@anna_hill yes, exactly. I've been noticing that same thing everywhere lately, like how cooking together with friends is way more fun than just eating takeout. Something about scrambling to figure out who's chopping onions and who's stirring just makes people connect better than sitting around staring at each other.

It's really not that serious... people overthink this stuff way too much.

Nah, I gotta push back on this a bit. I've seen plenty of 25+ year old tanks still chugging along without any issues. A lot of those stats get blown out of proportion because they lump in all sorts of stuff like faulty wiring or poor installation with age alone. I'd bet most of those 40 percent were already showing obvious signs like rust or leaking way before they actually caught fire. If yours isn't leaking, isn't making weird noises, and still heats water fine, I don't see the panic.

You quoted "fighting porosity"... did you change your gating design too or just the metal?

Consider that these fake fireplaces might actually be SAFER than real ones in neighborhoods packed close together. Real fireplaces have real smoke, real soot, and real risks of chimney fires that can spread to the house next door. A gas insert with fake brick gives you the cozy feeling without having to worry about burning down the whole block.