Bradford White T&P Flange Leak

[mmnewcomb]

So I think I may already know the bad news here, but I figured I would ask anyway.

I have a townhouse that I rent out. In said townhouse is a Bradford White 40gal 40k BTU water heater (Model No. MI403S6FBN4, not that that matters) that was installed approx. 10 years ago.

Yesterday my tenants came home after being away for a week to a sopping wet first floor (slab on grade with the WH in a utility closet behind the HVAC unit). The leak is coming from the white collar that the T&P valve threads into. From my limited knowledge of plumbing and water heaters, I'm assuming from what I see that the T&P valve was faulty and stuck closed, and when the pressure built too high from the tank not being used for several days the sleeve burst since the valve couldn't.

I've uploaded a picture of the T&P valve. You can see a drop of water and a small gap on the white collar surrounding the connection. I shut off the water supply to the WH, drained the tank, and then turned the water back on to see what the tank would do. When I did so, air pressure was escaping from that small space between the tank itself and the white collar. Then when enough water entered the tank water began coming out again as well.



Does this reasoning make sense? And if so, I'm guessing the whole tank has to be replaced? Any insight or advice is gladly welcomed.

 

[Sylvan]

Time to replace the tank

About the T&P frozen closed that means it was never tested as required by all codes and you have a potential bomb

Also if the pressure did exceed 150 PSI you would have hot water by passing into the cold water supply unless someone did something stupid such as installing check valves

FYI NEVER ,ever test a pressure vessel with air.

Ever pop a water balloon it just plops open . Ever pop a balloon filled with air? Violent explosion same reason we boiler inspectors and plumbers use hydostatic pressure (except on gas lines )

 

[Sponsor]

 

[mmnewcomb]

Thanks for the response, Sylvan. I assumed I needed to replace the whole unit so thanks for verifying that that's what I probably need to do.

Also, I didn't test the WH with air pressure. I said when I turned the water supply back on after draining the tank, air was escaping through that space as it filled and tried to build pressure and then eventually water when the water level reached the height of the T&P valve.

 

[Dj2]

It's hard to see the source of the leak from the picture. Maybe the leak is at the T&P valve thread, maybe there's a crack somewhere.
If you don't want to replace the WH right away, try removing the T&P valve and reinstalling it, if it's not damaged, with fresh dope. Or replace the T&P valve if damaged.
If still leaking after all these, it's time to replace the WH.

 

[mmnewcomb]

Thanks dj2. The picture is a little tough, but the water was actually coming from underneath the white collar. I did replace the T&P valve and the issue was still present. I'm going to replace the WH and be done with it.

 

[hj]

The T&P threaded weld in the tank rusted through. It has NOTHING to do with the valve "not working".

 

[Jadnashua]

7-years seems to be the typical life of a WH. Obviously, some go sooner, and some last longer. If you get more than 7-years, consider yourself lucky. Some apartments and condo associations require people to replace their WH on a schedule, regardless of whether they show symptoms so that they don't create damage for others in the building.

 

[Bgard]

Remove the t&p valve and check to see if the valve has female threads if so whoever installed it may have used a black steel nipple to install it and the nipple rusted out