I have been fighting this thing for like two weeks thinking that it is just a bad valve or a bad joint and I can fix it and I won't have to shell out the money for a new one. But now it's New Year's Eve, the leak is worse than ever, Mom goes back to work Monday and she wants a new water heater. So, by her command, I went and bought the monster.
It started with the safety valve leaking. Why should the safety valve start leaking? Is it really getting too hot? The pressure shouldn't be getting too high. I mean the water mains pressure is only so much, if the hot water is getting hot enough to increase the pressure, it should just push back on the mains. There aren't any check valves, at least I don't think so. The water heater is fifteen years old, so maybe corrosion has caused it to start leaking. I buy a new one. But replacing it means shutting the supply valve. I shut the valve once, and open it once and all is well, but for some reason I need to close it again, and that was the second step on the road to my doom. It wouldn't open. It is a little brass gate valve and it is stripped. The handle goes around and around but it does nothing. The valve stays shut.
Now I need a new valve. Pulling the old valve means turning off the main water supply, which means a trip into the crawl space. The valve is 15 feet from the entrance. One trip in and back to turn it off. Another trip in and back to turn it back on. I have made this trip so many times now I could do it in my sleep.
The old valve is soldered on, so I need a torch to pull it off. I have a propane torch, but after a couple minutes with it I realize it's going to be an all day project to get this joint hot enough to take apart. Time for MAPP gas. Fortunately, I have a MAPP gas torch as well. Unfortunately, it is as old as MAPP gas and all I can get out of it is a small yellow flame. To Home Depot we go get a new torch, a bottle of gas, a new valve and a couple of fittings. Back home, I pull off the old valve, solder on a threaded fitting for the new valve, and thread the new valve on. Pull on the wrench to tighten it up and the newly soldered joint breaks loose. Bah! That's what happens when you get in a hurry and don't prep your surfaces well. At least I think that's what happened. Resolder and reinstall valve. This time it holds.
So now I have a new shut off valve and a new safety valve, but the leak is worse than ever. I dink with it now and again, but I have other work to do, so I put it off to the weekend. New Years is coming, the stores will be closed, time to bite the bullet. So today I put in the new water heater. Not too many problems. You should put the stub pipes in the top before you put the heater in position, no clearance for a pipe wrench afterwards.
Got it all hooked up and ready to go. Push the go button and ... nothing. It's got a fancy electronic gas valve. Push the button, push the ignitor, nothing. What gives? Read the instructions, try again. Still nothing. Finally call the hotline. Hold the button down for a minute, and now it works. Duh! I just realized it's just like the old mechanical valve, except you can't tell if the pilot light is lit! I am suddenly afflicted with the urge to strangle the buzzword injecting moron who came up with this gizmo.
Still have to resolder the joint again, it's still leaking but only a very little bit. I am out of flux, so I will have to go buy a new bottle tomorrow. Also need to exchange the torch: the built in ignitor doesn't. For $35 it durn well should. But we have hot water and the garage floor is dry. Still have to figure out how to get rid of the old one. I want to find out where the leak was, but that will take some work, and I don't know if I will have the energy.
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| Old Water Heater |
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