If your tank’s rusted and leaking water then you need a new heater.

Sounds like you need a new one. I have installed many it is not too difficult,if you have a handy friend they could do it for you.If not I recommend you find a local plumber who comes recommended,you may be paying extra for a nationally known name.Plumbers love this job it is quick honest money.I reccomend A.O. Smith hot water heaters,their quality and they last.If there is something about your water that would shorten the life of a tank you may want to consider a tank with a longer warranty,I believe the tanks are the same,you are just buying insurance.

had the same thing happen awhile back,,its likely rusted through. only fix is to replace !! sorry.

Sorry,,,but you will probably need a new water heater. When you do get one, make sure you flush it out every six months. This will prevent it from rusting out so quickly. I have one that I flush out regularly and it is over 12 years old.

Need a new one.

The most likely reason for the “trickle” is that you have a thinning of the wall on your heat tube that rises through the center of the heater.
This will only get worse and the only cost effective way to deal with it is to replace the water heater. You can expect to pay $330.00 for the least expensive model out there (plus installation). I do not recommend buying the cheapest and advise avoiding Reliance entirely because of poor quality.

Before rushing out to buy a new heater, there are a few thing you can do yourself.. Get a good light and a mirror, remove the base and look in to ascertain exactly where the water is coming from. If you see that it is coming from a union nut inside the space, then you are lucky. Turn off water & gas unscrew nut and apply PTFE plumbers tape round the olive ( the wedding ring on the end) reassemble.
If elsewhere then buy a new one.

theyre probably right. if the leak is not at one of the pipes going in or out of the heater, then the tank is cracked and you need a whole new unit. usually about $250-$300.

Sounds like your tank is rusting out and you’ll need to replace hot water heater.

U.P.