I wanted to get some feedback from others regarding an ongoing situation my fiance and I have had in our apartment.

Backstory: We have only been residents to this complex (built in 2001) for 6 months. We originally were in another unit and 3 weeks in while we were away the water heater in the above unit burst open/cracked and released 70 gallons of water. Needless to say their apartment was flooded, ours was seriously damaged and so were the apartments 2 floors below. Due to the severity of the repairs we were moved across the hall to a new unit and our renter's insurance recovered about 9k worth of personal property damage.

New unit - current concern: Part 1 -- We were likely in the unit no more than 2 months and heard dripping behind our wall coming from above We knew the water heater was above that area as ours is placed in the same format -- in a utility closet within a bedroom. We contacted maintenance who stated it was no more than a splash over the pan and they turned the other unit's water heater temp down. Part 2 -- 3 days later we hear the same worrisome rush of water down the wall and can feel the heat on the wall. The water begins to leak through the ceiling through a light fixture (light fixture is in a canister within the ceiling) and pours into our apartment. We contact emergency maintenance again as its 11pm on a Friday. Once again they state there is overflow from the pan upstairs from the water heater. By Monday, the office and maintenance crew decide to replace the water heater. We feel relieved even though their idea of fixing our walls was painting and slight aerating, which still meant there was a bubble on the wall.
Part 3: 2 months after the water heater is replaced upstairs, we return home on a Friday night again to see a massive brown stain on the ceiling in the same spot and find water soaking the carpet, our electronics nearby and so on. We again call emergency maintenance, who state the pressure release valve caused the water to overflow the pan yet again and they turn the temp down from C to A. My understanding from research indicates when the pressure release valve is activated it also releases cool water into the tank. 20 minutes following their changing the temp and the water comes pouring through our ceiling again. Maintenance at this point is upstairs trying to shop vac water off the other tenant's utility closet floor and tells us the temp of the water is ridiculously hot. I can confirm the temp as the water poured through our ceiling and I grabbed a towel to help absorb it I could feel the heat. This goes on with trickling all weekend. By Monday, they bring blowers in to dry our carpet and want to drill holes to air out the wall again.

Their fix: They tell us out of 324 units and over 15 years they have never had a problem like this. They contact a plumber and have a expansion tank put in and a water sensor strip placed by the pan for overflow that would turn off water to the upstairs unit.

Our concerns: We feel they can't give us an answer why water keeps overflowing. After 2 weeks of pushing, we finally had the space of wall/ceiling replaced due to mold concerns. When it was replaced the wall showed water stains inside. The inside of our utility closet shows tons of brown spots all over from different times. When they removed a desk that is in the alcove space where this is happening in our unit they found significant mold. But no mold behind the walls. So that was good. After pushing them about "water pressure" or any other possible causes, given they aren't sure why it's happening but put in the expansion tank to safeguard... they stated they would have a plumber come out and check the water pressure from the pump that exists in the bottom of the building.

Frankly, I'd like some thoughts -- are we on the right track? Is there more we should be asking about? The tenants are not able to turn up the temp on the water heater as the utility doors are locked. I am concerned that perhaps a pipe/joint of a pipe is cracked within the wall upstairs. I just feel like we have been dealt an incredible amount of bad luck with water heaters in this complex between the 1st unit and the 2nd. I need to start feeling like I am in a home without constant problems.

I can post pictures if I need to later to help. Any thoughts appreciated so we feel more secure.

Kind regards.

It sounds like the thermal expansion of the water in the tank caused the temperature and pressure valve to do its job. That being said:
1. The unit needed an expansion tank before. If a plumber had checked into the problem, and not a maintenance man, it should have been remedied, or at least caught before disaster stuck.
2. The discharge from the T+P valve should have been directed into a location that prevents further damage, such as outside, down a drain, etc.

Thanks so much for the response and we agree that a plumber should have handled it 1st. Here's hoping the expansion tank ends our surprises of water coming through the ceiling every 2 months. I do question, if every other unit (324 units and the complex was built in 2001... we are told they haven't had issues) have the same style of utility closet (enclosed with no access to a drain or immediate outside pipe... just a pipe that carries water down 4 floors), why is it this tank would require an expansion tank and not the others in the complex? It's been a curious question that stays on our minds.



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There may be a check valve installed in that unit that is creating a closed system.

I will google that to understand it more as I am not sure what that means, as well as not having access to the other tenant's unit to know what it would look like. We are waiting to hear back on the "analyzed" results from the plumber through the maintenance team regarding the water pressure.

If a water system is 'closed' the water can only exit the pipes through a fixture or relief valve, and can't push back into the building's supply. If it were only cold water, it wouldn't matter, but when a device that heats water is in that closed portion, the heating of the water reduces the density of the water, increases volume, and increases pressure. The pressure can reach dangerously high levels and (without a safety relief) it cause superheated water above 212 degrees that flash into steam, causing a rapid expansion of water vapor and effectively making the heater into a bomb. Mythbusters blew one up in this video [www.youtube.com]

Several months later we are back facing the same issue, which we were promised would not happen again per the backup plans in place.
Back up plan: expansion tank on water heater in above apartment as well as a water sensor that if it was to ever overflow that the hot water would be turned off immediately in that unit.

We have gone several months with no problems. Yesterday, routine maintenance occurred in the building where they checked filters, turned on heating elements that they normally have off during the summer. This was completed in the unit above us and ours.

By the end of the day, we had water spilling through the light fixture in the ceiling in the same area we always have this issue.

Spoke to the maintenance manager today and the apartment manager. The maintenance manager had promised us this wouldn't happen again last time and it did. The answer was that maybe when the heating coils were turned back on it caused pressure. Maybe there is a "pin hole" in the pan was suggested. Everything is brand new as of May (water heater, expansion tank, sensor, pan).

We are at a loss. We have requested again a plumber to come in and this time we want to speak to them.

Any further suggestions? I will reread this thread to understand some of the things mentioned. We just want to be prepared.