Water Heater Question (Pic)

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rjwolfe3

rjwolfe3

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Joined
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Mansfield, Ohio, USA.
Was doing laundry today and noticed water on the floor. It appears to be coming from the top of water heater. I have a 40 gal gas Envirotemp that is maybe less then 6 years old. The water appears to be leaking where the cold water comes in and the hot water goes out. I have CPVC running to the water heater and threaded to connections on top of the water heater. I checked all of the pipes above it and no water is coming from there. I really can't afford to have a plumber come out so I am hoping someone knows something about this.

TIA:cool:

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Looks like it is rusted thru at the connections. Do you have hard water? Looks like you may be going to your local Homedepot or Lowes to replace it.
 
I agree with the Hard water too. My last place was like that I spent a lot time learning plumbing had to redo all pipes about every 4 years wonder what the inside of the tank looks like?
 
Yeah I would and then invest in a softner. Otherwise you will end up doing it all over again. My brother in GA had to do the same thing once and that is all it took for them both to get softners.
 
There is a big chance that you entire inside is rusted out or on its way yes. any other areas of plumbing getting this way?
 
I will bet if you pulled the anode out there would be nothing left to it. If that be the case yes you need to replace.
 
There is a big chance that you entire inside is rusted out or on its way yes. any other areas of plumbing getting this way?
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A little rust stain in the tub - other then that no. The house is all CPVC for supply lines since they were all ruptured when we bought the house.

Check the TP valve.
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Sure what is that?

I will bet if you pulled the anode out there would be nothing left to it.
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You may be right.

If the water heater needs replace then I am screwed, I have nothing extra until Feb. Hopefully it will hold up until then.
 
JB weld should buy you some time if you can get to the source of the leak. If possible, dry the pipe when cooled, smear the 2 part mix on and hope. About 7 bucks ought to do it. Of course if the tank has other problems. :frown:
 
i have been a plumbing and heating controctor for 15 years i think your problem is in the fact that the Cpvc is connected to the water heater plumbing code states that copper or steel pipe should run 18" From heater befor cpvc is used if it where mine i would go to home depot and get a heater install kit it will have 2 flex lines one end with a male fitting the other with a compression fitting to connect to the cpvc clean the fittings on the heater and use Pipe dope on the new fittings and it should be ok water heaters very seldom fail at the fittings if your heater is going to leak it will come from the bottom of the tank if you have any more questions drop me a PM with your Ph Number and i will give you a call if work wasent so crazy right now i would drive down and give you a hand i think your only about 100 miles from me
 
Douglas Feehan said:
i have been a plumbing and heating controctor for 15 years i think your problem is in the fact that the Cpvc is connected to the water heater plumbing code states that copper or steel pipe should run 18" From heater befor cpvc is used if it where mine i would go to home depot and get a heater install kit it will have 2 flex lines one end with a male fitting the other with a compression fitting to connect to the cpvc clean the fittings on the heater and use Pipe dope on the new fittings and it should be ok water heaters very seldom fail at the fittings if your heater is going to leak it will come from the bottom of the tank if you have any more questions drop me a PM with your Ph Number and i will give you a call if work wasent so crazy right now i would drive down and give you a hand i think your only about 100 miles from me
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Exactly spot on. The heat kills that CPVC so close to the water heater. I would also suggest replacing the annode while your working on it. It's fairly cheap, and should give you some extra life in the long run. Also drain the sediment out of the bottom of the tank on a regular basis.
 
Well water depending on its mineral make up can be pretty brutal on plumbing fixtures. It can kill a hot water tank fairly quickly. I believe they only put anode tubes in electric hot water tanks so the minerals won't attack the internal heating elements. Either way it looks like there will be a new hot water tank in your future soon. If your well water is high in mineral concentrations you really should look into a water softener.
 
pensmyth said:
Well water depending on its mineral make up can be pretty brutal on plumbing fixtures. It can kill a hot water tank fairly quickly. I believe they only put anode tubes in electric hot water tanks so the minerals won't attack the internal heating elements. Either way it looks like there will be a new hot water tank in your future soon. If your well water is high in mineral concentrations you really should look into a water softener.
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Nope..the sacrificial anodes are required in all water heaters due to Galvanic corrosion. That's what helps prevent the glass tanks from failing. They should optimally be replaced every three years or sooner if you have a high mineral/metal content in your water table.
 
I am not licensed but have done a ton of plumbing since I was knee high to a grass hopper. I know when thing look right and when they do not. and every thought I had when I saw your photo was exactly what Douglas said above. basically not even the right parts for the job you are doing. I also find that having a ridgid connection to the tank causes problems. the pipe is supposed to be flexible for a reason.
It is hard to tell from you photos but it looks like there are drops of water even on the vent pipe. If so this tells me you actually have a spray going on. this is either from a tiny pin hole in the tank (not likely at the top anyway) or at the fitting (far more likely) Not to be critical but the joints in the pipe are a mess with glue everywhere but where it needs to be. This is an indication of the skill in the person that put it all together. I know when I see this sort of thing I give up any expectations of what I might find as I dig deeper.
I also recommend giving the tank install kit a shot. I have a strong suspicion it will solve your problems and you need it when you go to replace the tank if that is what is needed anyway.
 
I am a plumber as well I agree with Douglas try putting nipples or heat traps on the inlet outlet of the water lines CPVC male adapters(the one screwing into the heater) is not rated for heat!!! you need to come off a nipple of at least 6-12 inches in my opinion. Rust out usually only occurs in the bottom I seldom if ever seen the top rust out. Hard lines are fine the heater does not vibrate if installed correctly. Your water lines will absorb any small amout of vibration from water on and off...solid mounting has been done for years on the east coast anyway....I question the flue or smoke pipe that would not fly out here it needs to be at least b-vent that looks to be dryer vent..
 
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Listen to the two plumbers. They are correct. Cut the CPVC lines and install the nipples with pipe dope or vector seal. If you have the heater disconnected you might take it outside and remove the lower element and check it. Replace if necessary. Put the heater on a couple of sawhorses laying down and wash out the heater with a waterhose through the lower element hole. That will remove the sediment. Reinstall with new piping, and it will last several more years. Pressure valve is probably fine, but do have it piped either out or under the house. Plan on all morning!
 
May be a good idea to see the end of the pipe from the pressure relief. If it drips or lets water out a couple things could be wrong, too hot -too much pressure or faulty valve all of which need attention but if you cant see it youll never know. What we generally do is put a pan under the heater and drop the line from the pressure valve 6 in above pan then pipe the pan where you want the water to go. Sounds harder than it is. You have a lot of good ideas here and all free just remember 5 different plumbers 5 different solutions all correct.. If you need any other help you can PM me Id be more than happy to talk you through anything discussed here and give you options...This can be fixed correctly on the cheap!!!!
 
Wow, much better news. For now I will be getting the kit and installing it. I think I can figure out that much. I don't think it can get any worse (knock on wood). Thank you all for the help and advice. May have to wait till my next day off to try it though. Will keep you all informed of my progress.
 
Six years can be pretty ancient for a heater if you have hard or unstable water. From the looks of yours, replacing is the only reasonable solution. I recommend anything but a GE. I had a less than two year old GE fall apart. It was (supposedly) still under warranty. The dealer wouldn't do anything and GE wouldn't even respond. It was either sue them, call Rocco from Chicago or go with another brand heater. I got a Marathon from the electric company. I could go on about GE refusing to back up their products. In a nutshell, no GE product will ever again come into my house.
 
Rob,

The plumbing is probably wrong too but I think your problem is the aluminum vent. Aluminum is not approved for flue gas. The temperature and acidity eats aluminum plus the aluminum to steel connection on the top of the diverter with moisture and heat does not work. Rust is on top of the diverter too so the problem is above the tank. Flexible dryer vent was never intended to vent flue gas and is totally wrong.

The flue should be 26 or 28 gauge galvanized flue pipe from the tank to a chimney or class B flue vent.

It is fairly evident whoever put this in has no idea how to install a water heater. I'll guess the gas piping is wrong too. Call the building department or get a good contractor to look at it. There is probably nothing wrong with the tank. It is everything else.

Jim
 
I work for a plumbing and h.v.a.c. Distributor in texas. By the phot, i can tell that water heater was not put in according to the plumbing code. That vent pipe is far from code.
 
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