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michele
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 04:11 am |
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I arrived home this evening (6:30) and noticed a leak underneath the water heater with water dripping down to the garage floor. The drip is located at the base of the water heater on the backside facing the wall. It's mounted on a wood stand, which is completely wet. I understand it may need to be replaced, but my concern is what do I do now until the plumber arrives in the next few days? Do I need to turn it off and how?  It's a Reliance 501 model and if I base my guess on their label it's from 1994. Thanks for the help.Last edited on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 04:13 am by michele
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eleent
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 04:43 am |
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Hello: The very first thing to do is relax, or at least remain calm  There is a trick for living with a leaky heater. There's a water shut off valve on the cold supply pipe. Shut that valve and go to a hot tap, (upstairs is best) and open it. These actions will remove nearly all water pressure from the tank. Leave that tap open. Also, leave the gas or electricity on. Do verify that the leak has essentially stopped with thr water off. If it has, then, when you need a shower, close that faucet and turn the water back on to the heater for only the length of the shower. I've had folks use this trick for up to three months. It's a nuisence, but removes the panic from the situation and allows you to gather info and find a reasonably priced replacement.
Yours, Larry
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michele
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 04:54 am |
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| Thanks. I'm glad you got I was panicking. I'm thinking this is the valve I used when we had a slab leak last year, we would move the lever when it was time to take a warm shower. Is this the one? I'm not clear on what you mean about going to a hot tap (upstairs is best)...?
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elenano
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 06:08 am |
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The lever sounds like the control for a ball valve. It will be on the cold pipe coming into the water heater and probably not very far from it. You can find pictures of valves in Lingo, under Troubleshooting, elsewhere on this site.
As to hot tap, what Larry meant was a hot faucet: kitchen, bathroom, anything. With the incoming cold valve shut, opening it lets out water between the heater and the faucet and removes the pressure.
Randy Schuyler
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michele
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 06:16 am |
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Thank you Randy for explaining it to me and I'm to assume he meant if I had a two story home...? I'm a real novice at this, like you couldn't tell, so forgive the question....if I'm not taking a shower than I'm to keep the faucet running overnight? Of course, that's if the water leak has completely stopped as Larry mentioned. Thank you again.
I just checked out the picture for ball valve and that's it! Does this mean this is the shut off valve on the cold pipe? I appreciate the patience and help!!!!
Last edited on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 06:21 am by michele
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elenano
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 07:39 am |
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Michele,
Most of us were novices at one time or another -- except Larry, perhaps. Sometimes I think he sprang into the world full-grown and savvy, like Athena out of the head of Zeus. Maybe somebody should raise a temple to him. The Larrynon? The Parthegarten? Doesn't have quite the right ring, does it?
Yes, if you have a two-story home, upstairs is best, but if you don't, well, any faucet will do. But with the pressure to the water heater turned off, leaving the hot faucet open doesn't mean anything will be running out of it all night long. It probably won't, but sometimes shutoff valves don't shut off all the way, so leaving the faucet open will ensure that pressure can't build up in the water heater and make that evil leak leak some more.
If the lever valve is on the cold line upstream from the heater, that's the valve you want to close. Hope that helps.
Randy Schuyler
Last edited on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 07:41 am by elenano
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michele
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 08:08 am |
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| Thanks for the understanding! After taking a shower, I lowered the temperature on the water heater to just under the "Hot", which is unmarked and I noticed steam coming out of the top area that you can lift up to look in (next to the temperature gauge). I reread your notes and turned the ball valve (cold line) vertical and ran the bathroom sink at hot, which only lasted a few seconds before nothing came out. The pilot light is still on (just in case I got ya on the temperature gauge thing). And my novice understanding of your last entry is to leave the sink on to keep the pressure out.....? Thanks so much!
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michele
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Posted: Fri Feb 29th, 2008 04:30 am |
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Here's a last question (maybe )....I noticed that after the shower was ran and I went to turn off the valve there was steam coming out of the what does it mean when the steam is coming out of the area that you the panel lifts to see the pilot light. Is this normal with the situation I've got going on? Thanks for the help!
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elenano
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Posted: Fri Feb 29th, 2008 05:33 pm |
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If the leak is close to the burner, I could imagine the hot combustion chamber drying wet surfaces and making steam.
Randy Schuyler
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eleent
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Posted: Sat Mar 1st, 2008 04:57 am |
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Hello: With all this talk of steam, I want to make sure things are safe. Is the hot water you get ever really hot? Is there ever steam from the pipes, faucets? Also, is the floor under the heater staying dry? That would be a good sign
Note to Randy that I have been doing plumbing so long that it can seem like forever, but I'm quite happy watching the odd hummingbird and have no use for any marble edifice  Though, if either Zeus or Athena had a little spare energy, I'm sure I could put it to good use.
Yours, Larry
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Ej
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Posted: Sun Mar 2nd, 2008 01:44 pm |
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| Also you need to be careful your leak isn't affecting the burner. This can be a dangerous situation with water displacing the fire resulting in unburned fuel.
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michele
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 06:05 am |
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Hi Randy and Larry. Thank you very much for your help it's sooooo appreciated!!! In response to Larry's questions...1) The water is never very hot; 2) There is no steam coming from the pipes or faucets and 3) The floor under the water heater is staying dry (although yesterday when the hot water was turned on it started to drip again, but not today). The steam is intermittent when the hot water is running. I also noticed that the pressure isn't a 100% during the showers and wondered if this was because of running the faucets when the hot water is off. In regards to the last post..the leak does not seem to be a factor with the burner. Thanks everyone!
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eleent
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 11:00 pm |
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Hello: About shower pressure; That other faucet should be closed when the shower is to be used. It's only open when nothing is being used, to prevent pressure build-up. It IS possible that with the water being turned on and off, some debris in the lines has come loose and is clogging the showerhead. Try removing the head and running water, (both hot and cold individually) for a few minutes to flush the lines. Then clean the head by backflushing or soaking in vinegar overnight. Or, it may have a screen you can see that needs cleaning 
The fun bit is you are surviving the demise of your water heater wihout panic and without the pressure to take the first bid you get to replace it. It is a good thing.
Yours, Larry
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michele
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Posted: Tue Mar 4th, 2008 05:33 am |
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Hello again. I've been turning off the faucet when the shower is in use etc., so I will try your suggestions. Unfortunately, I've got another one for you.....the pilot light is out  and I'm thinking I need to call the gas company to ensure the survival of the water heater demise. Am I correct? Does it mean I need to leave the hot water off still?
Thanks again!
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eleent
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Posted: Tue Mar 4th, 2008 11:46 pm |
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Hello: Treat the pilot outtage as a separate problem... It is after all So, do you know how to light a pilot? You turn the control knob on top to the pilot position. Remove hatch covers. Hold down control knob and light pilot with a long match. Hold knob down for at least 30 seconds more. Slowly let knob up. Put hatch covers back. Turn knob back to on. Be happy.
Do let us know how it goes.
Yours, Larry
ps. It may be that condensation formed and a drop fell on the thermocouple, putting things out. It could happen again if the heater is starting from cold. Keeping the tank warm is a plus.
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michele
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Posted: Fri Mar 7th, 2008 03:24 am |
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| Thank you Larry for the help and it did work, prior to my arriving home my husband had read your instructions and got it working as you instructed. Your the man!!! I still need to address the water pressure issue and I'll keep you posted as to how the suggestions you gave worked out. Thanks again!!!!!
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mspatts
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 03:28 pm |
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I have the same issue, with a leaky anode or nipple connection (still trying to spot which one)... i've turned off the cold water intake, and everything dried up nicely.
Is it bad/unsafe to NOT leave an upstairs faucet open while the cold water intake is closed? Doesn't the pressure release valve make sure you're not over pressured?
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mspatts
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 06:48 pm |
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mspatts wrote: I have the same issue, with a leaky anode or nipple connection (still trying to spot which one)... i've turned off the cold water intake, and everything dried up nicely.
Is it bad/unsafe to NOT leave an upstairs faucet open while the cold water intake is closed? Doesn't the pressure release valve make sure you're not over pressured?
also, when i leave the upstairs faucet open, it drips a small stream of hot water.. at first
i thought it just might be clearing the pipes, but its been going for a few hours.. (its currently dripping at a rate of approx 5 oz/min)..
so i'd rather not leave the faucet open and waste water if i don't have to..
any problem NOT leaving a faucet open? isn't that what the pressure valve is for?
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elenano
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 06:55 pm |
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No. It's not unsafe. It just relieves the pressure between the water heater and the faucet. It doesn't cause the tank to drain.
The small stream of hot means your shutoff valve isn't closing completely. You pretty much have to leave the faucet open though, or the pressure will build back up in the tank, which I presume you're trying to avoid, to make the tank last as long as possible.
When you get around to replacing the water heater, replace the shutoff, too.
Randy Schuyler
Last edited on Tue Apr 8th, 2008 06:57 pm by elenano
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mspatts
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 07:32 pm |
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ok.. the only other upstream valve is where the water comes in the house... so looks like i'll have to keep the whole house's water off (except when needed) until i can replace the valve at the water heater this weekend.
that's a pain, but better than wasting water (~2.4 gal/hr) or gambling that a pressure build-up won't cause the original nipple/anode leak again until i can replace everything. let's hope that works, or i'm off to get another water heater...
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