I heard that plumbers only have to know two things;........ that s**t flows down hill and the way to the bank.
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Not true!! There is so much more!
Hot is on the left
Sh-t don't flow --uphill--
Don't lick your fingers
heehehehehhehe
Water heaters barely last 10 years anymore. Any plumber will expect to change out anything nearing that age, because they know that in a week or 2 months it'll pop and the customer will be blaming you sure as sh-t. Some are just looking for the hustle, its true, but most are practicing self preservation.
That said, I keep plenty of extra used thermostats from leaking tanks, because if it doesn't spring a leak and it doesn't work, thermo is the number one reason why. They nearly always swap right on between brands too.
I will rebuild any faucet rather than put on a new one. No matter how much hype Delta and Kohler put on their $900 dumb yuppie specials, a 1950's Imperial or Chicago weights twice as much.
Bath faucets especially. I see guys often ripping out the wall, a setup for weeks of misery, when a few minutes and the right tools and parts will make it work just like new again.
Parts are getting harder to find though.
The Big Plastic Borg Boxes hardly stock parts at all. People are so stupid and they've bought into the replacement theory so bad, the parts market is dying.
The last time my own bath faucet needed it, from the time I shut off the main to the time I turned it back on again, was 20 minutes. I timed it. Total rebuild with every moving part, and seats too, new handles and bushings, 20 minutes. I bet I could change just the washers in 10 minutes right now.
If you secure your own parts in advance and never-seize all fasteners the last time you did it, it's a piece of cake.
The number one secret of successful plumbing at your own house is never-seize, btw.
Taking the few seconds of extra time to lube the fasteners makes all the difference in the world, when you need to go back in. And you -will- be going back in someday, so don't be a fool.
yours Scott