Water Heater dripping like noise

[21bla...@gmail.com]

all of a sudden near my water heater in the garage
something is making a dripping like noise

it sounds like it's the water heater,
but no water is seen anywhere

the washing machine is on the other side of the wall,
and a little less noise can be heard there

no water leaks to be seen
what might this be?
[about 2 drips a second]

thanks
marc

[trader_4]

Does drain plumbing come down inside the wall? Washer is
there, so some plubming is in the area. Any chance a
condensate drain for an AC, like in the attic, is routed
down through that wall, maybe to a basement sump pit?

If the WH had a leak, 2 drops a min, it wouldn't be long
before water showed up on the floor.

[bob haller]

turn off main water meter valve, open faucets hot and cold to depressurize the system......

does the dripping sound stop?

[DerbyDad03]

Gas or Electric? If it's gas, try using a flashlight and looking down the
flue hole when it is heating water. You might see mist, indicating a leak
in the flue.

A few years ago I began to notice occasional water on top of the water
heater. Sometimes it would be there, sometimes not. I checked all of the
pipes and fittings and they were always dry, even when there was water on
top of the tank. It turned out that just below the top of the tank, a hole
had rusting through the flue and mist would blow out whenever the tank was
heating water. They mist would rise with the flue gases, make contact with
the "inverted funnel" at the base of the external flue and drip back down
onto the top of the water heater. If not noticed soon afterwards, it would
evaporate.

Perhaps your flue is leaking someplace where you can't see it, and the
condensation is dripping someplace, again, where you can't see it.

[bob haller]

>
> A few years ago I began to notice occasional water on top of the water
>
> heater. Sometimes it would be there, sometimes not. I checked all of the
>
> pipes and fittings and they were always dry, even when there was water on
>
> top of the tank. It turned out that just below the top of the tank, a hole
>
> had rusting through the flue and mist would blow out whenever the tank was
>
> heating water. They mist would rise with the flue gases, make contact with
>
> the "inverted funnel" at the base of the external flue and drip back down
>
> onto the top of the water heater. If not noticed soon afterwards, it would
>
> evaporate.
>
>
>
> Perhaps your flue is leaking someplace where you can't see it, and the
>
> condensation is dripping someplace, again, where you can't see it.

I heard water running in the basement and went to investigate, water was spraying out the top of the tank at the flue. it was a large leak.

got new tank next day.

[21bla...@gmail.com]

thanks all, for ideas

will [have to] investigate further

marc

[21bla...@gmail.com]

when I get back home,
next week,
I'll have to post a photo of my water heater set-up

marc

[21bla...@gmail.com]

photos of my water heater setup

I don't know where to look for this dripping-like noise

http://imgur.com/15MBW6u
http://i.imgur.com/15MBW6u.jpg

http://imgur.com/d6z5B0b
http://i.imgur.com/d6z5B0b.jpg

http://imgur.com/IGptHsx
http://i.imgur.com/IGptHsx.jpg

marc

[trader_4]

Only thing I see there that's a bit unusual are the water stains
on the sheetrock near the bottom. Is that from something you
know about from the past?
Any evidence it's wet now, ie that something is leaking inside the wall?
The area around the bottom of the WH is all dry and it has a pan.

[DerbyDad03]

Do you know why there is apparent water damage/stains at both points where
the front of the platform connects to the wall?

[21bla...@gmail.com]

Bob mentioned turning off the water main
and see if the noise stops.
I should have tried this sooner...

I've only had the house several months
so don't know much history.
Dripping noise started 2 weeks ago.

Will look closer at stains, and get back

thanks
marc

[21bla...@gmail.com]

I just found this water
on the other side of the wall, outside.
[the vent is into the garage, near the w.heater]

The water is NOT coming from the pipe,
which is probably, somehow part of the w.heater.

http://imgur.com/QddAhUe
http://i.imgur.com/QddAhUe.jpg

http://imgur.com/WLSmTsF
http://i.imgur.com/WLSmTsF.jpg

what should I do?!
where do I start?
do I need a professional now?

thanks
marc

[trader_4]

What makes you so sure that the water isn't coming from the pipe?
It sure looks like it from the pic. First thing to figure out is where
that pipe goes and what it does. The most likely candidate is that it;s
from the TPR valve on the WH. So.....I took a look back at the pics
you posted of the WH. And you can't see a TPR. It sure looks like the
idiots put it in with the TPR facing into the corner, where you may not
even be able to get at it. There is a copper pipe that comes out
from the right of the WH, and that must be connected to the TPR valve.
Is that copper pipe connected to the PVC that emerges from the outside?
It must go somewhere that it could release water if the WH pressure
or temp gets too high. Typically they just end above a basement floor
or get routed outside. Where is that outside pipe in relation to the
WH when we're looking at in inside the garage?

If it's not from the WH, then any chance that PVC is a central AC
condensate drain line??

[TimR]

On Tuesday, July 1, 2014 7:11:49 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
>
> If it's not from the WH, then any chance that PVC is a central AC
>
> condensate drain line??

I don't think there's enough water to be a condensate line.

Most likely you called it right as a TPR drip. Really bad installation to hide the TPR and have no shutoff valves anywhere.

But there's another possibility. He says the washer and dryer are just on the other side of that wall, the one to the right seems likely. Washer hoses go bad often, he should check that too.

[21bla...@gmail.com]

thanks,

the wall is very wet,
and no water is on the pipe end
[not to mention, the drip drip drip going on]

I think I have to break open the outer wall
and locate this drip, very soon

marc

[trader_4]

On Wednesday, July 2, 2014 1:19:49 PM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
> On Tuesday, July 1, 2014 7:11:49 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
>
> >
>
> > If it's not from the WH, then any chance that PVC is a central AC
>
> >
>
> > condensate drain line??
>
>
>
> I don't think there's enough water to be a condensate line.
>
>

What makes you say that? In the pic, there is a decent size puddle
and you can only see the part that's in the pic, no idea where it ends
or runs off to. Also, no idea how much the AC is running or not running.

>
> Most likely you called it right as a TPR drip. Really bad installation to hide the TPR and have no shutoff valves anywhere.
>
>

The only part there that doesn't make sense is the pipe outside is
PVC and the pipe at the WH is copper. Then could have transitioned it,
but usually you wouldn't.

[TimR]

It could still be the TPR, which might not be connected to that pipe at all. As trader says, it would be unusual to transition copper to PVC, though not impossible.

Or the TPR might be connected to that pipe, and then something else must be leaking.

That's an exterior wall, are you in a climate where something could freeze and burst? Did you check wash machine hoses and drain?

[TimR]

Also you can get an endoscope for $20 or so and just drill a hole. I've not tried that myself but it might be easier than breaking a wall.

[DerbyDad03]

If it were me, I'd open the interior wall before I'd open the outer wall.
It's much easier to repair and match an interior wall than an exterior
wall, especially one with a textured finish. Even if I had to move a
washer, dryer, even the water heater, I'd still start inside.

Besides, once you find the leak, an interior wall repair can wait. A hole
in the exterior, not so much.

[gregz]

Funny that gas line line has no drip leg.

Greg

[trader_4]

+1 x 10

[trader_4]

That's a good catch. I assume you still need one, even if it's hooked
up with flex pipe, since the purpose, ie to catch any small debris that
might come along before it goes into the valve, would be the same. The
fact that it's missing would be another indication that whoever put it
in didn't know what they were doing and it probably wasn't inspected either.

[21bla...@gmail.com]

opening the outside wall today

the outside pipe is painted copper
[it did look like pvc]

thanks
marc

[trader_4]

As Derby suggested, I would not open the outside wall. Why do you
want to do that instead of opening an interior wall? How do you
plan on matching that stucco or whatever the outside finish is?

[TimR]

I don't see any water on the inside of the wall.

If the pipe is copper it probably is from the TPR. If the pipe is dry then the TPR is probably not at fault or there would be water inside the room or the drip pan.

I suspect the laundry area.

There is no way I would open an exterior wall except as a last resort. I can patch interior much more easily.

[trader_4]

On Thursday, July 3, 2014 3:12:30 PM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
> On Thursday, July 3, 2014 1:45:42 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
>
> > On Thursday, July 3, 2014 12:46:45 PM UTC-4, 21bla...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >
>
> > > opening the outside wall today
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > the outside pipe is painted copper
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > [it did look like pvc]
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > thanks
>
> >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > > marc
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > As Derby suggested, I would not open the outside wall. Why do you
>
> >
>
> > want to do that instead of opening an interior wall? How do you
>
> >
>
> > plan on matching that stucco or whatever the outside finish is?
>
>
>
> I don't see any water on the inside of the wall.
>
>

The drywall on both walls where the WH is has large water stains
on the lower part.

>
> If the pipe is copper it probably is from the TPR. If the pipe is dry then the TPR is probably not at fault or there would be water inside the room or the drip pan.
>
>
>
> I suspect the laundry area.
>
>
>
> There is no way I would open an exterior wall except as a last resort. I can patch interior much more easily.

+1

[21bla...@gmail.com]

thanks all,

big change/break;
a neighbor told about a leak in this house,
above the water heater, in the wall;
so I cut a few holes up there,
and sure enough, there was the leak

[I thought I would have to move the water heater,
to get at the inside of the wall;
that's why the stucco seemed simpler]

Now it's just a leaking copper to PVC joint to fix

marc

[Tony Hwang]

Hi,
That's good. But remember there is tool you can use to pin point
a spot where water is leaking. Plumbing outfits have it. It is
very sensitive high power microphone so to speak of. It can detect
leaks right on.

[21bla...@gmail.com]

for those interested
leak revealed

http://imgur.com/94iuQWX
http://imgur.com/kicaPbm
[click on photo to enlarge]

thank goodness for my neighbor,
pointing out the location;
i would have started at the bottom,
and would have removed the water heater,
or worse, cut into the lower stucco, outside

thanks
marc

[trader_4]

Thanks for the update, glad you found it so easy. And I agree, you
got very lucky with the neighbor.

IDK what we're even looking at there. Never seen anything like it.
They transitioned from copper to cpvc, but what kind of connection is
that? It looks like it's a crimp? And what's that greatly reduced size
elbow doing there?
Good grief. You have to wonder what else they screwed that you don't
know about.

[DerbyDad03]

That's quite a butchered plumbing job. I wonder what else is hidden behind
that wall.

Since you will probably want to enlarge and square off that hole in order
to insert a neat patch, it might make sense to enlarge it enough to see
(and replace) the connection for the other WH pipe. I doubt they did a
better job on that one. It's better to fix them both now instead of having
to open the wall again when the other one starts to leak.

[DerbyDad03]

How did the neighbor know where to look?

[21bla...@gmail.com]

my neighbor said the previous owner had a leak in the same spot.
Possibly the same joint.

marc

[trader_4]

Well, then maybe there's hope..... Whatever that mess is, maybe it
was the previous owner or some hack that did it, not the guys who did
the plumbing for the whole house.

[DerbyDad03]

Except for the fact that the original connection leaked also so we don't
know if the first plumber was any better than the last.

[Guv Bob]

<21bla...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:d913f13e-98b4-47be...@googlegroups.com...

Thanks for posting all the photos thru the end. I was going to suggest popping off one side of the stand, but you solved it. I wonder why the stand is sealed like that? I built one with 2x4 legs cross braced so I could use the space underneath or access the wall if needed later.

Also, around here we are required to have a pressure relief valve vented to the outside. Looks like this one doesn't have one - top right side connection. I would also run the drip pan pipe outside also. I had a slow water heater leak that went unnoticed for a month and no drip pan. Ended up being major headache drying out walls and floor, cleaning out mold....

[Guv Bob]

"gregz" <ze...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:1719627257426058724.5...@news.eternal-september.org...

Another good point. I have a fair amt of experience with tubing and small pipe, and when I put mine in, I followed the code to the letter. Even so I still had a plumber come and connect the gas and go over the entire installation to be sure I had some kind of receipt from a licensed plumber for the CYA file. Even so, I had to tell the plumber to install a drip leg and to use the correct length of flex pipe for the gass supply. Then had the gas company dude out for a final blessing.

For 21 -- you might also want to have the gas dude out, and have him check to be sure it is vented properly, right size & type of vent pipe, ceiling connection location, height of vent outlet above the roof, etc.

[Fran Madlang]

On Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 4:48:32 PM UTC-6, bob haller wrote:
> turn off main water meter valve, open faucets hot and cold to depressurize the system......
>
> does the dripping sound stop?
This worked for us! - thank you for this post