Leaking hot water tank?

The Woman called me to the basement and pointed out a minor flood. It appears that for some reason our hot water tank decided to piss all over the floor. I shut the water off to the tank and placed a call to the landlord. Dunno if I'll hear back from them until Monday though.

Looks like it's coming from what appears to be an overflow tube. I stuck a bucket under that for now. What would cause the tank to randomly start pissing out water?

 

It’s a temperature and pressure relief valve.
Is there water coming out of the bottom of the tank or just that valve?

 

I had an electric Bradford White water heater that did that in the last house I rented. Kept doing it til it was replaced. If it goes out and there’s no hot water, there is a reset switch to make it come back on. Just keep the bucket under there.

Also, most states have laws that if the house isn’t habitable you don’t owe rent for those days up to a certain time, then landlord has to provide hotel I think til it’s fixed. I’d say hw falls in to that. Depending on your relationship with your landlord, might want to mention that.

Edit: just saw you are in Canada. Maybe similar laws though?

 

Amazingly, the plumber has come and gone already. It was the T&P relief valve. He replaced it and told me to keep an eye on it. Should be fine though. He said it's roughly a $25 part and showed me how to replace it so when we buy a house I can do it myself.

It was just coming from the valve.

I'll leave the bucket there for sure. The drain next to the tank is useless thanks to the concrete slope. LOL.

I'm pretty sure the tenant laws have something similar here in Canada to what you mentioned. Fortunately, the problem is fixed. Quite honestly, over something like a hw tank, I wouldn't kick up too much of a fuss until a few business days passed. I'd rather shower at the local pool which is 5min away than be stuck in a hotel when the rest of my house is just fine. Now, if it were the furnace being out it'd be a whole different matter. It's cold this time of year. LOL

 

Good it’s fixed and the plumber knew what he was doing. The first plumber that came when mine did it swore it was the shower leaking. The water heater was in the laundry room behind the bathroom. But even when I turned it on with him there to show him no water was coming out, he still said that was it and took his service call fee from the landlord and left.

 

Damn, that sucks. Quality tradesmen can be hard to find.

 

I had that exact same thing happen to mine. threw a new T&P valve in and good to go.

 

I'm a plumber dont tell everyone lol .But a t&p valve can get weak over time . you will ne ok now .

 

I would pipe it over to that drain. Get some unistrut or a block of wood to keep it up off the ground, then give it twice the inside diameter of the pipe air gap above the drain in the floor. The pipe is 3/4 so an 1-1/2” gap. That would be code and save you from a flooded basement if it ever happens again. It’s funny that they don’t slope the concrete to that drain.

 

Or a drain pan (smitty pan) with the outlet piped to the floor drain and the T&P piped to pan. I think that’s ok at zero clearance.

 

Most states the landlord has 10 days to fix a problem from the time of complaints. No hot water does not make it in habitable. In convenient yes. Before you tell your landlord he has to put you in a hotel check your local laws.

 

Ya my was leaking a few months ago replaced it all good now. I found a deal on a new water heater about 10 years ago $25 for a 50 gallon high efficiency one @ Lowe’s it was a display didn’t need it at the time then installed it about 8 years ago still working great.

 

Hot water tank question.

I replaced our anode rod and drained our tank. Between draining and tightening multiple times, the brass screw nipple thing, broke. I'm guessing a drop every 10minutes, nothing major.

Thoughts on these two scenarios:

1) replace the entire valve with a new one, better shut off valve, risk of something going wrong when removing.

2) buy the same valve, replace the porton below (assuming that is serviceable).

Red arrow is the screw potion that broke.
Blue circle is what I am thinking of swapping.

Cost is no issue. It's $40 for a new valve with better shut off handle and $22 for the same and I use the part I need.

 

temporarily can you dremel a slot into the post and use a flat head to open and close?

 

There is probavly still enough to grab with some pliers. I'm thinking I overtightened it, to stop the drip, but it was probably just a piece of sediment stopping it from fully closing.

I was thinking of removing that section (as it looks like it unscrews) and replacing it. I don't have the replacement yet, so wasn't sure if that entire part would include the part that stops the water from owing. Tank would be drained prior to removing that piece or the water would be squirting up and out.

@Outbound yeah, I know. I figured it was easier than starting a new thread. I trust you guys more than a plumber who is going to sell me a $2000 installed tank when all I need is a $20 part.

 

Replace with a full flow 3/4 ball valve and a brass nipple

 

It’s the pop off valve, easy fix.

 

If you were in Cochrane or Calgary, I'd send my brother over. He's a plumber and always shoots straight, even if it means charging less.

 

If it’s leaking from the valve at the top like it appears, you can buy a replacement anywhere ace home depot Lowe’s and replace it diy, not plumber needed

 

They will usually leak hot water making your gas/electric bill higher plus water

 

You can swap out that drain without draining the tank, just gotta move quick.

 

Yeah, I've seen a few videos on that.

My worry is, the current drain has been in there for so long, it'll snap or break something and I'm screwed.

I purchased a replacement drain (identical to one in tank) and am going to swap out the closeout/shut off portion. That will buy me some time to think about extending the life of this tank and/or biting the bullet and replacing the entire unit.

If/when a new tank is installed, I'll get it with a hot water pan under it as well as a proper shut off valve instead of the brass screw.

I also purchased some water sensors on Prime day, so I'll scatter those around the laundry room. I've never used them and figure they can't hurt to have.