Water heater issues

[edcantu9]

Hey guys. We've had our heater running great. Last week though it started leaking water out of the overflow pipe. When it first happened I shut off the water and ran the water on the faucet and it stopped.

Then two days later is started again.

So this time I did the same thing and turned the water temp down. And it stopped but then the wife complained of the water not being hot enough so I turned it back up, the next day again water started coming out.

Is the water heater done for?

 

[joe_padavano]

Is the water heater done for?

More likely it's just the relief valve that's bad.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Yup, I had one go bad on me, but it was near the tank replacement. Think I got another year out of the tank.

 

[gungatim]

yep what he said ^^ not uncommon to have to replace one after 10-15 yrs...

 

[Milton Shaw]

Also check and see if you have an expansion tank on your hot/cold water systems. All systems need them as cold water expands quite a bit to become hot water. If the water has no where to expand it will kick off that overflow valve, bust washer hoses or dishwasher/refig water valves. If you have a check valve on your water meter from the city/utility you will pop off that pressure relief valve. Without a pressure relief valve in failure of the thermostat your water tank could explode.

 

[Suburbancharlie]

If you ever touch the lever, replace it!
Also, it's NEVER a bad idea to add an expansion tank to your system. They last through the life of 2 water heaters on average, and cost under $50, but can calm some noisy pipe banging due to humidifier, washer, ice maker, and dishwashers. They also help reduce t & p fatigue caused by village tower replenishing that usually happens overnight.
T & P temperature and pressure relief valve, the add on that ended water heaters from launching like rockets. You can get from any hardware store. Most come with Teflon applied, only real difference is length, based on the level of insulate that's on the tank.

 

[D45]

What's the average life of a normal mid-grade 40 gallon tank?

hard, well water area

Local Sears Hardware has them for 20%, since the store is closing

 

[pmiranda]

If you ever touch the lever, replace it!

Uh... aren't you supposed to test it every year?

 

[Suburbancharlie]

I'm on well, 75 gallon, no fancy water purification, 2 sets of standard depot whole house filters (one pair before the pressure tank/switch, and spigots, yarn weave basic mud catcher/sediment $8 or so, then just before the softer and the heater is the "fine" charcoal canisters) and my STATE has lasted 17 years. Manufacturer sees about 15 for an average. The one here before was near 30, but I think I farted near it, and the bottom gave out. Some filtering and occasionally draining out the bottom goes a long way, as the dip tube/self cleaning design doesn't do everything. Also the temperature setting has a little to do with it, as does proper sizing. If yours is too small and cranked up, you may be replacing it sooner. If yours is older than 10, you may want to wait till it fails, as all the new technology has landed itself to pointing out prior installation deficiencies! Flue liners, poor combustion air (make up air) and general housekeeping has become a nightmare for some. The old stuff worked if it merely had gas, the new ones need cleaning of filters or combustion chamber like every 6 months to stay reliable. And check if the flammable vapor safety is replaceable, or one goof, and it's new tank time!

 

[Suburbancharlie]

Uh... aren't you supposed to test it every year?

Tiny debris and minerals WILL get in there not may, and cause premature failure. I've heard of it being done, but honestly never seen it. But never looked for it. It's a if not broke kinda rule, but I do love when people"test" them! $$$


JUST DONT CAP/PLUG IT!

 

[CNGsaves]

OP . . . . also have you drained water (on regular basis, or ever) from the bottom spigot to flush out sediment/crud from the tank ??

How old is the HWH ??

Recommend following:
a) Shut off HWH and turn on hot water somewhere to relieve pressure
b) Drain water down from top of HWH (like say 10 gallons) using the bottom spigot
c) REPLACE the OPD (over pressure device) on upper outside of tank.
Be sure that also has hose to direct water down to drain.
d) Loosen and remove the Anode Rod to inspect it's condition

 

[Suburbancharlie]

Most private wells have anode rod removed by plumber at install, cuz he doesn't want to stock, order, or go out of his way to test the water to determine the proper material, and doesn't want the call back for stinky water. Not always the case, but a general safe bet. Had a few stink goes up stuff goes down plumbers that had abnormal "warranty replacement" claims. Pulling anode was not all they were doing. But ya, my bad, missed the boat on guiding you to the repair. Sorry.
You may also want to have on hand some good sized towels, and an extra shut off spigot just in case yours does not close after debris chums that up too. ESPECIALLY if your doing this after hours and don't want the **** chewing of everyone having to take cold showers. Any boiler drain, spigot and extension will do, just ensure you provide the fitting to connect to a garden hose. You may want (time provided) to just go ahead and pull the drain too, and probe around with some wire if you see chunks coming out or if the drain is plastic. Many of those don't like getting touched.

Pmiranda, do you monthly test all your gfci's too? Just saying. If the t & p has never been you touched, it's a replacer. Yes, there are infact people who do, and by the book, have it replaced every 3 years by a trained technician. A vast majority of people don't know it's there, or what it does, till 10 years down the line someone says test it, and many a times there is much work to be done afterwards. Wood doesn't like hot water!

 

[pmiranda]

OP: how old is this water heater? How far down did you have to turn the temp before it stopped leaking? Gas or electric? You could throw parts at it, but if it's old enough I'd just swap the whole damn thing. Beware new ones tend to be bigger around for the same capacity because of increased insulation.

Yeah, in our first house many years ago I saw someone on TV say you're supposed to drain the sediment and check the T&P valve every year... so I did it on a weekend and of course the drain valve (cheap POS) wouldn't seat closed. So now I never do maintenance until a weekday morning when everyone else is out of the house, giving me plenty of time to get parts and fix what will probably break, turning a 5-minute task into a 5-hour one if it's something I can't do myself.
Since the T&P is usually mounted high, as long as the hot water has been sitting still for a while, I wouldn't expect any crud to come out of it. The drain at the bottom... it always has crud come out. If you have a new, quality, valve on hand to replace it, go ahead and try your luck

 

[SH7mi]

There is a tag on the relief valve which reads you're supposed to activate the valve once/yr or so.
You should also drain the water heater (10 gallons) twice a year. This will increase the life of heater.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Hey guys. We've had our heater running great. Last week though it started leaking water out of the overflow pipe. When it first happened I shut off the water and ran the water on the faucet and it stopped.

Then two days later is started again.

So this time I did the same thing and turned the water temp down. And it stopped but then the wife complained of the water not being hot enough so I turned it back up, the next day again water started coming out.

Is the water heater done for?

My water heater does exactly the same every Winter! I live in this house for four years, so I don't know for how long it's been doing it. Once weather gets warmer, not a drop until next Winter. I haven't changed the thermostat settings. And I haven't flushed it yet.

Any idea?

PS.: Electric water heater.

 

[ezover]

glad others have this issue. I was going to make my own post. I am wondering if this is a problem with propane fired tanks?

 

[csp]

It's a potential problem with any water heater, doesn't matter what the heat source is.

 

[skidozer670]

I'm having the same problem with my electric tank. I replaced the valve and drained tank and it still weeps. Tank is only 2 years old and is working just fine.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Larryjones]

There is a tag on the relief valve which reads you're supposed to activate the valve once/yr or so.
You should also drain the water heater (10 gallons) twice a year. This will increase the life of heater.

Among the things I have learned from owning a water heater for over 40 years is, if you are going to test the relief valve, be prepared to replace it, It will leak. If you have been regularly draining the tank, keep on, but if you have hard water the drain valve will probably leak, so be prepared to replace it. If the tank has seldom been drained, don't start now because the tank will soon start leaking because the lime buildup was protecting the walls of the tank.

 

[pmiranda]

Yep... And never replace a plastic shower valve unless you have a new one to put in its place. I just swapped our Brizo(Delta) valve out a month ago and the old one came out in about 20 little pieces.
WTF is the point of making a big deal out of solid brass housings and handles when the valve itself is a cheap piece of plastic?