Water heater gave out

[petersenj]

Yesterday I arrived home to find my garage flooded from a leaking water heater. (Tools and equipment were all elevated so no damage). I am in a bad bind for money and would like to take it apart to see if the internals are repairable. If it is just a pipe I would say will be an easy fix. If the tank is rusted through (most likely the problem) obviously trash.

Anyone ever repair the internals of a water heater? What kind of luck?
Any warnings before I pull the insulating cover off? It is a Natural Gas heater.

[Zrexxer]

Anyone ever repair the internals of a water heater? What kind of luck?
Any warnings before I pull the insulating cover off? It is a Natural Gas heater.
By the time they're leaking they're toast. There's never a good time, just replace it.

[Knowledgeworker]

Zrexxer is right. By the time they get to that stage they are gone. A while back I had the same thing happen with our water heater, and I thought i could fix it. All I ended up with was a mess that the wife made me clean up. I would have been money and time ahead if I had gone and purchsed one.

Jim

[boykjo]

This will give you a good excuse to go buy one of those wood burning furnaces to heat your house and hot water.......:p

[Some Creep]

Here's a good test to see if it's worth replacing:

Remove it from it's installation and take it outside (driveway works best for me).

Take a pick-axe and give it a whomp in the side, if the pick end goes through, you need to replace it.

This test has saved me lots of time wondering......

[Mr Jimi]

I hope for your sake it's just a bad pipe and not the water heater, you may be looking at around $400 plus for a new one
best of luck with it
Jim
:)

[Knowledgeworker]

Here's a good test to see if it's worth replacing:

Remove it from it's installation and take it outside (driveway works best for me).

Take a pick-axe and give it a whomp in the side, if the pick end goes through, you need to replace it.

This test has saved me lots of time wondering......

:D I like your style. That would be a quick indicater for replacement. :D

Jim

[Some Creep]

:D I like your style. That would be a quick indicater for replacement. :D

Jim

OOps! I did forget to add this:

If the pick end doesn't go through, then the water heater is probably now extremely dented and should be replaced at once!

Whew! Hope leaving that out didn't cause any confusion! :(

[Critter]

Hey Some Creep, I have test instuments just like that! Did we go to different schools together?

[Thomas Harris]

Cut it open to see if it is limed up. Someone I know did this just to satisfy his curiosity. When they could see it in cross section the bottom quarter was neary solid with lime scale. Really fun to drain one like that before replacement. Do you have a water conditioner? That makes a huge difference in some regions.

[Critter]

OK, I'll be serious for just a minute. Did you check the T&P valve? That usually goes before the water heater.

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy!

Something else to consider, is that many newer hot w3ater heaters are much more energy efficient.I cut a bunch off my power bill when I had to get a new water heater. I paid about 300$ for mine. It had a smart module thingy ontop. You can set it up like a thermostat for your house. I think it's called a set-back thermostat. So it keeps it alot cooler if your away all day. You can also set it on a vacation mode, where it keeps it just warm enough to keep anything from freezing, and then when you turn the water on at the tap, it goes to the normal setup. I thought it was flaky and a gimmick at first, but the enrgy start label thing sold me. It really did work out well. The insulation is way better too. It's like a solid foam block. Not a hollow empty tin can. Good luck either way. Brian Lee Sparkeee29 P.S. perhaps time to consider a tankless water heater? No energy waste if not being used. and it never goes cold.

[Thomas Harris]

I'll be serious also. The crud which can accumulate in the bottom does not aid the heat exchange and will reduce efficiency lots. It'll act like an insulator in the bottom of the tank, forcing the burner/element to stay on longer than it should.

[Hotfoot]

My next one is going to be tankless. I lived on a boat for three years, and my water heater on that was just a 6 gallon...(but I didn't have a dishwasher), and I only turned that on in the morning (dockside power) 20 minutes before I showered., then turned it off just as I entered the shower. More than enough nice hot water...but I was aware of its small supply, so had a valve on the shower head to turn it off whiles sudsing and shaving, back on to rinse. I've considered installing two of those in lieu of a tankless, and returning to my old "energy conscious" ways....but I'm single, so that greatly simplifies that. My last two girlfriends insisted on long, hot tub baths, so this system wouldn't work for them...the boat had no tub, shower only...out the back sliding doors was the lake, and plenty of my "overnight guests" simply enjoyed a morning swim.

Anyone here thought about making their own tankless?? They seem pretty simple.:rolleyes:

[tomtri]

Anyone here thought about making their own tankless?? They seem pretty simple.:rolleyes:

I opened mine up to have a look at how it operates and all I could see is a lot of fancy electronics and gadgets. So the cover went promptly back on.

[Java Jim]

They are energy efficient, unlimited hot water, and take up very little space.

I have a Stiebel Electron 10 ($300)that we bought about a year ago after the existing one went out. I spent many hours of research deciding on this one. Many of the models are junk. Other are very expensive.

The gas models are a better value because you can get more hot water at a time from them but they also start out more expensive ($400+).

The electric models pull a lot of amps. Ours sucks 40 amps and it is the small one. It heats one major thing at a time-shower, dishwasher, etc. It is a chilly experience when something else is turned on when I am in the shower-burrr.

Don't buy cheap. It will come back to you. I learned that with tools and it holds true to tankless water heaters. Buy the best you can afford.

[tailshaft56]

Here's a good test to see if it's worth replacing:

Remove it from it's installation and take it outside (driveway works best for me).

Take a pick-axe and give it a whomp in the side, if the pick end goes through, you need to replace it.

This test has saved me lots of time wondering......Your results are backwards. If the pick axe bounces it's no good. If it goes through... well too bad. LOL

[Some Creep]

When I am in need of a new one I am SO going tankless! I have a small one on my minibar and it's so simple to use / install. The gpm is low or else I'd use it for the house, but it NEVER runs cold, not even luke-warm. I used to rebuild waste oil burners and the preheat elements inside the burners are the same system as tankless heaters. An "S"-shaped loop of passages with heating elements the water has to pass over to get from one end to the other. Easy to replace and maintain. The controls are another thing and I'd never want to try to build my own (I'd die in a fire from doing it, I'm sure). Impurities in your water will foul the elements over time too, but nowhere near what a standard water heater has to deal with!

My big dilemma will be coming up with a new testing method for when to replace a tankless heater.... Drive over it with the truck maybe? :confused:

[Walt McBride]

Tankless water heaters are something else!
What the advertisements do not tell you, that you will have to put up with hot then cold, then hot, then cold if you are turning the hot water off then on such as rinsing dishes, shaving ect. When the hot faucet is turned off the heaterflame goes out. When the hot faucet is turned back on, cold water must flow at a 0.8gal./min. rate to ignite the burner to heat the passing water through the heater. Unfortunately my heater requires over 1gal/min. flow to ignite and stay ignited. Any slower flow you get cold water. No adjustment available.
You may save gas but waste water.
I paid big bucks for it and installed it myself. Expect to pay $2000 if you have one installed. I did gain space where the tank type was located but I would not do it again.
Walt

[Knowledgeworker]

Hey petersenj, I was just wondering if the water heater of the 1/16/08 is todays art.:)

Seriously, how did everything go?

Jim

[petersenj]

I guess it is time for an update. As I stated, money is tight. Bear that in mind upon further reading and please forgive me.

What I learned:
The inner tank is very thin gauge. I was expecting to find a big thick tank. I was wrong.
Not too many pipes in a water heater. Just the Inlet and outlet on the top, and NG piping to the burner

The tank itself was shot and pouring water out the bottom. Too many thermal cycles over the years and constant water contact tend to do that. This you all know I am sure. An iron tank would hold up much better to that, but thats all a part of cost saving and weight reduction and planed obsolescence.

I bought a used tank from a guy on craigslist for $60. I sweated my first copper pipes and did pretty good. No leaks. The mapp torch was way too small and time consuming for my tastes. Out with the acetylene torch. Took about 6 seconds on each joint.

I know buying something like this used is a cardinal sin, but I'm just biding my time till the ole refund gets here. When it first filled up and fired it was "leaking" at the center hole and dripping/sizzling on the burner. My *** is still puckered I think. I figured maybe just what I spilled or rainwater so I kept my mouth shut to the wife. Dripped for about 10 minutes and all is well now. It is about 10,000 more btu's so it stays warm longer.

I have been looking at the new ones and was maybe going to buy a tankless when i need it, but I am scared to try a fairly new product with names I know nothing about. I saw a Rheem for a good price. We will see when the time comes.

One observation is how little most people really know about mechanical things like this. Everyone I talked to including my wife of 12 years seemed to be real concerned about installing it on my own. Apparently they really don't know who the F I am. Why is everyone so afraid to try something so "hard". I didn't even have to buy equipment. Already had the solder and copper pipe.

Laugh at my scrap pile again MOFO. I should plant the old one in the front yard to remind friends and neighbors of the metal suppository I would enjoy giving them all.

[Knowledgeworker]

Glad everything worked out for you. Ain't nothing real difficult about plumbing around the house. If it was, I couldn't do it, and I hate to be dependent upon a repairman.

Jim