Is my water heater about to flood the house?

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Reach4

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Since your water heater is not on the bottom floor, you would probably want to include a vacuum breaker the next installation. Water heater implosions from vacuum are rare, but impressive from what I understand. I think we would see more different pictures if it was fairly common.

I have the feeling that big sudden leaks are pretty rare. I have very limited experience. Pipes seem more likely to be the source of sudden big leaks.

I would put a water sensor, such as Glentronics, Inc. BWD-HWA in my drain pan. I would keep my homeowners insurance up to date and check that it covers the results of sudden plumbing failures.

I would be more worried about the chance of a sewer backup in your refinished basement.
 

Jadnashua

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While there are always possible exceptions, WH failures tend to start out with small leaks that get worse over time. Now, that time could be days, but is often more. A leak through the valve is likely a contaminated or failed washer. While it might be fixed, capping it is cheap and easy.

The thing IS older than the average for a gas WH lifespan, and probably close to average for an electric one, but there are no guarantees one way or the other. Who is average, anyway?

If something fails and the T&P valve opens, that could produce a short torrent of full pressure water. Leaks through the tank tend to start out as pinholes, and expand over time as the tank rusts more.
 

Reach4

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As a bonus he saw that the boiler relief valve drains directly to the outside, which he suggested was potentially dangerous (apparently could freeze and then blow up if something fails on a cold night).
I wonder how this would be: if the path outside was not frozen, the water runs outside. Otherwise, it spills into an indoor
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drain or floor.
 

DIYer101

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Interesting. He had mentioned something less sophisticated with the water going into a bucket and a water alarm in the bucket.

Once we put a floor drain in the utility room we can re-route the boiler thing and run it to that same drain (although it'll be a long run around the perimeter of the room).

Thanks again all and Happy Thanksgiving.
 

Jadnashua

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The T&P valve is a safety device that should never open under normal circumstances. It needs to be a full diameter drain with no restrictions (iced up could be dangerous). The valve opens for either overTemperature, or overPressure (thus, the T&P acronym). In either case, if it needed to open and couldn't, yes, the tank could literally blow up. They have been known to flatten a house when that happens, or launch themselves a block or two through the roof.

The most common reasons a T&P valve leaks is if you tested it and some crud prevents it from automatically resealing, or if you have a closed home supply system (a check valve somewhere - a PRV can do that and often, the water utility will have one feeding your house to prevent backfeeding into the system, potentially polluting everyone else) and after using hot water, it expands, and creates an overpressure situation (solved with an expansion tank). The most catastrophic one is if the thermostat fails, the tank overheats...if it can't open the T&P valve, the water flashing to steam does so in an explosive manner. From liquid to gas, the volume changes HUGE amounts. The T&P valve should open before it gets above boiling point, but not if it's clogged or possibly restricted.
 
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