong your water heater's life and prevent corrosion from destroying your tank prematurely.  Its the best way to ensure you get the utmost out of your water heater.

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Having said that, I am aware of tanks failing in as little as 5 years, and others surviving as long as 25 years with little to no maintenance at all.  There are several factors that will influence how long your tank will survive, some of which are within our control, like proper maintenance, usage rates, temperature set point, etc.  However, there are others that are outside of our own control such as the variability in the manufacturing process, particularly with respect to the porcelain enamel application, and the general quality of the particular tank regarding its design, materials and workmanship.

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Of course, we as the consumer don’t really know which tank will prove to be best, either from which manufacturer or which particular model and as far as manufacturing variability - did you get the best possible combination or the worst?  For these reasons, some tanks will just naturally outlive others, but you don't know which one you have until its too late.  Therefore, as the old saying goes, its definitely better to be safe than sorry!  Regular maintenance through proper flushing and anode replacement are the best way to hedge your bet and substantially extend your water heater's operational life.

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Generally speaking, the truth is most tanks will outlive their specified warranty period, even if no routine maintenance of any kind is ever performed.  It appears that many of us think that’s good enough as we are accustomed to that sort of limited longevity regarding our water heaters, but we don’t have to be.  All of the manufacturers even tell us through the literature they provide, exactly what we need to do to maximize our water heater service life.  Many of us simply don’t know – we’ve never been taught or made aware that water heaters require some basic maintenance as does most everything else that we depend upon. 

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For the most part, tanks seem to last about 8 - 12 years on average with minimal or no maintenance at all.  However, with a little attention, that can be significantly increased by many years to at least double or even triple the life depending upon the actual maintenance performed and the other factors we've identified. 

 

Many years ago, just like other home appliances, some tanks would easily last as much as 30 years, but that doesn’t generally seem to be the case any longer.  You won't usually get near that without any maintenance, but you will get a lot closer if you take the steps outlined here and those the manufacturers have published in the literature provided with your heater.  If you want the best possible chance of having significant longevity of your modern day tank, make sure you take good care of it!