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| leaking hot water heater | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28th, 2009 03:05 pm |
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1st Post |
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Alan B. Member 
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Water is flowing out of the exhaust vent at the top of my water heater.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28th, 2009 04:22 pm |
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2nd Post |
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eleent Member
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Hello: Basically, if it's not leaking from a fitting, the tank is a goner. If the leak is slow, you can turn the water off to the tank and also open a hot tap. This will remove pressure from the tank, but allow it to heat and stay full of hot water in a safe manner. When you want to shower, close the tap and turn water to the tank back on. This allows normal usage and people have survived this way nicely for weeks while shopping for a new heater. Of course, you must turn the water off again and open a tap when you finish your hot water use. Look elsewhere on this site (tanklets & choosing a water heater for starters) for how to inspect a heater for leaks and also how to go about setting up and installing a replacement. Good luck  Yours, Larry Last edited on Wed Oct 28th, 2009 04:24 pm by eleent |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28th, 2009 08:39 pm |
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3rd Post |
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dogtooth4 Member
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How do I pressure test the hot water heater for leaks? And what am I looking for in numbers to indicate a leak.
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| Posted: Thu Oct 29th, 2009 05:22 pm |
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4th Post |
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eleent Member
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Hello: Usually a pressure test isn't needed as things on or around the heater get wet, but a test can be done if the shut off to the heater is good and you have no cross connections in the plumbing. Screw a pressure gauge onto the heater's drain and open to read static pressure. Turn off the heater's energy supply and water supply. Wait to see of the pressure falls. If it does, there must be a leak --- and you get to find it Yours, Larry ps. If the plumbing is uncertain, do the same gauge test, but turn water to the entire house off. If pressure falls, there's a leak, but it could be in buried pipe or toilet/s. That's why it's better to isolate and test only the hot side.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 04:39 pm |
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5th Post |
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stanlj Member
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What is a "hot tap"? My tank is barely leaking, but i want to start shutting off the water supply to it so i don't come home to a flooded basement one day, if i don't get this replaced b4 it blows. Thanks.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 05:55 pm |
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6th Post |
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elenano GCF-GL
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That merely means turning on/off the hot water in the kitchen or bathroom or wherever. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 06:45 pm |
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7th Post |
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stanlj Member
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ok, but i must be missing something. If i turn a hot tap on to relieve water heater pressure while intake water is shut off, won't i be emptying the water heater?
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 09:30 pm |
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8th Post |
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elenano GCF-GL
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Not at all. The outlet from the water heater goes higher than the water heater and then down to your hot tap. So the water in the piping will run out and the tank will sit there, full, but without 20-80 psi of pressure pressing against its seams. Randy Schuyler
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 10:01 pm |
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9th Post |
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stanlj Member
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Ahh, now i think i get it. Without the pressure from the inlet (bcos i have it shut off), water will not flow. Is that right?
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20th, 2010 11:55 pm |
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10th Post |
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Tobey Member
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Apparently our gas water heater has had a leak for some time, but we just noticed it in the last few days when it became much worse and leaked out of the closet. We cannot afford to replace it immediately, so we're trying to drain it so we can place a drip pan under to try to get by for a while, but stop the damage to the surrounding area. We've had it draining through a hose for a while now, but it's going very slowly, and continues to make gurgling noises. Can you explain how to properly drain it?
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| Posted: Thu Jan 21st, 2010 06:38 am |
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11th Post |
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elenano GCF-GL
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So, there are two questions here. For Stanlj, yes, you have it exactly. For Tobey, as long as it's gurgling, just give it time. It will get there eventually, and then you can take care of it per the posts higher up. You're lucky: I was dealing with someone who had so much sediment in the bottom of his water heater that it clogged continually and had to be cleared out. At least you don't have that! Randy Schuyler
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