Hot water heater leaking

[burbguy82]

I did some research on this a few months ago. A number of plumbing sites stated that an expansion tank is needed for closed plumbing systems only. My system is open (house built in 1996). I replaced the original heater in 2007 and it's still working well. The location is one in which a leak would be readily visible and would not enter the house. I tried replacing the anode rod at the five year point, but was unable to remove the original.

Any plumbers on here who can confirm or deny the open versus closed system related to expansion tank need?

Any piping on the hose side of the meter, is considered as closed. Unless you are on a well, with a pressure tank, you need a expansion tank or expansion valve on the cold side of the system.....somewhere.....not necessarily near the heater.

technically if you had a recirc system that had a check valve....you would need two, one on either side of the check valve.

your system is considered closed

 

[Gillsy]

As water heats it expands. In some instances it can build up excessive pressure on the tank and plumbing.

It is plumbing code required here.

Good point! Never thought of that, Thank you!

 

[gathermewool]

$1450 for the install OTD. I just threw up a little. Highly rated local place. 50 gal, iso valve, hard-piped. Guy is saying they never install expansion tanks for this kind of setup, whatever that means.


I feel like an into for not knowing this, but it’s an 80 gal heater!!! I wrapped it in insulation way back when and never thought to check.

It’s still leaking at about a drop/sec.

Not sure how to tell the date. Energy guide says 1994. Does the 0399 in the sn means March of 99?

 

[scoot]

You're on borrowed time , 80 gallons , do you have a garden tub or something larger than normal ?

 

[gathermewool]

You're on borrowed time , 80 gallons , do you have a garden tub or something larger than normal ?

The previous owners had a spa tub in the master bath that we never use. For our baby girl we actually have a small tub we put IN the spa tub for her to bathe in lol. We also have two showers on the main floor - main and guest - and a janky shower that never gets used in the basement.

I was wondering why we never ran out of water, even when three families were showering one after the other when the in-laws stayed over.

 

[Nukeman7]

I feel like an into for not knowing this, but it’s an 80 gal heater!!! I wrapped it in insulation way back when and never thought to check.
...
Not sure how to tell the date. Energy guide says 1994. Does the 0399 in the sn means March of 99?



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WOW! You got 26 years of service from that old GE water heater (actually a Rheem unit as indicated in the bottom line of the label).

The first four numbers in the GE serial number do indeed indicate the date of manufacture. I have a newer 40 gallon version of that same water heater that was manufactured in January 2010 which correlates with the first four digits in the serial number.

 

[gathermewool]

Called a second highly-rated local and they said $1400-1600.

 

[tbm5690]

Called a second highly-rated local and they said $1400-1600.

I paid just over $1K 7 years ago for the same size...so those prices seem to check.

Also - looking at your pic, I've never seen anything other than a quarter-turn shutoff prior to a meter before...interesting.

 

[gathermewool]

I paid just over $1K 7 years ago for the same size...so those prices seem to check.

Also - looking at your pic, I've never seen anything other than a quarter-turn shutoff prior to a meter before...interesting.

I don’t recall what my previous shutoffs were. Figured globe valves were the norm when I moved in here.

 

[PandaBear]

Our building code here won't allow hard pipe into water heaters anymore. Those "flexible" hoses last longer than our water heaters (5-25 years) and even if they fail they are easy to replace individually.

We don't need or do expansion tank here for just hot water, the "expansion" just push back into the inlet (that's why you can't put a check valve there) and there's an emergency valve that depressurize the hot water outside in case people turn the water off but keep the gas on. A check valve with a drain is all it need without expansion tank.

However the hydronic floor heating do need expansion tank here but I haven't seen too many people have those around here. Most just do duct heating because we use more AC than heat.

 

[PandaBear]

Have them install shutoff valves both before and after the heater. It's nice to be able to stop the whole house from draining back into the floor when you replace the heater.

I was told by my plumber that should not be necessary because people can just use a garden hose to drain the water heater before replacing, and an additional valve is an additional thing that can leak over time.

 

[PandaBear]

It's code

I think code is location specific. In my area none of the home even those listed for sale by real estate agents do not have them, and the inspection report never flag anything about expansion tank here.

Maybe water heater here has the relief valve and the drain goes outside the house is the reason? I don't know.

 

[wavinwayne]

$1450 for the install OTD. I just threw up a little...

I paid right at $1k in Alabama in 2021 for a new gas water heater installed by my trusted plumber. I imagine everything is more expensive in New England, so that price sounds right to me.

 

[walterjay]

You got double and more usage out of that heater. That particular one usually only lasts about 10 years or so.

And the pricing you are getting is correct.

 

[Elkins45]

I was told by my plumber that should not be necessary because people can just use a garden hose to drain the water heater before replacing, and an additional valve is an additional thing that can leak over time.

If you have a valve before the tank you can isolate it if it’s leaking and keep the water on in the rest of the house until it’s replaced.

 

[Sumboodie]

I think code is location specific. In my area none of the home even those listed for sale by real estate agents do not have them, and the inspection report never flag anything about expansion tank here.

Maybe water heater here has the relief valve and the drain goes outside the house is the reason? I don't know.

Pretty sure it's national code, but I'm not a licensed plumber.

 

[dbias]

$1450 for the install OTD. I just threw up a little. Highly rated local place. 50 gal, iso valve, hard-piped. Guy is saying they never install expansion tanks for this kind of setup, whatever that means.


I feel like an into for not knowing this, but it’s an 80 gal heater!!! I wrapped it in insulation way back when and never thought to check.

It’s still leaking at about a drop/sec.

Not sure how to tell the date. Energy guide says 1994. Does the 0399 in the sn means March of 99?

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From the looks of the water behind the plastic at the top heating element I’d say that one of the nipples at the top has rusted and is leaking down the tank. Same thing happened to my sister’s water heater and I replaced it in just a few minutes and it’s working good as new.

 

[PandaBear]

Pretty sure it's national code, but I'm not a licensed plumber.

I have never seen it anywhere in the Bay Area in the last 30 years. If it is national it must be very recent (I got my last condo in 2015).

 

[PandaBear]

If you have a valve before the tank you can isolate it if it’s leaking and keep the water on in the rest of the house until it’s replaced.

I understand that, but you can also do that by turning off the valve under the sink of each faucet, and not showering.

I don't take cold shower so the chance of cold water coming out of shower mixing valve back into the water heater is low / none.

 

[Elkins45]

I understand that, but you can also do that by turning off the valve under the sink of each faucet, and not showering.

I don't take cold shower so the chance of cold water coming out of shower mixing valve back into the water heater is low / none.

How does that work? Unless you somehow shut off the cold water going into the heater it will leak regardless of what you did to your faucets. Your plumbing out be configured differently than mine. Shutting off faucets under the sink has no impact on the cold water entering the heater.