Storage Hot Water Systems
Electric and gas storage tanks installed and maintained properly, including the five-yearly anode replacement that most homeowners have never been told about.
How long does a storage hot water tank last?
A glass-lined steel tank typically fails around the 10-year mark, but mostly because its sacrificial anode was never replaced. The anode protects the tank from corrosion and is designed to be swapped roughly every 5 years; doing so can greatly extend the tank's life. Stainless steel tanks resist corrosion by design and don't depend on anode replacement.
Storage Systems
Storage hot water done right, and made to last
Ready Plumbing installs, maintains and repairs electric and gas storage hot water systems across the Northern Beaches and North Shore. Storage tanks are the workhorse of Australian hot water: simple, reliable, and capable of lasting far longer than the 10 years they're usually written off at, thanks to one piece of maintenance most homeowners have never heard of.
Maintenance
The five-year job that doubles your tank's life
We keep hearing the same question from clients across the Northern Beaches and North Shore: what are the signs of a failing hot water system? With electric storage heaters, the real story starts years earlier, inside the tank.
Every glass-lined steel tank contains a magnesium sacrificial anode. Its job is to be eaten by the electrolysis in the water, so the steel tank isn’t. Over roughly five years the anode is consumed. After that, corrosion starts on the tank itself, which is exactly why so many electric cylinders fail around the 10-year mark: five years of protection, then five years of the tank quietly rusting from the inside.
The tell-tale sign you’ve reached that stage: sediment and rust flowing from your hot taps, in the shower, washing dishes, everywhere the hot water goes.
Replacing the anode every five years is a simple maintenance job that can greatly extend the life of your system. We do it as a stand-alone service call. Full detail in our guide: signs your hot water system is failing.
Upgrade Option
Stainless steel tanks: the low-maintenance alternative
If your tank is due for replacement and you want to stay with storage, stainless steel tanks are the option we frequently recommend for our local community. They're highly rust-resistant, don't rely on a sacrificial anode, and remove the corrosion failure mode entirely. They cost more upfront than glass-lined steel, but you're buying out the most common reason storage systems die.
Gas Storage
Gas storage systems
Gas storage units heat quickly and recover fast after heavy use. Their common faults are different: pilot lights blown out by wind (or by covers that were incorrectly installed), failed thermocouples, and worn gas components. Most are single-visit repairs, like the Dee Why emergency call-out where we replaced a thermocouple and had hot water back within the hour. Our 24/7 repair service covers all of it.
Why Choose Us
20 years of storage systems done properly
Steel or stainless, installed right
We supply and fit both, and tell you honestly which suits your home.
5-yearly anode replacement
A simple stand-alone service call that can double the life of a steel tank.
Fast gas storage repairs
Pilot lights, thermocouples and worn components, usually fixed in one visit.
20 years on the Northern Beaches
We've installed and maintained storage systems here for two decades.
Compare Your Options
Thinking about moving on from storage?
Storage suits many homes, but it’s worth knowing the alternatives at replacement time: instantaneous systems never run out and free up floor space, and heat pumps cut running costs dramatically with rebates available. Compare everything on the hot water overview or see installation and replacement.
Last reviewed: 8 July 2026 by the Ready Plumbing team.
FAQ
Storage Hot Water: your questions answered
Plumbing problems can be extremely frustrating. Our licensed Sydney plumbers are here to provide fast, reliable answers and solutions.
What is a sacrificial anode and why does it matter?
It's a magnesium rod inside a steel hot water tank that corrodes deliberately so the tank doesn't: the electrolysis in the water eats the anode instead of the steel. Once the anode is fully sacrificed (typically around 5 years), corrosion starts on the tank itself. Replacing the anode on schedule is the single cheapest way to extend a storage system's life.
Why is rust coming out of my hot water taps?
Sediment and rust from the hot taps (in the shower, when washing dishes) means the inside of the steel tank has started corroding, usually because the anode was never replaced. At that point the tank is failing; we'll assess whether it has serviceable life left or needs replacement.
Should I get a stainless steel tank instead?
We often recommend them for local homes. Stainless steel tanks are highly rust-resistant, don't require 5-yearly anode replacement, and usually carry longer warranties. They cost more upfront but remove the main failure mode of steel tanks.
Gas or electric storage: which should I choose?
If you have gas, a gas storage unit reheats faster and costs less to run than a full-price electric tank. If you're on electricity only, consider whether a heat pump makes more sense than a conventional electric tank, since the running-cost difference is large.
My gas storage heater has no hot water: what's wrong?
The most common cause is the pilot light going out. Wind is a frequent culprit, especially with missing or badly fitted covers. If it won't stay lit, the thermocouple has usually failed. Both are quick repairs we handle 24/7.
Guides & Real Jobs
Helpful reading from our plumbers
Guide
Gas vs Heat Pump Hot Water: What's Cheaper to Run?
Replacing a hot water system and stuck between gas and a heat pump? Here's how the running costs, upfront prices and rebates actually compare for Sydney homes.
Guide
Signs Your Hot Water System Is Failing
We keep hearing the same question from clients across the Northern Beaches and North Shore: what are the signs of a failing hot water system? Here's what 20 years of call-outs has taught us to look for.
Guide
What Size Hot Water System Do I Need?
Undersize a hot water system and the last shower runs cold; oversize it and you pay to heat water nobody uses. Here's how to size storage tanks and continuous flow units properly.
Case Study · Dee Why
No Hot Water in Dee Why: Fixed Within the Hour
A Dee Why home lost hot water when their gas system wouldn't re-ignite. Our emergency call-out found a failed thermocouple and had hot water back within the hour.
Get In Touch
Contact Your Local Plumber in Sydney
Ready Plumbing is a Sydney-based and fully-licensed plumbing business with more than 20 years of experience, offering a range of residential and commercial plumbing solutions and emergency plumbing 24/7. Get in touch and we'll respond promptly.
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