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The Library => Haley Center Basement => Topic started by: Townhallsavoy on May 12, 2011, 09:55:40 PM
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Home help -
My hot water heater is dripping from the bottom . It's about a drop every two seconds, and the water is hitting the burner prior to running down to the bottom and onto the floor.
I've already placed a service order through American Homeshield, but they can't come until Tuesday.
Is it safe to keep the gas burning when there's a leak? And if I've already shut the gas off, is it safe to relight the pilot with a small leak?
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Home help -
My hot water heater is dripping from the bottom . It's about a drop every two seconds, and the water is hitting the burner prior to running down to the bottom and onto the floor.
I've already placed a service order through American Homeshield, but they can't come until Tuesday.
Is it safe to keep the gas burning when there's a leak? And if I've already shut the gas off, is it safe to relight the pilot with a small leak?
If you're heating hot water, you're probably doing it wrong.
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If you're heating hot water, you're probably doing it wrong.
Fucking hell, man. The ice cold shower I took this morning has me confused.
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Fucking hell, man. The ice cold shower I took this morning has me confused.
Sorry. Wisecracks are unhelpful.
Cold shower? I'm sure the missus appreciated it.
My knowledge of water heater repair is "Hello Lowes? What time can you be here with a new one?"
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A little dripping water shouldn't affect the gas, but I am no HVAC expert either.
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A little dripping water shouldn't affect the gas, but I am no HVAC expert either.
I'm worried about the tank busting at this point.
I just spoke to AHS and stated that this was an emergency since the inlet valve is jammed. I can't stop the water from leaking, and if it busts, the wall to my finished basement is fucked.
Of course, AHS said it's not an emergency, and that Quality Plumbing has every right to schedule me up to five business days from the time the call is made.
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I'm worried about the tank busting at this point.
I just spoke to AHS and stated that this was an emergency since the inlet valve is jammed. I can't stop the water from leaking, and if it busts, the wall to my finished basement is effed.
Of course, AHS said it's not an emergency, and that Quality Plumbing has every right to schedule me up to five business days from the time the call is made.
It's doubtful that it's going to bust. How old is the water heater?
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It's doubtful that it's going to bust. How old is the water heater?
20+ years.
Sorry. 16 years.
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20+ years.
Sorry. 16 years.
Wow... That's up there. I recently replaced mine that was also about 16 years old. It's time to replace yours. Leave everything on/functioning and put a pan, bucket or towel underneath it to catch the dripping water. Check it every several hours to make sure that the leak isn't any worse and confirm that you're able to catch the water from doing any other damage to your house. Nothing is going to bust unless you start hammering on it or try loosening/tightening pipe fittings or valves. You should be fine for days/weeks/months depending on the extent of the leak.
If the pilot goes out, just relight it to keep the water hot for showers and "stuff". If the water starts to affect the pilot, there's a check valve that should automatically shut the gas off when the pilot goes out, so you should be fine. Don't worry too much about water dripping on the burner, but I wouldn't let that go too long... as in months. The water could cause the burner to rust and result in a little carbon monoxide. You don't want to be responsible for global warming.
What is American Homeshield? You might do better just calling Lowes or Home Depot. Better yet, go shopping for a new water heater this weekend and see if you can schedule installation next week. I think I paid about $1,000 last year to replace a 40 gallon. That included installation along with removal/disposal of the old one. I did get a higher end model, but you should plan on spending at least $800 for a 40 gallon.
Hope this helps...
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You should be fine till monday. The scale buildup in the bottom has caused the inside of the tank to flake up. It will give way soon but if it's just a drip then the water has just found a small crack. You may want to hook up a water hose to the drain valve and have it rolled up so that you could get it to a sink fastin an emergency.
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I think you should begin hitting it with a twelve pound sledge and see what happens.
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The drip is going to put the pilot out and your gas is going to continue to run. It will run all the way up to the point when the repair guy shows up and knocks on your door. Of course, he won't be able to get in because you'll have died in your sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning. After standing outside of your door for a few minutes playing "angry birds" on his droid, he'll make a note of a gas smell (which he will assume is your tank leaking) and will put in a request for someone else to come at a later date. It won't be until 9 days after you've passed on that a family member will call the local authorities with concerns of your whereabouts.
But hey, who wants to take cold showers? Turn that heat gauge to "super kamehameha" and go to sleep. Everything will be fine.
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$1000? Shit. I need to be in the water heater business.
Several years ago on Christmas Eve, mine went out. I got to home depot before closing and picked up a new 50 gal heater for like $250. The hardest part was getting the old one drained and removed. The rest was just fitting and soldering. Took about 3 hours.
If your are gonna drop a wad, have the guy install a hw recirculating pump also. They coat about $200 and you will have hw at all faucets within like 10 seconds.
Keep in mind that since it is so old, you will probably need an expansion tank added. I call bs on those things, but the gubment added them to the code.
You can keep running for a few days. The tank is rusted and leaking. It will blow the Pressure release valve before it ever explodes.
Any ole plumber can do the job. Ask around. There has to be one a friend knows who needs the work.
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Having recently priced them, I didn't find any gas water heaters in the $250 range. The 40 gallon models seem to start in the $400-450 range and go up from there. Everything is automatic on my new one, and yes... They had to upgrade some items to meet the new gubm'et codes, probably resulting in the added expense. Like I said, plan on spending between $800-1000.
I don't think the HW pump can be easily installed in an existing home. You need to run parallel plumbing for all of the hot water feeds in the house to make that work properly.
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If you go to the power company and tell them you'd like to swap from gas to electric, they will give you a new tank.
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Having recently priced them, I didn't find any gas water heaters in the $250 range. The 40 gallon models seem to start in the $400-450 range and go up from there. Everything is automatic on my new one, and yes... They had to upgrade some items to meet the new gubm'et codes, probably resulting in the added expense. Like I said, plan on spending between $800-1000.
I don't think the HW pump can be easily installed in an existing home. You need to run parallel plumbing for all of the hot water feeds in the house to make that work properly.
American Home Shield is a home warranty company. $40 a month and a $60 deductible.
They're a pain in the ass to use, but it does save money. For example, last summer our air conditioner went out. It took three appointments to finally get the company they hired to admit I needed a new unit, but all I paid was $60 and received a brand new air conditioner.
I'm sure this will be a pain in the ass too to get fixed/replaced, but in the end, this service will only cost $60 instead of $500+.
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If you go to the power company and tell them you'd like to swap from gas to electric, they will give you a new tank.
You just blew my mind.
Any idea if an electric water heater is cheaper/more expensive than a gas?
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If you go to the power company and tell them you'd like to swap from gas to electric, they will give you a new tank.
If you go to construction site you can pick one up pretty cheap as well.
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If you go to construction site you can pick one up pretty cheap as well.
While you're there, you can pick up some copper pipe as well and make a little extra money.
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You just blew my mind.
Any idea if an electric water heater is cheaper/more expensive than a gas?
Probably a little cheaper right now with the high fuel prices, but that could change at any time.
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If you replace your heater I highly recommend the Rinnai tankless. Especially since you already have the gas line run in. They are expensive (around $850) but you get a $300 tax credit. We installed one in our house when we built it and it is great with the two kids since we never run out of hot water. Also my parents switched from a tank to the Rinnai and their gas bill was 50% of what it had been (the only thing they use gas for at their house is the hot water heater).
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If you replace your heater I highly recommend the Rinnai tankless. Especially since you already have the gas line run in. They are expensive (around $850) but you get a $300 tax credit. We installed one in our house when we built it and it is great with the two kids since we never run out of hot water. Also my parents switched from a tank to the Rinnai and their gas bill was 50% of what it had been (the only thing they use gas for at their house is the hot water heater).
I don't have the final recommendation, but I did a ton of research on this at the time. I wanted to go with the tankless option as well, but the test reports, opinions and experiences of others convinced me to stick with a tank... for now. Not meaning to turn this into a whole new discussion, the advertised benefits seemed to be offset with some of the real-world experiences. Apparently, most models seemed to exhibit inconsistent temperature issues. Energy savings also seemed to be less than $100 annually (a typical Friday night outing), and the system for my house would have cost around $2,000 to install. There also seemed to be some unknowns related to life expectancy and periodic maintenance. I decided to wait for the next go-round.
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I don't have the final recommendation, but I did a ton of research on this at the time. I wanted to go with the tankless option as well, but the test reports, opinions and experiences of others convinced me to stick with a tank... for now. Not meaning to turn this into a whole new discussion, the advertised benefits seemed to be offset with some of the real-world experiences. Apparently, most models seemed to exhibit inconsistent temperature issues. Energy savings also seemed to be less than $100 annually (a typical Friday night outing), and the system for my house would have cost around $2,000 to install. There also seemed to be some unknowns related to life expectancy and periodic maintenance. I decided to wait for the next go-round.
I've been calling/talking/reading/emailing people about the tankless system for the past 45 minutes.
It seems like the tankless water heater has to be installed properly or your water temperature will be inconsistent. I talked to Lowe's who said they will install it for around $200. But do I trust Lowe's to do it? I don't know.
I think I'll hold out to see what kind of piece of shit AHS will provide. It's completely rusted on the bottom and has visible cracks in the pipe. This bitch is about to blow. It has to be replaced with something.
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I don't have the final recommendation, but I did a ton of research on this at the time. I wanted to go with the tankless option as well, but the test reports, opinions and experiences of others convinced me to stick with a tank... for now. Not meaning to turn this into a whole new discussion, the advertised benefits seemed to be offset with some of the real-world experiences. Apparently, most models seemed to exhibit inconsistent temperature issues. Energy savings also seemed to be less than $100 annually (a typical Friday night outing), and the system for my house would have cost around $2,000 to install. There also seemed to be some unknowns related to life expectancy and periodic maintenance. I decided to wait for the next go-round.
I've seen your Friday nights. $100 won't cover it.
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I had the Rinnai installed when I built my house about 4 years ago. I'm still about 50/40 on whether I'd go with one again. For showers.....fantastic. You can stay in there all day if you want and the water temp stays consistent. You can rub one out, bathe and then rub another one out if you so desire. Biggest drawback is you waste a ton of water waiting on it to heat up if your using a fawcet far away from the system. Ours is installed on one side of the home right outside the master bath. No problems whatsoever in that room. Water heats up in a few seconds. However, if you're in the kitchen on the opposite side of the house, you might have to run the water for a minute or more to get it heated up.
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I had the Rinnai installed when I built my house about 4 years ago. I'm still about 50/40 on whether I'd go with one again. For showers.....fantastic. You can stay in there all day if you want and the water temp stays consistent. You can rub one out, bathe and then rub another one out if you so desire. Biggest drawback is you waste a ton of water waiting on it to heat up if your using a fawcet far away from the system. Ours is installed on one side of the home right outside the master bath. No problems whatsoever in that room. Water heats up in a few seconds. However, if you're in the kitchen on the opposite side of the house, you might have to run the water for a minute or more to get it heated up.
My tank heater does this anyway. Our showers heat up quickly, but faucets take about 45 seconds.
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American Home Shield is a home warranty company. $40 a month and a $60 deductible.
They're a pain in the ass to use, but it does save money. For example, last summer our air conditioner went out. It took three appointments to finally get the company they hired to admit I needed a new unit, but all I paid was $60 and received a brand new air conditioner.
I'm sure this will be a pain in the ass too to get fixed/replaced, but in the end, this service will only cost $60 instead of $500+.
So running the numbers...
- I've been in my house for at least 16 years...
- In that time, I've had to replace a dishwasher, a washing machine and a water heater.
- Under a plan like this, I would have paid $7,680 in monthly fees at $40 each and $180 in service calls at $60 each.
- Without the plan, I would have spent $300 for a comparable washing machine, $300 for a comparable dishwasher and $800 for a water heater. Of course, I spent a bit more than that, because I had to get a matching dryer with the washer and upgrades to the latest fancy models with bells, whistles and computers were absolutely necessary. You probably don't have that option under your plan.
To be fair, I've also had about three HVAC issues in the last 5 years at about $100 per visit. I've also had a roof replaced, but would that have been covered under your warranty?
Coming up in the next couple of years... I'll need to replace both HVAC systems. Thanks to the Dumbo-crats and the Global Whining movement, I can no longer repair my systems. I'll have to completely replace them. They don't call this a tax, but it's still going to cost me an ass-load of money to satisfy the worthless feelings of skat-for-brains politicians.
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I've seen your Friday nights. $100 won't cover it.
True... My Tuesday nights...
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True... My Tuesday nights...
If you go home by 10. maybe.
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I've been calling/talking/reading/emailing people about the tankless system for the past 45 minutes.
It seems like the tankless water heater has to be installed properly or your water temperature will be inconsistent. I talked to Lowe's who said they will install it for around $200. But do I trust Lowe's to do it? I don't know.
Yeah... Lowe's has a magical tool that enables them to install these devices properly and prevent inconsistent water temperatures. I believe that Halliburton designed and manufactured this device around the same time that they built Bush/Cheney's Evil Weather Machine. I understand that the technician is required to chant during the installation process in order for it to work properly.
I think I'll hold out to see what kind of piece of poop AHS will provide. It's completely rusted on the bottom and has visible cracks in the pipe. This bitch is about to blow. It has to be replaced with something.
I agree...
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So running the numbers...
- I've been in my house for at least 16 years...
- In that time, I've had to replace a dishwasher, a washing machine and a water heater.
- Under a plan like this, I would have paid $7,680 in monthly fees at $40 each and $180 in service calls at $60 each.
- Without the plan, I would have spent $300 for a comparable washing machine, $300 for a comparable dishwasher and $800 for a water heater. Of course, I spent a bit more than that, because I had to get a matching dryer with the washer and upgrades to the latest fancy models with bells, whistles and computers were absolutely necessary. You probably don't have that option under your plan.
To be fair, I've also had about three HVAC issues in the last 5 years at about $100 per visit. I've also had a roof replaced, but would that have been covered under your warranty?
Coming up in the next couple of years... I'll need to replace both HVAC systems. Thanks to the Dumbo-crats and the Global Whining movement, I can no longer repair my systems. I'll have to completely replace them. They don't call this a tax, but it's still going to cost me an ass-load of money to satisfy the worthless feelings of skat-for-brains politicians.
We had the first year free provided by the seller. This is the only year we've paid for it. We already got a new air conditioner. Hopefully we'll get a new water heater, and I plan on calling about our upstairs AC unit in June.
Then I'll cancel AHS.
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Having recently priced them, I didn't find any gas water heaters in the $250 range. The 40 gallon models seem to start in the $400-450 range and go up from there. Everything is automatic on my new one, and yes... They had to upgrade some items to meet the new gubm'et codes, probably resulting in the added expense. Like I said, plan on spending between $800-1000.
I don't think the HW pump can be easily installed in an existing home. You need to run parallel plumbing for all of the hot water feeds in the house to make that work properly.
They have a system now for around $200 at Home Depot. You add a valve under the farthest sink from the wh. You can set it to run at peak times or leave it running. The only thing needed is a power supply (115v). I put it in my house about 4 years ago. The kids love me now. They used to turn on the hot water and let it run for about 2 minutes to get hot water to their bathroom. Now only about 10 20 seconds.
The valve allows the system to use the cold water lines to push water back to the wh. The only drawback is that your cold water will now usually be luke-warm all of the time. We have not found this to be a problem.
The hardest part of changing out the wh is getting the old one out. The part that scares people is sweating the lines. (soldering) It really is a simple process that anyone can do. You just have to be patient.
And now in most cases, you do not have to sweat the lines any longer. They have these things called shark-bites that will join two copper tubes together just by pushing them together. So as long as you have enough room above your wh to push the copper pipes up about an inch, you can use the shark bites.
Oh. And I am not sure the power company will give you one unless you are all power. I think if you still use gas for anything, they will only discount. But it is worth looking into.
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If you go home by 10. maybe.
And, don't make any Peachtree, Cheshire Bridge or Fulton Industrial runs...
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I switched to an electric tank last year when I started the massive remodeling job on house. Right now, it's about $50 less a month. I was worried about running hot water out with 2 kids, but we've never had a problem. If your tank is close to your breaker box, it wouldn't be hard at all to switch. If it's not close you are looking at having to run electricity to it. Probably still wouldn't be costly.
The one thing I will give gas over electric. You lose power? Cold shower. Tornado fucks up power in the spring/summer, cold showers not bad. Snow storm kills power in mid January? Those showers are a bitch.
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I switched to an electric tank last year when I started the massive remodeling job on house. Right now, it's about $50 less a month. I was worried about running hot water out with 2 kids, but we've never had a problem. If your tank is close to your breaker box, it wouldn't be hard at all to switch. If it's not close you are looking at having to run electricity to it. Probably still wouldn't be costly.
This might be true right now, but proceed cautiously. The impacts of politics, regulations and foreign affairs on energy prices is significant.
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I don't have the final recommendation, but I did a ton of research on this at the time. I wanted to go with the tankless option as well, but the test reports, opinions and experiences of others convinced me to stick with a tank... for now. Not meaning to turn this into a whole new discussion, the advertised benefits seemed to be offset with some of the real-world experiences. Apparently, most models seemed to exhibit inconsistent temperature issues. Energy savings also seemed to be less than $100 annually (a typical Friday night outing), and the system for my house would have cost around $2,000 to install. There also seemed to be some unknowns related to life expectancy and periodic maintenance. I decided to wait for the next go-round.
We've really liked ours, so have my parents. We had our plumbing sub install ours, my dad installed his own. The majority of the problems I have heard have been with the electric models or people who have really hard water.
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Do not...I repeat do not ...get a tankless water heater.
If you need a reason why... I built custom homes and remodels for 8 years as a project manger, trust me go with a tank heater (gas or electric)
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Do not...I repeat do not ...get a tankless water heater.
If you need a reason why... I built custom homes and remodels for 8 years as a project manger, trust me go with a tank heater (gas or electric)
Just cause' you're a shitty contractor, don't take it out on us tankless guys.
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Just cause' you're a poopty contractor, don't take it out on us tankless guys.
Spreading the word about energy efficient water heating systems is a tankless job.
:rimshot: