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Hot Water Heater hose broke HolyCow 10-06-2007
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Posted by HolyCow on October 6, 2007, 11:42 am
The 18 inch 'hot water heater hose' broke. This is the hose that connects
the outgoing hot water to the rest of the house. After cleaning up the
flood, I've replace the hose and we've had hot water as usual for the past
couple of days. Do I need to be concerned that the broken hose wasn't
really the problem but is a symptom of something else?

Other notes:

The pressure relief valve has a slow leak, dripping about a third of a small
jar over night. If I 'test' the PRV, it sticks open and I need to push it
back in to close it. From reading this newsgroup, I get the feeling that
this is common and I simply need to replace it.

Also, about 6 months ago the bottom heating element failed. While replacing
it I found a large amount of scaling build up. In fact the failed heating
element was basically buried in it. I cleaned as much up as I could from
the bottom of the tank by breaking it up and pulling it through the hole
where the heating element attaches. I'm sure this problem will come back
soon enough, but it was much cheaper and timely than purchasing a new hot
water heater or purchasing some descaling kit.

Any advice appreciated.



Posted by Don Phillipson on October 6, 2007, 1:24 pm

> The 18 inch 'hot water heater hose' broke. This is the hose that connects
> the outgoing hot water to the rest of the house. After cleaning up the
> flood, I've replace the hose and we've had hot water as usual for the past
> couple of days. Do I need to be concerned that the broken hose wasn't
> really the problem but is a symptom of something else? . . .
> The pressure relief valve has a slow leak, dripping about a third of a
small
> jar over night. If I 'test' the PRV, it sticks open and I need to push it
. . .
> Also, about 6 months ago the bottom heating element failed. While
replacing
> it I found a large amount of scaling build up. In fact the failed heating
> element was basically buried in it. I cleaned as much up as I could from
> the bottom of the tank by breaking it up and pulling it through the hole
> where the heating element attaches. I'm sure this problem will come back
> soon enough, but it was much cheaper and timely than purchasing a new hot
> water heater or purchasing some descaling kit.

Information lacking . . .
1. How old is this heater?
1b. How often flushed to remove mineral scale?
2. How heated (gas or electricity)?
3. How connected? In this jurisdiction (I think)
copper pipe is mandatory -- a hose would not
comply with the building code.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)





Posted by HolyCow on October 6, 2007, 8:08 pm
I don't know the age of this heater. There's an EnergyGuide sticker on it
that states "...Based on 1994 U.S. Gov't energy costs..." I'm not sure if
that year matches the year it was sold.

Only once have I attempted to clean it out, and that was when I replaced the
heating element. Of course on hindsight, that was a mistake.

It is an electric heater.

Its incoming source is connected by what looks like a flexible copper piece.
Its output side is connected via a flexible tubing (?) that has an outer
stainless mesh. Because they sell this stainless mesh suff at the home
centers, it's probably safe to assume it complies with building codes.

>
>> The 18 inch 'hot water heater hose' broke. This is the hose that
>> connects
>> the outgoing hot water to the rest of the house. After cleaning up the
>> flood, I've replace the hose and we've had hot water as usual for the
>> past
>> couple of days. Do I need to be concerned that the broken hose wasn't
>> really the problem but is a symptom of something else? . . .
>> The pressure relief valve has a slow leak, dripping about a third of a
> small
>> jar over night. If I 'test' the PRV, it sticks open and I need to push
>> it
> . . .
>> Also, about 6 months ago the bottom heating element failed. While
> replacing
>> it I found a large amount of scaling build up. In fact the failed
>> heating
>> element was basically buried in it. I cleaned as much up as I could from
>> the bottom of the tank by breaking it up and pulling it through the hole
>> where the heating element attaches. I'm sure this problem will come back
>> soon enough, but it was much cheaper and timely than purchasing a new hot
>> water heater or purchasing some descaling kit.
>
> Information lacking . . .
> 1. How old is this heater?
> 1b. How often flushed to remove mineral scale?
> 2. How heated (gas or electricity)?
> 3. How connected? In this jurisdiction (I think)
> copper pipe is mandatory -- a hose would not
> comply with the building code.
>
> --
> Don Phillipson
> Carlsbad Springs
> (Ottawa, Canada)
>
>
>
>



Posted by Bob M. on October 6, 2007, 11:09 pm

> Only once have I attempted to clean it out, and that was when I replaced
> the heating element. Of course on hindsight, that was a mistake.
>
> It is an electric heater.
>
> Its incoming source is connected by what looks like a flexible copper
> piece. Its output side is connected via a flexible tubing (?) that has an
> outer stainless mesh. Because they sell this stainless mesh suff at the
> home



"outer stainless mesh" has an "inner rubber hose". That's what failed.

If it's not required by code in your area, get rid of it and plumb it with
copper tube. And no, just because it's sold in a Home Cheapo or Lowe's
doesn't mean it's legal for your area.


Posted by HeyBub on October 6, 2007, 1:38 pm
HolyCow wrote:
> The 18 inch 'hot water heater hose' broke. This is the hose that
> connects the outgoing hot water to the rest of the house. After
> cleaning up the flood, I've replace the hose and we've had hot water
> as usual for the past couple of days. Do I need to be concerned that
> the broken hose wasn't really the problem but is a symptom of
> something else?

If, by 'hose', you mean the flexible, metal-clad connection, they are
usually quite strong. Obviously not as sturdy as a solid pipe, but sturdy
nevertheless. I wouldn't think its failure is related to any other water
heater symptom. Question: Does the pipe vibrate for any reason? Mabe metal
fatigue?

>
> Other notes:
>
> The pressure relief valve has a slow leak, dripping about a third of
> a small jar over night. If I 'test' the PRV, it sticks open and I
> need to push it back in to close it. From reading this newsgroup, I
> get the feeling that this is common and I simply need to replace it.

Yeah, you can't really fix it. They're cheap.

>
> Also, about 6 months ago the bottom heating element failed. While
> replacing it I found a large amount of scaling build up. In fact the
> failed heating element was basically buried in it. I cleaned as much
> up as I could from the bottom of the tank by breaking it up and
> pulling it through the hole where the heating element attaches. I'm
> sure this problem will come back soon enough, but it was much cheaper
> and timely than purchasing a new hot water heater or purchasing some
> descaling kit.

Can't you replace the bottom heating element with one that doesn't have
scales?




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