OT - Hot Water Heater died

[gavingould]

just bought a house in Texas after 2 decades in Chicago...
inspection noted that the A/C was on the older side as is water heater.

had to replace the A/C first week as it gave up in the 90s/100s.

not sure why i'd need to heat the water, seems to come out of the tap at ~80F now!

[MikeD]

What I did was put a drainpan under my new water heater that flows down to the vent line for the relief valve, which flows outside the garage. That way, if the water heater if it leaks it won't ruin anything.

[redir]

28 years is a heck of a good run. For me that's a job for the plumber

[zennmotion]

Nobody mentioned checking the anode rod periodically and changing it- will greatly increase the hot water heater lifespan preventing internal galvanic corrosion. And when you get a new tank, consider upgrading to a magnesium (rather than aluminum) rod if you drink or cook with hot water directly from the tank- Al is no bueno for health (eg alzheimer risk)

[Columbus SLX]

Originally Posted by MikeD

What I did was put a drainpan under my new water heater that flows down to the vent line for the relief valve, which flows outside the garage. That way, if the water heater if it leaks it won't ruin anything.

If I recall, in our old house we installed a pan with a sensor in it, so that if water forms in the pan it shuts off the supply line. I believe this was code in Boston at the time (2005) and avoided the Tony Soprano pickle.

[mdeth1313]

A couple of people have already mentioned the drain. My house doesn't have one but the heater is raised on cement blocs and it would be easy or me to run a line directly out of the house for the next time something happens. I have a little time to work on that one.

This heater came set at 125 degrees and I'm thinking I need to dial it back to 120 as it's working so much better (more efficiently?) than the old one, which is still dripping water out of the drain valve as it sits on the driveway.

My neighbor and I were joking about the old water heater sitting out on my driveway (while it slowly drips out) and how it must piss off my neighbor immediately next door (they're just fantastic) I told him I already thought about moving it on the grass on the side of my garage that faces their house and leaving it there for a while!

[wc1934]

Good for you for doing it yourself. I would not be able to. As a result we lease our hot water tank from Columbia gas - pay about 14 a month - bit more expensive in the long run, but it gets replaced every 5-6 years.