My water heater has been over filling and draining out through the normal, piped overflow. It's a slow leak, probably like 1 gallon an hour, and it's been doing so since Sunday. The water heater is original to this house, so it's now 19 years old. I just want to make sure that it truly does need replacement before I do so. Can y'all suggest some thing to try before I just replace it?

So far, I've tried:
* Adjusting the temp
* Releasing the pressure on the expansion tank and then resetting it.
* Replacing the overflow valve

BenTheGoodAg said:

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The valves can be replaced, but a 19 year old unit is over the design life for nearly every model and likely needs replaced near term anyway.

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I totally agree with you. That's why I've already replaced the valve. It was gunky, but the seat looked fine. Still, it's continuing to flow.

I think the unit's filled by a solenoid-controlled valve. Should I replace that valve too? Or maybe check voltage across the temp sensor? Just trying to think of other easier-than-replacement alternatives before actually replacement.

Ok thanks for clarifying. Just my opinion - replace the unit given the age. I'm sure you'll continue to see a lot of consensus on that.

Temp sensor - You could probably take a sample of the discharge water to see what temperate it's at, but T&P relief valves operate at basically boiling point. I think you'd notice at your fixtures if you were running that hot.

Solenoid valve - if you're referring to water supply - this has nothing to do with your discharge issue. If it's old/inexpensive, you could replace if it's easier when you have the whole water heater out, but otherwise I'd leave it alone. If you're talking about gas supply on the unit, I think you're back to the same issue as the temp sensor.

ETA - one other thing you could check is just turn the unit off and see if you're still getting flow on the relief valve.

Voting replacement, especially if it is easy to get to. 19 years is mostly unheard of.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Temp sensor - You could probably take a sample of the discharge water to see what temperate it's at, but T&P relief valves operate at basically boiling point. I think you'd notice at your fixtures if you were running that hot.

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Currently, the discharge is 126 - which is a bit hotter than at the tap, but not much.

Quote:

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Solenoid valve - if you're referring to water supply - this has nothing to do with your discharge issue. If it's old/inexpensive, you could replace if it's easier when you have the whole water heater out, but otherwise I'd leave it alone. If you're talking about gas supply on the unit, I think you're back to the same issue as the temp sensor.

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Yes, I'm talking about the water supply valve. The valve's hard to get to, but the water heater isn't. It's right in the garage with great access. It'd actually be easier to get to with the water heater removed, so I'll probably do that when I replace it.

Quote:

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ETA - one other thing you could check is just turn the unit off and see if you're still getting flow on the relief valve.

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This is a really good idea, thanks! I'll just flip the breaker, drain a couple of gallons out, then let it refill to check.

Quote:

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Ok thanks for clarifying. Just my opinion - replace the unit given the age. I'm sure you'll continue to see a lot of consensus on that.

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I'm not at all opposed to replacing, but I want to rule out other potential problems first. That way I don't replace it and still have the same problem.


Thanks for the tips!

The only other thing I would check is the water pressure coming into the house. Unusually high pressure can damage other valves including toilet fill valves, refrigerator water valves and washer fill valves.

Unusually high pressures at your incoming water line can be mitigated by a water pressure regulator at the meter.

Whoop Delecto said:

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My insurance agent said one of the major things that jacked my homeowner premium was a 15 yr old water heater. Even though it is in my garage!

Why spend money on a 19 yr old time bomb?

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My waterheaters are in the garage. When one burst it did about $3k damage to the interior of the house in the form of baseboards and drywall that needs replaced in the 3 rooms closet to the garage (plus the drying/dehumidifying restoration type services which was another 1k or so) . We had tile floors so it allowed the water to flow into a much larger area of the house than likely would have happened with only carpet.

It was just costly enough that I wanted to file a claim but just 'cheap' enough that it didn't exceed my deductible by enough to justify filing a claim.

Whoop Delecto said:

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My insurance agent said one of the major things that jacked my homeowner premium was a 15 yr old water heater. Even though it is in my garage!

Why spend money on a 19 yr old time bomb?

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How would they even know how old your water heater is?

The manufacture date is usually printed on the label (mine at least have month/year).

Right, but does your insurance company come and check it? I think that's the motive behind the question.

I've never had an insurance company ask the age of anything in my home, besides the roof, when getting coverage/quotes.

If you're not replacing the water heater this weekend…..well……..

Sorry for the problem - join the club!
Obviously The Answer is replacement and no more time spent by all on diagnostics and a temporary fix.

"I'm not at all opposed to replacing, but I want to rule out other potential problems first. That way I don't replace it and still have the same problem."

When call a 5-star Plumber to help select your new water heater, pick it up, replace it for you WITH these facts posted, he will insure you DON'T "have the same problem".

Please post for all of us what the replacement events were, what you bought, et al.

Forgot to give an update after I tried cycling, partially draining, and refilling the water heater on Monday. No dice - still leaking.

Just finished replacing it. The tank was def leaking, as there was a few gallons of dark-bronze colored discharge one I got the unit out and turned it upside down.

Replaced it with a Rheem ProTerra 50 Gal hybrid tank. Had to plumb an extra overflow, but NBD. The BD was that my supply valve (a 19-YO pin valve) failed, so I had to replace the expansion tank (again) and all the intake copper. Ugh. About 14 hours of work overall, including 5 trips to Big Orange. There went a whole weekend. I bet I could have done it in just 3 hours if I had just replaced in kind with no intake valve failure.