hot water heater problem

[pasu0115 200]

Noticed yesterday my hot water heater is leaking. The leak looks like it is near the top. The pressure release valve on top has not popped, so I don't think it went over pressure. It seems as though there is accumulation of water by the top thermostat. I have turned the power to it off (it is electric) as well as the incoming water. I cannot figure it out, so I know I am going to have a professional look at it, so does anyone have any ideas what this problem is? Any recommendations for a repair guy in the Somerset County area? I bough my place in 2011 and I think the hot water heater unit is not much older than that, so it seems like a short life if it is done already.

 

[tinman22 0]

looks like the heating element may have broken the seal at the threads or broken in the tank on the actual heater element area from the image. could be a simple $30 fix if its just a bad element. 

[Scorpio64 5,156]

That looks pretty aweful.  I only know gas heaters so I can't be of much help but I will say this.  Your heater has a minimum six year warranty.  Call the manufacturer or a local authorized dealer and see if they can help sort it out.  good luck.

[Heavyopp 167]

How long did that house sit empty?   Thats rust in the bottom of the tank from sitting --

 

I'd plan on changing it.

[alec.mc 180]

In my experience, Electric heaters always die quicker then their gas cousins. These burst all the time at work.

 

Check the heating element port, see if that's where the leak is you might be able to just replace that if the threads are still good- The elements swell up and disform.

 

Most likely though it's done, I'd go ahead and replace it. It's not very hard to do if you know how to solder copper pipe, do a little electrical wiring.

 

Good luck.

[seamusSU 0]

If you do end up replacing it, you may want to look into the tankless heaters. There are normally good rebates available for making the switch and get good increases in efficiency with a smaller footprint

[Heavyopp 167]

If you do end up replacing it, you may want to look into the tankless heaters. There are normally good rebates available for making the switch and get good increases in efficiency with a smaller footprint

If he has Natural gas the yes,  Tankless are great --  I'm on 6 or 7 years with a rinnai tankless in my home --

 

Electric tankless heaters where not very good when I was researching them -- But that was 6 or 7 years ago -- 

[seamusSU 0]

In general electric isn't very good for much other than lighting and AC. I hate electric for heating and especially for cooking.

[plode 0]

I just replaced the natural gas hot water heater here.  It had been leaking at the top for quite some time(very slow.. one drip every 5 minutes at most).  Finally one day I went out in the garage, which has indoor/outdoor carpet, and when I walked back into the house my shoes were wet.  Went and looked and sure enough it was leaking really bad. 

 

Cost me about $500 to replace it myself, including parts.  Not too bad.  New one seems to heat the water faster too. 

[Njbanshee 9]

Easy fix. Do not call a plumber. Go to Home Depot and and buy a new hot water heat. Size and quality are up to you. Then buy the flexible braided steel lines and two shark bite connectors. If you don't have a pipe cutter grab one of them too. Take all that home. With water and electric off, drain your old heater with a garden hose. Cut the in and out lines. Disconnect the wires. Pull the old one out and put the new one in. The shark bite connectors just push right on to the copper pipes you cut. Should all take about 30 min. Good luck

[alec.mc 180]

Easy fix. Do not call a plumber. Go to Home Depot and and buy a new hot water heat. Size and quality are up to you. Then buy the flexible braided steel lines and two shark bite connectors. If you don't have a pipe cutter grab one of them too. Take all that home. With water and electric off, drain your old heater with a garden hose. Cut the in and out lines. Disconnect the wires. Pull the old one out and put the new one in. The shark bite connectors just push right on to the copper pipes you cut. Should all take about 30 min. Good luck

 

 

I think shark bites are a wonderful invention, they come in handy for temp hook ups, but personal preference would be to solder them. If you dont know how surely you have a friend or family member that is handy and has the tools.

 

Plus, if you're on a budget , a few 3/4" elbows and couplings will be cheaper then 3/4" shark bites and that braided hose.

[plode 0]

I think shark bites are a wonderful invention, they come in handy for temp hook ups, but personal preference would be to solder them. If you dont know how surely you have a friend or family member that is handy and has the tools.

 

Plus, if you're on a budget , a few 3/4" elbows and couplings will be cheaper then 3/4" shark bites and that braided hose.

 

I soldered ours, but since you went onto the sharkbite fitting subject, I should mention that they actually make flexible lines with sharkbite fittings on them.  Makes it VERY easy. 

[Njbanshee 9]

I did mine and it took like ten minutes. Shark bites rule.

[maintenanceguy 510]

I spent 20 years working in the trades including a few doing plumbing.  I don't like the shark bite fittings but honestly couldn't give you a rational reason why.  Some good licensed plumbers are using them for hard to get to areas with good results. They have been on the market for a long time with very little problems - probably no more failures than you get with soldered copper connections or glued plastic connections.   But for some reason, I still prefer to do it the old fashioned way.

 

Be careful about permits.  Home owners can pull their own permits without needing a contractor.  Some towns watch the trash at the curb to see if anyone is throwing away water heaters to catch permit cheats.

[pasu0115 200]

If he has Natural gas the yes,  Tankless are great --  I'm on 6 or 7 years with a rinnai tankless in my home --

 

Electric tankless heaters where not very good when I was researching them -- But that was 6 or 7 years ago -- 

 

I was interested in going tankless if I do replace it. Will have to check to see if they have improved since you were looking 6-7 years ago.

[pasu0115 200]

Thanks all for the great responses! Somehow I knew this forum would be a great source of information!

[alec.mc 180]

I spent 20 years working in the trades including a few doing plumbing.  I don't like the shark bite fittings but honestly couldn't give you a rational reason why.  Some good licensed plumbers are using them for hard to get to areas with good results. They have been on the market for a long time with very little problems - probably no more failures than you get with soldered copper connections or glued plastic connections.   But for some reason, I still prefer to do it the old fashioned way.

 

Likewise, IIRC they are approved in most places to even be hidden behind walls, but the price on them is still real high. I couldnt imagine somebody doing any sort of project with all sharkbites. A copper 90 degree fitting is like 42 cents, versus 3-5 dollars for a sharkbite.

 

I prefer the old fashion way when working with copper, I think the only sharbite fitting I have in my house right now is for my toilet.

 

Though, I did upgrade the whole house to PEX ( that fancy smancy plastic pipe ) real good stuff, easy to work with, and the crimp tool works great.

[DSD1026 48]

I think some may be over-thinking this..  There is no repair at this point.  Once it leaks like that, its done.  Its leaking from the top and dribbling down.  I LITERALLY just had this happen this past year..  Granted, mine was much older (think ti was about 15-16 years old, which is a VERY long life span for an electric water heater).  Had it replaced by Lowes (including the install).  Luckily it was covered by my home warranty (contrary to what some think, a home warranty comes in REAL handy sometimes).  Mine leaked from the top, and leaked down on to the thermostat wiring and it almost caused a fire (i was taking a shower, say the lights flicker and could SMELL the burning from the bathroom upstairs)..  See pic below..

 

[Old School 611]

I can't tell what the problem is with your HWH from the pic.

If you are trying to save a few buck you have to work and get analytical.

Remove all the covers and pin point the leak.  If it is at one of the two heaters, you can give it a shot at heater element replacement.

If it's any thing else you may have to bite the bullet at full replacement.

If you are going new you're looking at a $400 doing it yourself.

If you are going to use "Shark Bites" use as few as possible and use the flex line for the rest.

 

Good luck

 

BTW if you can detail strip your firearm I would guess with care you can change your HWH.

[tony357 386]

Replace it... 

[Dan 177]

I'd replace it. It is just not worth troubleshooting, trying to fix it with new parts, then run the risk the fix fails or is the inncorrect one all together. Plus, if that thing bursts, what a mess.

 

If you have gas in your house, I'd seriously consider converting from electric. There is very noticable savings ($20 or more) on my electric bill for a small price for gas ($10 or less). I made the move to a Rinnai tankless and for the past 2 years it has been great. For me, it was a little more investment then a gas tank heater, because I needed a fancy fresh air combustion intake power-vent model due to where the heater is without access to the furnace flu. Still tankless is more pricey, and most likely you will not recoup the ROI over its lifetime in energy savings. There are other benefits that pushed me in the direction... they were 1) space savings in my utility room, 2) unlimited hot water. Those two things alone were worth it to me for the extra cost.

[UNDERSCORE 0]

No such thing as a 'hot water heater'. Water heater, yes. Hot water heater, no.

 

[djg0770 481]

No such thing as a 'hot water heater'. Water heater, yes. Hot water heater, no.

 

Unless you add a recirc pump in which case you're heating already hot but not hot enough water...

[djg0770 481]

Also, most condensing type / instantaneous heaters are not listed for venting in most home's chimneys. In addition, you should not be venting two dissimilar venting categories together so if you go tankless, you're looking at some type of new venting.

 

On top of that, most tank type gas water heaters only need a 3/4" gas line whereas most tankless need a much larger gas line.

[DeerSlayer 241]

No such thing as a 'hot water heater'. Water heater, yes. Hot water heater, no.

 

Im a licenced master plumber. We call them water heaters too. How can you heat hot water? Its already hot. It would be a cold water heater....

 

I wont even give my opinion on shark bite fittings, buying waters at home cheapo or Blowes. You want to install that stuff in your house fine with me. Gives me more work down the road, I have no problem with it.

 

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[njJoniGuy 2,131]

...Some towns watch the trash at the curb to see if anyone is throwing away water heaters to catch permit cheats.

Got any neighbors you're not particularly fond of?

[BlueLineFish 615]

Just call a scrap guy. They will take it

[DeerSlayer 241]

Got any neighbors you're not particularly fond of?

just pay the $50 for the permit. Its for your own and your families safety anyway. A water heater improperly installed can be very dangerous. There's a real reason for codes and inspection, especially if your not a professional. When your kid winds up covered in third degree burns because you didn't install a safety tube on your pressure temperature relief valve, your homeowners insurance is going to want to know who installed the unit and who inspected it. They can tell how old it is by the serial number. Not to mention if your caught the fine is $250 for not calling for inspection, and $2500 for what they call false and misleading (means you had no intention of pulling a permit, and were trying to hide the fact that you installed an appliance illegally and you were caught doing so) the towns are hard up for money right now and its not abnormal these days to have the inspector driving around looking for work being done without permits. just fair warning to you. Pull a permit its not a big deal. If your on here asking questions you don't know the codes I'm sure. It takes 4 years of school along with 5 years of working as an apprentice to learn all the codes and become a master plumber after passing the test. Yeah installing a water heater anyone can do, installing one to code so it passes inspection and is safe takes a pro. If you do mess up the inspector tells you whats wrong and how to fix it most times anyway. If they catch you trying to pull a fast one they're not as nice.

 

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[brocglock23 4]

Noticed yesterday my hot water heater is leaking. The leak looks like it is near the top. The pressure release valve on top has not popped, so I don't think it went over pressure. It seems as though there is accumulation of water by the top thermostat. I have turned the power to it off (it is electric) as well as the incoming water. I cannot figure it out, so I know I am going to have a professional look at it, so does anyone have any ideas what this problem is? Any recommendations for a repair guy in the Somerset County area? I bough my place in 2011 and I think the hot water heater unit is not much older than that, so it seems like a short life if it is done already.

 

049 (600x800).jpg

Granted it's not the best picture but electric water heaters have anode rods. Depending on the water quality in your area they can go rather quick. Where the anode rod enters the water heater will begin to weep. I would get the source yourself or pay a plumber before replacing.

[seamusSU 0]

I was interested in going tankless if I do replace it. Will have to check to see if they have improved since you were looking 6-7 years ago.

Make sure if you go this route to check for rebates! Depending on your local utility company you can get the tankless units for free or very cheap with the rebates