How can I find past customers with water heaters older than 10 years?
Your job history already shows which customers have aging tanks. A timely check beats a 2 a.m. flood.
- How do we find old water heaters in our records?
- What should we offer?
- Is it okay to contact old customers?
Search your records for water heater installs, model and serial numbers, and notes mentioning tank age. The Department of Energy puts storage tank lifespan at 10 to 15 years, so tanks past 10 are worth a check. Send those customers a short offer for an inspection or flush, within consent rules, and follow up with replacement options if needed.
Build the list
- Installs you did 10 or more years ago.
- Notes and photos of data plates.
- AI to read old notes for tank age.
- Exclude customers who opted out.
Offer something useful
A water heater check or flush, with replacement options only if needed. See quote follow-up.
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We pull and clean the list, write the campaign and track replacements. Our HVAC answer on replacement candidates uses the same method.
- Messaging every customer.
- Scare tactics.
- Ignoring consent.
- No tracking.
- List from your own records.
- A useful check offer.
- Consent checked.
- Replacements tracked.
What plumbers and researchers say
Here is what the DOE and plumbers say.
Storage tank water heaters last 10 to 15 years, according to the DOE.
Read the DOE page →Implied consent from a purchase generally lasts two years, which affects who you can email.
Read the CRTC FAQ →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll build the list and campaign.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Can AI read data plate photos?
Some tools can. Confirm before using.
Is direct mail better than email?
For older customers beyond the consent window, yes.
Should we offer flushes?
They're useful and open the conversation.