Please give some advice on when to replace this water heater(pic

I have this water heater, which is probably quite old. If you look at the pics I am posting here, you can see that the metal on the bottom is rusted. One time there was little bit water leaking from a switch on the bottom, so I used a pan to catch the water. But one year ago, the leaking completely stopped, and the water heater has been working just fine. However, I have had a handyman tell me that I should replace the water heater soon, after he saw the rusted metal on the bottom. One side of me says that “don’t replace anything until it breaks.” But then I want to listen to other people who are more experienced. So please give me your advice or experience. I guess the disadvantage not replacing the water heater right now is that the water heater will leak onto the floor when it breaks. And I guess when it leaks, it will leak a lot. I am not sure if this is true or not, so please tell me if you know anything. In the past, my water heater was not leaking, but one of the switches was leaking, so I was able to catch the water with a small pan. I really appreciate your help. This is my first time ever posting pictures, so you might have to go up and down to see the full pictures.

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• water heater壞了,會漏水的. -大媽豬- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:13:02

• 回复：有时不一定漏水，而是没热水 -JasmineSmile- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:17:38

• right, 20 years old water heater, it's time to change it. -大媽豬- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:18:52

• 马上换，等漏就晚了。好像是1984年的？ -房崇- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:20:47

• not including labor though..... -MrsKwok- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:23:27

• like this joke, i might well wait for it -woodrooste- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:38:42

• 如果底锈穿将不是滴滴答答，而是一泻而下。 -房崇- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:27:53

• Thank you all for your responses. Please see my questions inside -joeyli- ♀ (273 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:30:33

• 回复：Thank you all for your responses. Please see my questions ins -大媽豬- ♀ (155 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:35:13

• 热水器有现金退吗?俺才请人换了两个!难到退$被污了不成! -MrsKwok- ♀ (41 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 12:36:52

• 50 gal is a good size, which costs about $400, -wimax88- ♂ (77 bytes) () 08/26/2009 postreply 17:37:15