OMG - "She's about to blow, cap'n!!!" check out these PICS of my water heater!!!!!!

[ScoobMaster]

My water heater has been leaking water for the past few days - I was trying to wait it out until AFTER my wedding anniversary trip through the wine trail this weekend, but rupture and basement flooding was too much of a threat! When I came home from work on Thursday, this is what I saw:

She's about to blow!!!!!!

Another pic of the bulging seam!

Ran to lowe's purchased a new one and all the necessary hardware..........

Nice new water heater all installed!!!!

Steel-braided flexible supply lines!!!!

had all the water plumbing and tank filled Thursday night - had to wait until friday to buy new exhaust pipes and high-temp furnace cement (for where the exhaust goes into the chimney). had a *Nice Hot* shower by 11:30AM on friday

 

[mrrman]

its good that you caught that before it did actually blow...or you would have been doing alot of mopping and moping lol

 

Pretty neat! Installed it yourself?

My family's water heater went out about 10 years ago. It was a HUGE hassle because it was a 'direct-vent' heater, which apparently was a non-standard type of thing. Lots of $$, lots of time, but we eventually got hot water.

 

[J0hnny]

Does your house move that much that you need flexible steel tubing?

 

[fr]

Which one of those switches jettisons the core into space?

 

[ScoobMaster]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Pretty neat! Installed it yourself?

My family's water heater went out about 10 years ago. It was a HUGE hassle because it was a 'direct-vent' heater, which apparently was a non-standard type of thing. Lots of $$, lots of time, but we eventually got hot water.

Yep - my father-in-law and I installed it. took me about an hour and a half. The biggest pain was cutting the sheet metal exhaust piping to size, then cleaning all the crumbling masonary around the hole in the chimney and re-packing it with the furnace cement.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: J0hnny
Does your house move that much that you need flexible steel tubing?

It's not flexible steel tubing. It is braided rubber tubing. You either use that or rubber tubing. The braided tubing is less likely to buldge or burst under pressure though. It is not very expensive and a very worthwhile investment.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: J0hnny
Does your house move that much that you need flexible steel tubing?

It's not flexible steel tubing. It is braided rubber tubing. You either use that or rubber tubing. The braided tubing is less likely to buldge or burst under pressure though. It is not very expensive and a very worthwhile investment.

Indeed. Every Clothes washer in every home should make this replacement. You won't miss it until the old rubber tubing springs a leak while you're on vacation and you come home to a couple of inches of water.

They run $10-$15 bucks at hardware stores and are just screw into place like a hose.

BTW: The flexible gas hose is not code where I live. It had to be solid pipe.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Originally posted by: djheater


Indeed. Every Clothes washer in every home should make this replacement. You won't miss it until the old rubber tubing springs a leak while you're on vacation and you come home to a couple of inches of water.

They run $10-$15 bucks at hardware stores and are just screw into place like a hose.

BTW: The flexible gas hose is not code where I live. It had to be solid pipe.

You bet. The "water heater install kit" that lowes sells as a pre-packaged bundle has the flexible copper connectors. For about the same price as the kit - I pieced together everything i needed (including the braided hoses for about $7 each). IMHO they are much better! I guess I am lucky - local code here allows for flexible gas supply (some places in out in CA REQUIRE it due to earthquake concerns)

 

[FoBoT]

the steel braided supply lines are a good idea. i changed out a gas water heater in 1994 in our house. the isolation valves were leaking, so brazing the joints directly was a huge pain in the butt

 

[TTM77]

with all the stupid sizes out there, they need to make things more flexible. Y can't everything follow a standard? And all the male to female thing, Y not make one side male and the other side female for everything.

 

[sharkeeper]

Strip the can from the vessel (tank) and take a picture please.

 

[rhino56]

where are your dielectric unions? you cant connect pipes like that.

 

[dartworth]

Did you install an expansion tank?

 

[chrisms]

I expected porn in this thread.

 

[franksta]

Man I'd really like to replace ours. Well, maybe not so much replace as get it off of the stupid wobbly stand it's on. For some reason or another our water heater sits on top of this 18" tall aluminum "table". And it's on the hairy edge of falling off.

Lowest bidder contract I'm sure.

 

[rhino56]

okay ill guess ill be more than just a judgemental 455hole.

when you connect certain types of metals it can create an electric charge. galvanized metal and copper do this.

check every copper pipe in your house or you will be replacing many valves from corrosion that looks like what you would see on a battery terminal.

the metal sheeting on your furnace returns looks to be galvanized also.

i have seen even experienced plumbers not fully understand this simple concept.
they use the dielectric unions but then they will nail a clamp down with a galv. roofing nail, or cut a hole thru a cold air return and leave the copper pipe laying there touching it.

if you think, ahh i wont worry about it now, wait 2 years and look at all your shut offs, they will be dripping with green goo.

if you need further assistance i will be happy to advise you.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Originally posted by: rhino56
where are your dielectric unions? you cant connect pipes like that.

The old heater was all copper and soldered, true....

However, won't the rubber tubing in the flexible joints effectively isolate the galvanized nipples from the copper piping?

Also - the copper water system is grounded. i did check at the manufacturer's website - and a technical service bulletin stated that dielectric unions are NOT necessary.

 

[LTC8K6]

Every Clothes washer in every home should make this replacement. You won't miss it until the old rubber tubing springs a leak while you're on vacation and you come home to a couple of inches of water.

You should be turning off the valves to the washing machine when you leave your house for a while.

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: rhino56
okay ill guess ill be more than just a judgemental 455hole.

when you connect certain types of metals it can create an electric charge. galvanized metal and copper do this.

check every copper pipe in your house or you will be replacing many valves from corrosion that looks like what you would see on a battery terminal.

the metal sheeting on your furnace returns looks to be galvanized also.

i have seen even experienced plumbers not fully understand this simple concept.
they use the dielectric unions but then they will nail a clamp down with a galv. roofing nail, or cut a hole thru a cold air return and leave the copper pipe laying there touching it.

if you think, ahh i wont worry about it now, wait 2 years and look at all your shut offs, they will be dripping with green goo.

if you need further assistance i will be happy to advise you.

It is called electrolysis. You should have dielectric nipples or unions coming out of the tank. This will help in preventing electrolysis.

 

[rhino56]

Originally posted by: ScoobMaster

Originally posted by: rhino56
where are your dielectric unions? you cant connect pipes like that.

The old heater was all copper and soldered, true....

However, won't the rubber tubing in the flexible joints effectively isolate the galvanized nipples from the copper piping?

no, there is still metal to metal contact with the braiding on it.

the braided lines are very nice looking but arent much better than the rubber inside the braiding anyways. check all the runs thru the place and make sure you dont have pipes laying on your cold air returns also.

 

[d3n]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Every Clothes washer in every home should make this replacement. You won't miss it until the old rubber tubing springs a leak while you're on vacation and you come home to a couple of inches of water.

You should be turning off the valves to the washing machine when you leave your house for a while.

Sage advice

 

[Eli]

How does that happen? I've never heard of a bulging water heater. They aren't under THAT much pressure, are they? The weight of 50 gallons of water, and the slight pressure from being heated...?

 

[rhino56]

looking closer at the lines i see a red washer which is usually ther color they use on the dielectric unions. they may be special fittings that came with it. you will have to check it closely to see if there is at some point a break in the metal to metal contact.

 

[SagaLore]

Ah too bad you already got the new one. Should have gotten a new tankless demand water heater. Would have saved on the bills.