leak in thermal expansion tank

[jbridge337]

Hi, I came home from 3 days out of town to discover my expansion tank had developed a pin size hole and had saturated padding and slab in about 600 sq ft of my basement in addition to some baseboard and sheet rock damage. The tank is almost 6 years old.

What is the normal life of one of these tanks and aside from coming home to this situation every 6 years, what is the recommended method of dealing with one of these tanks?

There isn't a floor drain in the basement, but I do have a water alarm on the floor next to the water heater. Unfortuneately, the 3 neighbors we usually have keep an eye on things for us were all out of town as well(kids off from school). I have heard different opinions regarding turning of the water to the entire house when leaving town. I usually just turn off the line to the washing machine.

Thanks,

Jim

[Brian]

SmartHome sell a product called Water Cop.

It will help you as by shutting your water off when their is a leak.

[m Ransley]

I put in a 1/4 turn valve on the main , if I leave for more than a day its off. At 5 gallons a minute in 3 days you could of had 21000 gallons in your basement, yes twenty one thousand, I hope you have a sump, but if that failed you would be swimming. There are auto main shutoffs or get in the habit. Tanks should last the life of the system 20 years

[Dan]

[Dan]

[Dan]