14 year old commercial hot water heater suddenly kaput - heating element stopped working. 20 unit condo building. Our plumber replaced unit, and the transformer on the new one immediately blew. Makes me wonder if something with the electrical is going on. And curious about normal replacement frequency for a commercial grade hot water heater?

Hi Chris

14 years is well above average or even better for a commercial water heater. Here, most commercial water heaters only carry a 3 year warranty and that is for good reason as they get TONS of sporadic use in a place like yours (or any other large commercial place) and are thus subjected to extreme conditions in some ways (especially winter).

In terms of the transformer...should be covered under a parts warranty. If the transformer was supplied by the water heater manufacturer, be sure to check with the manufacturer....you'll need the model number and serial number. As to whether you have an electrical problem, well, I can't speak to that without lots more information...should be simple enough to have your electrician drop by and check that everything is wired/grounded properly and pulling proper voltage. I'm sure a plumbing and probably an electrical permit was required for this job, too, so suspect you probably just got a bad transformer here...not as uncommon as you might think!

Good luck!

Mark