The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Sibley on July 08, 2017, 03:02:09 PM
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Hello! I'm having a lovely time with plumbing. Last weekend the water line to the utility sink broke. Now the hot water heater is dripping.
It's a slow drip, I believe it started today. Don't believe the water heater has been bumped. It's coming out of the pipe attached to the pressure relief valve.
I've turned the water temp down, and am running hot water. Next steps? I'm not messing too much with it - it's gas fired, and has hot water, and is bigger than me. I will call a plumber if needed!
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After running enough hot water to make it kick back on, it's still dripping.
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I am not a plumber. How old is it? Is it time to replace?
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It's from 2009, so hopefully a few more years at least.
Friend suggested I turn off the water and try opening the pressure relief valve. Apparently, sometimes they get dirty and leak, or just break. So far, drip has stopped. Let's hope that fixes it...
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Keep a close eye on that valve.
Hopefully you have a drain pan and/or a plumbed-in drain pipe to catch any overflow, when/if the tank fails and it starts draining a lot more water out. Is the heater somewhere that it won't cause a lot of damage if it leaks, like in the garage?
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It's in the utility room, on a slab. There's no drain (of course). It entirely depends on how much water there is. The room can take a decent amount of water without damage and basically just washes the floor (which it needs).
It's also in the same place as the laundry and right off the kitchen, so it's very easy for me to keep an eye on it. I do plan to watch it closely.