I bought a house in Florida a couple months ago. During inspection it was noticed the water heater pan had water and rust in it. We added it to the list of things to be repaired but negotiations ultimately excluded that item. This is a AO Smith Signature Series 900 Hybrid water heater. That means it's electric and also has a heat pump.
During the past couple months I noticed the leaking of water is actually coming from the pressure relief valve so I put a bucket under the pipe and caught it instead. I've also noticed the digital display occassionaly flashes ECC 1200. I called the home warranty company and they sent a plumber out. The plumber told me the water heater is only
4 years old and still under manufacturer warranty so I have to go through them. He did however drain and flush the water heater to change out the pressure relief valve.
I called the manufacturer and they authorized a replacement, but installation is on me. I had to go to Lowe's for the warranty replacement and talk to a supervisor. They want me to return the old one first before they give me a replacement, which was ridiculous to me. That meant the plumber would have to come twice, once to remove the old water heater and once to install the new one. They gave me the option of buying a new one and reimbursing me when I brought the old one back so I had to settle for that.
I chose to purchase a regular electric water heater rather than a hybrid one. I'm not a fan of new technology and prefer the old tried and true methods. The plumber arrives today to replace the water heater and install an expansion tank which the old one lacked, leading to the leaking pressure relief valve.