Quick basic advice on a dripping gas 40-gal hot-water heater

Can I get some quick trusty advice on a dripping gas 40 gallon hot-water heater?

I noticed my hot-water heater leaking and my husband is out of town. He says wait until he comes back (1 week) but I am afraid something bad will happen. He also says maybe we should replace with an instant on tankless heater but I want to get it done today!

Do you have quick advice on hot-water heaters?

  1. If it's leaking cold water from the bottom but still working, is it not repairable (I assume it's a throwaway item).

  1. It's at least as new/old as when I moved into this house around 2000 and it has an energy efficiency sticker so it's not that old. But, would you replace it with a bigger (only two people in the small house as the kids are gone) one or even go tankless?

  2. Is it a home repair or, due to gas, is it only by a qualified pro?

  1. Do most of you go to Home Depot or the like and just pick one and have them install it or is there a "better" way?

  2. I never did anything preventative but googling talks about a sacrificial anode and draining; should I have done that (I'm guessing yes).

  1. If we go tankless, are there "gotchas" we need to watch out for?

Sorry for so many questions! But it would be nice to get your off-the-cuff advice again!

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo
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Wait till he gets back

Reply to
ransley

I was scared that I had to replace it this instant! But, I like to think a bit if I have the time to think.

I think I'm giving up on the tankless idea because of what you said. This is what Consumer Reports has to say about tankless. I think I'll replace my "40HMEV" with an equivalent one with a tank!

"Tankless water heaters claim to save money by heating water only when you turn on the faucet. But smaller, cheaper units probably won't produce enough hot water to serve a typical family. Larger, gas-fired units cost $1,000 or more and are expensive to install because they often require larger gas supply lines and special venting."

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

Hi Nate, Thanks for the continued advice. This "warranty" stuff always confused me. On the one hand, Consumer Reports says never buy the extended warranties for electronics and the like and on the other hand, for their hot-water heaters, they say get the ones with the longest warrantee because they "tend to be insulated better".

Since a warrantee is merely a marketing gimmick, I find the fact that there is any correlation between warrantee and actual product quality suspicious.

I'm an old(er) woman and I've *never* made good on any warrantee for anything sizeable ever. I remember muffler warrantees in the 80's where by the time I needed a new muffler, I didn't even remember where I bought the last one. Same with automotive batteries and brake pads. Sure, they're warranted, but, when your tire blows, you need a new tire and you can't shop around for the store that sold you the warrantee.

Since a warrantee is merely a marketing gimmick, how can there be *any* correlation between warrantee and actual quality?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

It is definately not-hot water (i,e., cool) leaking at the bottom of the tank. I'll snap a photo and show you. The top has the two pipes coming in, one is cold; the other is hot. It's working.

It is a good idea to shut off the water coming in (that limits my risk to

40 gallons max); but you didn't state whether I should turn off the gas also.

I suspect that I must - but can you confirm that the gas goes off with the water inlet getting shut off?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

"Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coordinator" wrote in message

Yes, toss it.

If it works for you, size is OK. If yo ever runs short, go for bigger. For gas, is is probably plenty good as it has faster recovery than electric.

Depends on your skill level. If you have to ask, get a pro.

I'd rather use a local plumber, but, some of the big stores do a next day install.

I think that is more of an eectric thing than gas.

Yes, you need lots of power, venting etc. You may hot have allthe time needed to plan an install. Many people are also unhappy with them too as they are not as resposive as they'd like.

Chances of a catastrophic failure are slim, but I'd not wait very long. You can close the feed valve to the heater and limit any leaks to the 40 gallons inside of it.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

by "bottom" if you mean "bottom of tank" then yes, it needs to be replaced.

Depends on your exact situation. There's resources online to help you select the proper sized water heater. Do you have any issues with your old one? (running out of hot water mid-shower, etc.?) If no, it is probably at least as big as you need. I have no opinion on tankless, but be aware that you may have to do some gas plumbing to make it work, as well as your flue for the old WH may now be undersized. Tankless WH's have a much higher BTU/hr rating than tank style and therefore use gas at a much higher rate. You have to both feed and exhaust it properly (kind of like hot-rodding a car.)

Depends on how handy you are. If you're just replacing a tank style with another tank style you *may* be able to handle it yourself, but I'm hesitant to say for sure without knowing your skill set. I'd probably call a pro to convert to tankless.

I would avoid that orange colored circle of Hell like the plague and call a real plumber.

checking the anode and flushing the tank every hear is never a bad idea.

Shut off the gas to the WH and shut off the water to your house before you leave to go anywhere. If you don't know how to do all of this, or relight the pilot (assuming you have one) post back. Does the room in which the heater is located have a floor drain? Can you tell where the water is leaking from? (is it coming from the T&P valve pipe? If so you can fix this yourself without buying a new WH.)

I wouldn't rush into replacing the water heater; there's real savings to be had from carefully shopping and selecting one that is a) sized right for your house and b) as efficient as possible. Unfortunately the typical water heater purchase sounds a lot like yours, so there's typically some sense of urgency behind it and people don't make the best decisions.

If it is well and truly failed, and you have to replace it, take a look at waterheaterrescue.com (I think I got that right) I would definitely install a ball valve in place of the factory plastic drain valve on your new heater, and they also offer other helpful advice there. If you have someone install it you probably won't have the opportunity to install a curved dip tube as they recommend, but that is really only important for high sediment areas. You don't need to buy from WHR (although I did buy new anodes for my heaters from them as I was unable to find any source locally that sold magnesium anodes) just to do the ball valve thing; a threaded 3/4" ball valve, a dielectric nipple, and a 3/4" NPT male to garden hose male adapter is all you need (and pipe wrenches and dope, of course) pick up a brass garden hose fitting cap while you're shopping in case someone kicks the ball valve unintentionally. It is, however, WAY easier to do this before the water is turned on to your new heater; it's a bit messier if you have to retrofit an old heater due to a busted drain valve. (ask me how I know this.)

good luck.

nate

Reply to
N8N

First, don't leave it long but spend a few days doing your homework. Do it today and you'll likely get talked into something you'll regret.

I prefer a tank to tankless. Get one with really good insulation and it will be just as energy efficient.

I dislike Home Depot. A good local independent is a better bet if you can find one with strong recommendations. Ask your neighbors, co-workers etc. I'd go to Sears rather then stick a pin in the Yellow Pages.

Check locally for permit issues. Some cities actually require a permit to replace a water heater (just silly IMO, but it's the law).

Reply to
Malcolm Hoar

Forgot to mention, that is no guarantee that it hasn't outlived its design life.

Most water heaters have a 6 year warranty; that means that anything over 10 years or so without regular maintenance is borrowed time. My water heater was installed circa 1990 or so, judging from the data sticker on it, and it still has one of those yellow "energyguide" stickers on it. (yes, I'm still using it, although its T&P valve failed and stuck slightly open while I was out of town and caused a horrid mess in my basement. I caught it just as it was starting to soak the carpet on the other side of the basement...)

I probably should have replaced it by now, but the anode looked OK so I stuck a new anode, T&P valve, and ball valve drain assembly on it and kept using it, because I'm a cheap b*****d. I figure if it does fail I can save all the stuff I've replaced and at least get my money's worth out of them in the future. The PO's of the house never did any maintenance on the thing (as evidenced by a drain valve that failed the first time I tried to flush it, and an anode that required a 3/4" breaker bar and cheater pipe to bust loose) but it's still kicking. just goes to show you that there is wide variation in the life of a WH probably primarily due to local water conditions.

nate

Reply to
N8N

I'm on Consumer Reports right now looking up how to buy a new one.

It's gas and it has always been fine with the water. We have even fewer people in the house now than ever before. The FHR (first hour rating) is 65 on the existing (leaking) water heater. It's 34,000 BTUs. I can't seem to find the EF (energy efficiency). I can't make out the brand but on the label, I can see a model "40HMEV" (whatever that is) that I'm looking up now. It's barely dripping ... just a puddle on the floor ... so I wonder how much time I have to research the right thing to do.

I guess I have a day or two?

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

This is what I was most worried about! I didn't know if was going to explode or anything. The sticker says it has a 300 psi pressure valve or something like that. I dont' know what 300 psi looks like plastered all over my garage, but I'll bet it isn't pretty!

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

I am not sure why it would be leaking cold water if it is working and therefore the water in the tank would be hot. Check above the hot water heater to see if any cold water pipes or any valves are dripping a little, and if the dripping water is then running down the outside to the bottom, making it look like the tank is leaking when it isn't.

If it's definitely the tank that is leaking (but leaking "cold" water makes me wonder about that), there is a risk that it will leak more in the next few days and be a big mess. Depending on where the tank is located, that could be a problem. If it's in a basement with a drain, and/or with nothing around on the floor that could be damaged by water, a bigger leak may not be a huge problem.

To be safer, when you leave the house, you can turn off the main water valve to the house, or if you know where the cold water feeds into the top of the hot water heater, you could just turn that valve off. Then, if there is a big leak, mostly only the water in the tank will leak out rather than having an unending flow of water running out of the bottom of the tank.

Skip the tankless water heater idea -- lot's of problems and not worth it.

"Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coordinator" wrote in message news:fona51$vm7$ snipped-for-privacy@aioe.org...

Reply to
BETA-33

"Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coordinator" wrote in message

Be sue the water is not hot water that cooled on the trip to where you see it.

If you shut the water off, you do not have to shut the gas off as long as you keep water in the tank.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Well, I went to the HD and bought one and installed it myself. They sell a nice self-install kit with steel-braided lines, adapters (if you need them), etc. They have reasonably priced GE models, priced by the level of insulation, efficiency and other reasonable criteria.

After hours of cursing and sweating to remove the old plumbing, draining and lugging the old one out, installing and leak-testing the new one, I thought the around $300 installation price they had wanted wasn't unreasonable. IIRC, it was around $700 installed next day for their top-of-the-line heater.

Beats leaving messages on answering services for so-called 24x7x365 plumbers, and the uncertainty. That said, I would shop Sears too, what is a few phone calls here and there?

Reply to
Nexus7

As far as water heaters go, the only difference I'm aware of is extra anodes for the 10 or 12 year warranty models. If you're checking them every year when you flush and replacing when necessary, it doesn't matter. I'd pick 'em based on efficiency ratings, BTU/hr ratings, and price.

nate

Reply to
N8N

kicking. just goes to show you that there is wide variation in the life of a WH probably primarily due to local water conditions.

nate

My gas-fired tank is 30 years old & still working fine. Unlike yours though, I think the previous owners did at least drain it occasionally, as evidenced by the well-hacked-up edges of the plastic drain valve being attacked by water pump pliers or whatever. But if it does ever leak, it's going to the landfill. Since it's right over the floor drain, I don't worry about it much.

Reply to
Bob M.

Hi Edwin,

Thank you for this home water heater gas line shut off tidbit as it's not obvious to me the heater can have no water coming in but the gas can be left running - but it makes it easier for me so I'm glad to know that.

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

more expensive longer life tanks tend to have better insulation, brass rather than plastic drain valves and built in pilot igniters.

I prefer the higher 75K BTU larger tank, to avoid running out of hot water....

Reply to
hallerb

I assume it's leaking from the body of the tank, not from a connection or the pressure relief valve.

Chances are the heater is done. 5 year warranty?

If I's just a slow drip, and is controllable you could last a week, but it could let go anytime.

Is it down the basement on a concrete floor with no possibility of water damage? If not the damage bill may exceed the cost of replacing

10 heaters.

The safe bet is to call a plumber and replace the tank as soon as possible. The labor to replace the tank with a similar unit will likely be less than that of a tankless. Less modifications to the water and gas lines.

Bite the bullet and take your lumps, the joys of being a home owner.

I built a new house and installed a conventional electric heater a few years ago. At the time I couldn't justify the additional expense of a tankless heater.

LdB

Reply to
L D'Bonnie

Hi Nate,

Good advice,

I'm on the (1-800-HOME-DEP) line waiting to ask for the all-important FHR and EF numbers for the dozen available hot water heaters.

- 1-800-466-3337

- Press 1 for installation services

- Ask for "water heater" assistance

- Give them your zip code

- They transfer you to the water heater department

- 1-800-79DEPOT

- Press 2 for water heaters

- Press 2 for water heaters (not tankless)

- Home Depot Home Services (exclusive suppliers of GE hot water heaters)

- The operator, a David Kershaw, didn't even know what FHR stood for!

- Not a good sign ... I'm gonna call their Water Heater Services at

- 877-467-0542

I'm still waiting on the phone to get someone who knows what it is they are selling; but this is disconcerting they don't even know the first thing about what it is they supposedly specialize in at that number.

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

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