Water heater out for repairs - anything else to do?

It was working fine until the fitting cracked. Only can guess, but the output water line fitting cracked right at the entry to the tank maybe due to cold weather or improperly installed. Didn't know how to get the leftover pvc out of the tank, so after talking to several people, I used a propane torch to burn it out. Got the new fitting taped and in only to find the short had made a hole. It's a '96 model and if I could get one for less that $300, I would just keep this one for a backup!