Hi, first time posting.

My water heater is in the basement with a drain about 3ft away. When I first shutoff the cold water supply and started draining the tank (40 gal) there was some crossover coming back into the tank. I was able to get that stopped when I opened and closed the cold water feed. After using the cold water in the upstairs bathroom the crossover started again.

I have not been able to get it stopped and the water heater will not be replaced for about a week and a half. It is still draining at a slower rate but still draining (24hrs now). There is only one single handle faucet in the house (kitchen) and the water tube to the hot water is broken, so the water is shut off there.

Any help in stopping the crossover leakage is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

these are readily available and if you piping has room to be cut so they will work for you, just get a couple of these.. cut the pipes above the heater and slide one on each side.
you will have to shut the main temporarily and you will need an inexpensive tube cutter.


if there is not enough room then just buy push-on valves.

Thank you for your response. I had thought of a shutoff for the hot water feed to the house but was not sure if I should do that. Your response confirmed the logic of doing that, thank you. There is already a shutoff on the cold water input feed.

A concern of mine is the copper pipe feeding hot water to the house. How do I connect a shutoff to that copper tubing once it is cut? I have no clue how to put on a connector to attach the new shutoff. Would one of the local hardware stores have the push on valves? Or would it be a plumbing only supply house?

I am worried about the amount of water going down the drain, waste, cost, possibility of a flood in the house.



Edited 2 times.

if you make the cut in the copper nice and clean and square (not jagged), you simply slide the valve into place. the water can still be trickling from the pipe. just install the valve in the open position and shut it after it is firmly in place.
this video is for a fitting but the valve installation is the same
[www.youtube.com]