Gas water heater flooded

[jdhoffman]

I've have a Reliance gas water heater 3 years old with a electronic Honeywell gas ignitercontrol We had a flood about 2' of water. I'm sure I need to replace the control. The plumber wants to put in a new one & bill my insurance $1000. Can I just replace the control?

 

[hj]

The companies usually recommend replacing "submerged" water heater.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dj2]

Before you start replacing parts, don't do it by guessing, even when parts are most likely to be covered by warranty. You need a precise ID of the source of the leak.

Your plumber is not investing any time looking for the source. He wants to remove a 3 year old water heater and install a new heater and get your homeowner (?) insurance. You may not need or want that. Reliance has a 6 year (or more) warranty on parts.

It's your call: get another estimate (it will take time) or hire this plumber (get it done now).

 

[CountryBumkin]

OP didn't say - but when I first read his post, I was thinking of all the neighborhoods flooding in the mid-west and some parts of the SE. It's been in the news a lot lately. If that is where the flooding came from, his plumber doesn't need to look far to find the source.

 

[jdhoffman]

Before you start replacing parts, don't do it by guessing, even when parts are most likely to be covered by warranty. You need a precise ID of the source of the leak.

Your plumber is not investing any time looking for the source. He wants to remove a 3 year old water heater and install a new heater and get your homeowner (?) insurance. You may not need or want that. Reliance has a 6 year (or more) warranty on parts.

It's your call: get another estimate (it will take time) or hire this plumber (get it done now).

I'm waiting now for a plumber to inspect it. I hate working with gas otherwise I'd have it apart by now. The water came from a massive rainstorm. So there is no warranty on it.

 

[Dj2]

If this is a result of an external flood, your water heater is a loss.

I doubt that you can revive this WH by changing parts here and there.

Let's see what the 2nd plumber says. 99% sure that he would recommend to replace the WH.

 

[Gary Swart]

We went through a lot of this after Katrina. As I recall, the overwhelming opinions were that you can not revive a flooded gas heater.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

why would you want to risk theheater not working properly down the road
when the insurance company will normally just let your plumber install you a new one???
Exactly How are you being screwed here when its not costing you a dime???
So you are worried the plumber is gonna to get the better of you or something....
maybe he might even make a decent profit off your insurance company??

he is actually doing this with your best interest in mind...

maybe you ought to keep that old heater in storage just in case
that plumber might try to sell it to someone else and claim its new....
dont let him haul it away for you its worth a small fortune........

.dont be stupid....

 

[Asktom]

Change the water heater.

 

[CountryBumkin]

why would you want to risk the heater not working properly down the road
when the insurance company will normally just let your plumber install you a new one???

OP said (in reply #5) his insurance wont cover this. Unless I'm mistaking, his "no warranty" means "no insurance".
It's not unusual (at least in FL) to have HO insurance that doesn't cover flood damage (they want you to buy a separate policy for flood coverage). So I can understand wanting to make repair as cheaply as possible. OP just needs to be careful that he doesn't end up with a bigger problem/bill later by trying to save money now.

 

[Stuff]

Is there a way to replace the wet insulation between the inner tank and the outer skin?

 

[Dj2]

Is there a way to replace the wet insulation between the inner tank and the outer skin?

The answer is NO.

Go to YouTube and search "How it's made, water heater". When you see how insulation is inserted, you'll agree.