A couple days ago I noticed some water on the floor of my utility room, around the water heater. I also noticed some corrosion around the T&P valve.
At first I thought it could be a bad T&P valve dumping water, or the lack of an Expansion tank causing the T&P to dump. I took some pictures and showed a friend who said that he thought the anode was done, and that was causing the corrosion.
So I put a quart sized paint cup under relief pipe to catch any drips and when I got back from work today it had overflowed again. Nobody was home all day (7am - 5pm) and I just took a quick shower (my wife showered at work after her morning workout).
Anyway, any ideas as to whats causing this? I did call the local plumber, he said he can replace the whole tank under warranty, but labor will come out to $300, including haul away and dealing with the warranty paperwork. It also included a $100 fee for swapping tanks from the distributor (or something like that). So $400 total for a warranty replacement. He said to shut off the cold water input to the tank while we're out to stop it from leaking (not a huge deal).
In any case, my main concern is that:
1. Bradford Whites are prone to failure (anecdotally based on the reviews I've read online - but I assume people only complain online)
2. This could get very expensive, fast, versus just replacing it with a different brand
3. Does it make sense to just have an expansion tank installed too, while they're doing the work? I don't think the main inlet has a check valve, this would just be precautionary.
4. what can I do to prevent this in the future, other than telling my wife to take shorter showers?
5. Does the $400 seem crazy?
6. Is the expansion tank worth it? I can ask him to estimate tomorrow and how much should it be? $150?
EDIT:
This was installed new, into a new construction condo in September 2011. Warranty info has it built in June 2010 with warranty expiring Sept 30, 2016.
40 gallon, natural gas water heater.
Appreciate any help!
At first I thought it could be a bad T&P valve dumping water, or the lack of an Expansion tank causing the T&P to dump. I took some pictures and showed a friend who said that he thought the anode was done, and that was causing the corrosion.
So I put a quart sized paint cup under relief pipe to catch any drips and when I got back from work today it had overflowed again. Nobody was home all day (7am - 5pm) and I just took a quick shower (my wife showered at work after her morning workout).
Anyway, any ideas as to whats causing this? I did call the local plumber, he said he can replace the whole tank under warranty, but labor will come out to $300, including haul away and dealing with the warranty paperwork. It also included a $100 fee for swapping tanks from the distributor (or something like that). So $400 total for a warranty replacement. He said to shut off the cold water input to the tank while we're out to stop it from leaking (not a huge deal).
In any case, my main concern is that:
1. Bradford Whites are prone to failure (anecdotally based on the reviews I've read online - but I assume people only complain online)
2. This could get very expensive, fast, versus just replacing it with a different brand
3. Does it make sense to just have an expansion tank installed too, while they're doing the work? I don't think the main inlet has a check valve, this would just be precautionary.
4. what can I do to prevent this in the future, other than telling my wife to take shorter showers?
5. Does the $400 seem crazy?
6. Is the expansion tank worth it? I can ask him to estimate tomorrow and how much should it be? $150?
EDIT:
This was installed new, into a new construction condo in September 2011. Warranty info has it built in June 2010 with warranty expiring Sept 30, 2016.
40 gallon, natural gas water heater.
Appreciate any help!
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