I have a tenant called and said the floor is wet. I went there and it's the water heater leaking.

Now I have seen water heater leaking before using the bottom get rusted and leaks but this one leaks near the top. NOT the top where the cold and hot connect to, but where the cover meets the tank cylinder.





Even with the cold valve shut off the water continued to leak. I guess because there are cross overs with single handle faucets and shower valves?

I cut the two pipes on top and capped with Sharkbite caps for now. The WH is so heavy I can't move it out of the way. So I tried to drain it with a garden hose, well what do you know, the drain valve is a plastic one and is cross threaded so while it drains it leaks even more!!!

Looks like I will be WH shopping tomorrow.

Thought I might ask one question while I am at it.

Once I installed a new WH, let's say it takes 30 minutes to fill up that tank, I need to open up a hot side faucet for the WH to fill right? Or else it will just stay empty after I open the cold side inlet valve correct? So the entire 30 minutes or so a faucet has to be running water?

Water will enter the tank, until the air pressure builds up to match the incoming water pressure. A hot faucet needs to be opened to bleed off the air, so you won't be "running water" for the duration that it takes to fill the tank, but instead bleeding air.

ditto

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

OK thanks, but the thing is I don't want to sit around for it to fill. So if no one is home and I want to let it fill, and go do some errands for an hour then come back later...I will be wasting water. I need to come back when it's full, then turn the breakers back on or I will fry the elements that's not immersed yet right? Is there a trick to let the WH fill unattended and minimize wasting water?

sum, shut all the faucets.
open the cold to the heater.
wait about a minute or so and pop the relief valve.
you should get a nice blast of air telling you everything is in fact closed.
go do your chores and come back to finish the job
remove erators and one by one open hot water faucets.
when all faucets run a good volume you can tur on the breaker.

unless there is very poor pressure it doesn't take long to fill the tank and bleed the air.
I usually install the drain for the T & P valve while tank is filling, tighten seismic straps, check water connections, clean-up area. I never find myself waiting around watching a tank fill. Make phone calls, answer texts? there's always something to do.

What size is the cold water line and what's the pressure?

My 3/4" feed, 52 psi, runs maybe 15-20 GPM wide open. So filling a 50-gallon tank takes less than five minutes.

The only thing I have to wait around to fill is my pond, which is roughly 1700 gallons.

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Links to the State of Wisconsin Plumbing Code:
[docs.legis.wisconsin.gov]
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I am not a plumber.
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Turned out it took about 10 minutes to fill the 38 gallon tank. It was a lot quicker than I thought.

Cut the two pipes, soldered on two 3/4" male adapters. Moved WH into place...hmmm...it rocks back and forth a little. Had to go buy some shims, then came back to shim it to level. Strange that the old tank, same size, did not rock when it was full. I moved the tank out of the way a second time, to make sure there wasn't some debris stuck on the underside of the tank.

Anyways, about ten minutes to fill it up before hot side faucet went from air to water. Turned disconnect and breakers back on.

I didn't get a chance to run the T&P line yet, have to go back on Monday to do it but the tenant can get by till then.



Still wondering why the old WH leaked from the top.