Water Heater leaking...

[Gavin Allan]

My water heater is seeping from the bottom. 50 gal natural gas, original to the house built in 1999.



Wonder how long it will seep until it explodes and floods the finished basement? :fire:



Last time I bought a water heater they were $250. Now a new one from the box stores is about $600. WTF?



Oh well, at least I have something else to do around here...:banghead:

 

[David Ponder]

I wouldnt wait to find out.. Shut the water heater off, and shut the in and out valves to it. my .02

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Shut her down, call the plumber, get a replacement...

 

[Bill Barber]

Call a plumber to hook up two water lines and one gas line? DIY.

 

[TRACket Paul]

Yeah, what Bill said. And maybe a friend to lift to move them out and into place.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Waterheaters from the big biox stores are not as good as the ones from a real plumbers supply center, according to a plumber friend of mine.



10 years is about the life of water heaters these days.





Tom

 

[Scott Tanner]

yuo can extend the life of the water heater by simply turning down the water temperature to 120. the lower temp does not force the dissolved mineral to precipitate out of the water.... I have had mine for 17 years, and there is no scale in the tank...

 

[Bill Barber]

Hook a hose up to the bottom spigot and flush it out once a year,just takes a minute.

 

[Richard L]

Gavin,

You definitely should get your Water Heater replaced fast, because it there is the slightest chance that it can flood the house, you are running a big risk of damage to the house, carpeting, furniture and possible mold in the future.



Since you already have gas, if you can spring for a few more dollars I would go for a tankless hot water heater. They are far more efficient than trying to keep 50 gallons heated all day long, and you will never run out of hot water. They typically cost about $1000-$1200 but you can find them on sale occassionally. If you can install it yourself, you will save the installation costs.



Which ever you decide, please do it quickly because if that tanks starts to leak real bad, you will wake up one morning with soaked carpets, flooded floors and furniture with wet feet. I know, because it happened to me about 7 years ago. I did not have gas at my house so I installed another electric Water heater, but I also installed a galvanized steel pan and a drain line under the new unit to prevent any possible future flooding from a leaking water heater.



...Rich

 

[LaRue Medlin]

Gavin, in April, my water heater broke and flooded my downstairs. 15K damage... Get it fixed ASAP!

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bill Barber,



Correct, you don't need a plumber or heating guy to come in. Alternatives are to grab a friend, grab or buy the right tools, go out and research a good brand to buy, etc, etc.



The choice is Gavin's. I only said what I said because of my own life experiences and it was the first thing that came to my mind. I don't have the tools to do this nor a buddy I can inconvenience in a few hours notice to lend a hand. Also, the couple of hundred in labor wouldn't offset my own time spent doing the job, and the tools I would have to buy. So, for me, calling someone was the first thing I thought of. I never meant it to be the ONLY option.



Of course, if you have the tools, your time is worth less than a plumbers to do the job (e.g. you are retired, you couldn't be making more more doing something else, you have time to spare, etc), you have the experience to sweat a solder joint correctly, etc, and you have a buddy to help cart down the new and take out the old, then by all means...DIY.



There is no ONE way or ONE single piece of correct advice. Ever see the cereal and the ice cream aisle? Lots of options.



TJR

 

[Gavin Allan]

I've replaced water heaters before, that is not a problem. Only problem I had once was where the house was on very hard water and the thing had a rock of sediment inside the tank that took over half the tank's space. It weighed a ton to drag it out of the basement.



Tankless water heater is interesting, but the ones I've seen need 4" vent, and all I have is 3". It would be a PITA to change it out from basement through the chase to the attic with all the twists and bends. If it were single-story I would go for it, but not in this house.



I'll have to check out the local plumbing supply houses. The cartel is pretty strong around here and they don't like to sell directly to homoaners. It always amazes me that they are happy to forego a sale for cash, even though the economy isn't that strong.



I'm not about to pay some clown plumber $1500 to do what I can do for very little, and the quality and craftmanship around here is generally horrible unless you are a big-dollar contractor who can get through the cartel to get the good guys. Mostly hacks take the small residential stuff.



I'll agree with Tom that the quality of labor is pathetic in this non-union area of the ozarks. When I lived in St. Louis, it was very easy to get excellent craftmanship although you had to pay for it too. Here you just pay a lot and get Bubba's brother who learned from Bubba.

 

[Bill Barber]

TJR

Sad no tools,no buddys? Gotta wonder why.

 

[Andy Chase]

Mine went last year and my dad helped me hook it up. It took us about an hour or so. I bought it at Menards, I believe they had 3 levels of warranty, 9, 12 and 15 on the various sizes in Natural gas. So look at that too.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Yeah, going to Menards tonight after work. They don't have any info on their website.

 

[Richard L]

Gavin,

If you look into tankless Gas Hot Water Heaters, you will find that some are side vented and some can even be installed outside, so they do not need any venting, so you only need to run the water lines to the outside wall. Of course the outside mounted units cost a little more but it's only about an extra $100 but the inside units typically cost more to install because of all the insulated vent pipe, etc.



I have been thinking about installing a outside mounted tankless gas hot water heater at my new house. I have already installed an upright LP tank (420# bottle) back in May and I only use it for my cook-top. At the rate I used the gas so far it will easily last me another 2 years..lol So even if it doubles my LP gas usage, I will still only need to fill the tank every 15 to 18 months for a cost of about $250 per tank full.



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bill Barber,



Not sad, actually, as...



I never said I have no tools. I have many tools. I just don't have all the tools for that job.



I never said I have no buddies. I have plenty of buddies. Just none that I can call during a weekday to help me with a project. My buddies all work. In my house, no hot water isn't a condition that can be endured very long.



I've got friends. Some that even meet the definition of a "true friend". A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body.



Remember the old advice...don't assume, especially don't assume absolutes (no friends, no tools). Got lots of friends, and I thanks to this website there is a surplus of tools!



Happy New Year.



TJR

 

[gary s]

replaced mine last year as it was 14 years old. no problem, just wanted to be safe.

the local gas company who i have a contract with had a 10 year/50 gal installed for $600.

imo, not a bad deal.

also your new one will be more energy effic.

 

[EddieS'04]

About 4yrs ago. I replaced my 40gal gas, for the best home depot had, $220. I just checked the web site their price has doubled for the same one.

I did self install. I was a pipefitter before I was an Instrument tech.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I understand prices have gone way up due to government-imposed safety devices to keep nearby flammable vapors from igniting, like a water heater in a garage where gasoline is stored.