Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water leak.
Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding areas,
including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 - 4 years
ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were dry
and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold water
pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning off the
water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning it back on in
the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water leak in the
basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.

Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water leak.
Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding areas,
including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 - 4 years
ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were dry
and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold water
pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning off the
water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning it back on in
the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water leak in the
basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.



I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had
that problem a couple of times.

"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 -
4 years ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were
dry and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold
water pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning
off the water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning
it back on in the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water
leak in the basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.



I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had that
problem a couple of times.

do you have pressure tank on hot water heater? closing off the main cut off
may give you less room for heat expansion of the water, so it blows out the
relief valve.

"Tom" wrote in message ...
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 -
4 years ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were
dry and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold
water pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning
off the water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning it
back on in the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water
leak in the basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.

Last night I did a load of wash in the basement I'm going to do annother
load today to see if the leak could somehow be caused by the washing
machine.

that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure that
problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of dealing
iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the water off for
the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could just flow into the
now emtpy toilet tank.

s

"Bob" wrote in message
...


do you have pressure tank on hot water heater? closing off the main cut
off may give you less room for heat expansion of the water, so it blows
out the relief valve.

On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:35:56 -0400, "Tom"
wrote:

Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water leak.
Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding areas,
including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 - 4 years
ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were dry
and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

This is a basement. Any chance it came through a drain, the floor,
the wall? Lots of rain lately?

"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 -
4 years ago.
I
I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had that
problem a couple of times.

How can I check the water heater pressure relief valve?

"Bob" wrote in message
...

"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed
3 - 4 years ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were
dry and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had that
problem a couple of times.

do you have pressure tank on hot water heater? closing off the main cut
off may give you less room for heat expansion of the water, so it blows
out the relief valve.

Whirlpool water heater

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could just
flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.

You guys are great.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:48:32 -0400, "Tom"
wrote:



This also points to the water heater relief valve. Turning the main
water supply on and off as a solution to a leak is not good practice.
It should only be done temporarily to get you through a weekend until
a plumber (or yourself) repairs the problem. Sometimes a small leak is
a small leak, and sometimes it's a warning. It should not be ignored,
or "worked around". Hard to diagnose a system that has other faults
that might be contributing. You may even find that if you fix the
bathtub leak and stop shutting off the main water supply, the other
problems may be cured.

Will do. As soon as I get the rest of the pipe cleared out in the ceiling
the plumber is going to fix it.

"starrin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:35:56 -0400, "Tom"

This is a basement. Any chance it came through a drain, the floor,
the wall? Lots of rain lately?

Yes, lots of rain around here but none where I live last night. 70 y/o
house with no drain in floor.
I'll look for other drains.

Bob wrote:
"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 -
....
Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold
water pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning
off the water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning
it back on in the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water
leak in the basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.
....
I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had that
problem a couple of times.

do you have pressure tank on hot water heater? closing off the main cut off
may give you less room for heat expansion of the water, so it blows out the
relief valve.

Or, w/ the water supply off, somebody ran some hot water and since the
heater had no resupply it overheated and blew off some steam during the
night.

I'd fix the upstairs drip....which was I'm betting, albeit indirectly,
the cause.

--

In article , "Tom" wrote:

"starrin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:35:56 -0400, "Tom"

This is a basement. Any chance it came through a drain, the floor,
the wall? Lots of rain lately?

Yes, lots of rain around here but none where I live last night. 70 y/o
house with no drain in floor.
I'll look for other drains.

I'd be checking that washing machine. Didn't you say you were going to
run another load? Drain hose loop might have fallen, or some other
simple thing.

"dpb" wrote in message ...
Bob wrote:
"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Or, w/ the water supply off, somebody ran some hot water and since the
heater had no resupply it overheated and blew off some steam during the
night.


Bingo. Last night I BELIEVE I left the hot water tap open in the kitchen
befor going to bed.
About nineti minutes before going to bed I did a load of wash which, I
assume, filled the water heater with cool water.
I'm going to try to get the plumber here tomorrow to fix the leak in the
cold water pipe going to the upstairs bath tub.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article , "Tom" wrote:
I'd be checking that washing machine. Didn't you say you were going to
run another load? Drain hose loop might have fallen, or some other
simple thing.

Did another wash loaf this morning without problems.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:48:32 -0400, "Tom"
wrote:
This also points to the water heater relief valve. Turning the main
water supply on and off as a solution to a leak is not good practice.
It should only be done temporarily to get you through a weekend until
a plumber (or yourself) repairs the problem. Sometimes a small leak is
a small leak, and sometimes it's a warning. It should not be ignored,
or "worked around". Hard to diagnose a system that has other faults
that might be contributing. You may even find that if you fix the
bathtub leak and stop shutting off the main water supply, the other
problems may be cured.

It was about eight - ten gallons of water total. I did a load of wash about
ninety miniatures before going to bed.
I hope to get a plumber here tomorrow or Monday.

"Tom" wrote in message ...

How can I check the water heater pressure relief valve?

Where is the pressure relief valbe? Is it the valve on the side near the
top of the heater cylinder with a long copper oipe going to the bottom of
the heater?

"Tom" wrote in message ...

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could
just flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.


Should I also leave a cold watewr tap open?

"Tom" wrote in message ...

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could
just flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.


The toilet tank will fill with cold water. That will help with the WH tank
expansion?

Tom wrote:
"Tom" wrote in message ...
How can I check the water heater pressure relief valve?

Where is the pressure relief valbe? Is it the valve on the side near the
top of the heater cylinder with a long copper oipe going to the bottom of
the heater?


Hi,
Yes. You can't test it. It either works or leaks. Replace it if in
doubt. It's called P & T relief valve.(Pressure and temperature)

Tom wrote:

Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and
surrounding areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that
was installed 3 - 4 years ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they
were dry and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold
water pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been
turning off the water main supplying the house before going to bed
and turning it back on in the morning. This drip\leak is not the
source of the water leak in the basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in
a different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a
water leak?.

Yes. Turning off the main water valve could cause the water heater's
relief valve to open. Here's why: water expands when heated. The extra
volume has to have somewhere to go. With your main valve open, this extra
volume goes back into the water main feeding your house. With the valve
closed, this extra volume has nowhere to go but out the pressure relief
valve on your water heater.

Mark M.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:18:21 -0400, "Tom"
Meanwhile, put a bucket under the pressure relief and you'll know for
sure if that is where the water is coming from. I really think the
shutting off of the main water supply due to the small leak on the
bathtub is the root cause of the problem. The pressure relief might be
operating properly and doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

After readfing the posts I agree. The plumber can't come 'til Monday so I
think I'll cut the herat setting back to "vacation" setting when I leave
then reset it to the normal setting and turn the water main back on when I
return to the house or when I wake up in the morning.

On Jul 31, 10:14*am, "Tom" wrote:
"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message

...

Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was *installed 3 -
4 years ago.
I
I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. *I've had that
problem a couple of times.

How can I check the water heater pressure relief valve?

To see if that's the source of the water, you simply place a catch pan
under the discharge pipe. Over my life time, I had to replace two of
these valves.

Tom wrote:
"Tom" wrote in message ...
"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could
just flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.

Should I also leave a cold watewr tap open?

If you're going to continue to turn off supply and have a known leak, I
would recommend turning off or at least way down the water heater
setpoint so don't try to keep it at full temperature w/ no feed and
potential outflow--it's not good.

The answer still is to fix the leak.

--

"Tom" wrote in message ...

"Tom" wrote in message
...

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could
just flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.


The toilet tank will fill with cold water. That will help with the WH
tank expansion?

Yes, it takes pressure off the system from the main. Water expanding can go
backwards too.

If you're going to continue to turn off supply and have a known leak, I
would recommend turning off or at least way down the water heater
setpoint so don't try to keep it at full temperature w/ no feed and
potential outflow--it's not good.


Umm, if the water is off, how exactly does the water flow out of the
water heater?

"ironmike" wrote in message
...


If you're going to continue to turn off supply and have a known leak, I
would recommend turning off or at least way down the water heater
setpoint so don't try to keep it at full temperature w/ no feed and
potential outflow--it's not good.


Umm, if the water is off, how exactly does the water flow out of the
water heater?



Um, Mikey, I know these guys are idiots for the most part, but....
If all the valves are off in the house and you turn off the main water
supply with the heater still going and the heater doesn't have an expansion
tank, the expansion of the heated water in the now closed hot water system
could blow out of the T&P.

I'm just sayin'.......:)


Bob Wheatley

Oh Robert my guru,

I admit the fact these guys are idiots makes me suspicious of anything
they say. This particular DIYer said...

"Or, w/ the water supply off, somebody ran some hot water and since
the
heater had no resupply it overheated and blew off some steam during
the
night."

What I thought he was saying was that with the main off, the heater
emptied itself of water which caused it to overheat. The "resupply"
comment struck me this way. If I've been too hard on him, I will
apologize (as all plumbers are quick to do).

Mikey

"ironmike" wrote in message
...
Oh Robert my guru,

I admit the fact these guys are idiots makes me suspicious of anything
they say. This particular DIYer said...

"Or, w/ the water supply off, somebody ran some hot water and since
the
heater had no resupply it overheated and blew off some steam during
the
night."

What I thought he was saying was that with the main off, the heater
emptied itself of water which caused it to overheat. The "resupply"
comment struck me this way. If I've been too hard on him, I will
apologize (as all plumbers are quick to do).

Mikey



I didn't notice his post. I was responding directly to your question:
"Umm, if the water is off, how exactly does the water flow out of the
water heater?"

Most of the cross posts I just ignore because it aggravates me to even read
them.
A bunch of wannabes offering advice that for the most part is just nonsense,
and in some cases could get people hurt or even killed.
Are you still in Europe somewhere?

Bob Wheatley

Bob,

I am actually in the States as we speak. We're here visiting
family, and we'll return to Kosovo in three weeks. We'll stay there
one more academic year.

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd post some pictures of the plumbing I've
seen over there. It'd make these DIYers look like your best
jouneymen!

"Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak.
Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas,"

Hell I'm totally lost.

How could a leaking T&P on the basement water heater cause water on
the above bathroom floor?

Isn't the water heater in question (a Whirlpool water heater that was
installed 3 - 4 years ago.)
I would assume that may be an inline heater.

After all this it may be a loose toilet tank that leaks when the big
bodied wife tinkles durring the middle of the night.

kenny b

"Mark M." wrote in message
...
Yes. Turning off the main water valve could cause the water heater's
relief valve to open. Here's why: water expands when heated. The extra
volume has to have somewhere to go. With your main valve open, this extra
volume goes back into the water main feeding your house. With the valve
closed, this extra volume has nowhere to go but out the pressure relief
valve on your water heater.

Yes, that was the source of the water.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:04:28 -0400, "Tom"

After readfing the posts I agree. The plumber can't come 'til Monday so I
think I'll cut the herat setting back to "vacation" setting when I leave
then reset it to the normal setting and turn the water main back on when I
return to the house or when I wake up in the morning.



Is the bathtub leak accessible? If so, and we are talking about a
pinhole leak, you might be able to temporarily seal it by wrapping it
several layers thick with tightly wound electrical tape, which is then
wrapped tightly with string (each wrap of string directly alongside
the preceeding with no gaps) to keep the tape from bursting or leaking
sideways. Obviously not a permanent repair, but you might eliminate
all the other contortions until the plumber gets there.

I've been turning it off when I leave the house. Funny thing is the leak
was very steady and now it's a drip every 90 seconds or so.
Go figure.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Tom" wrote in message ...
"Tom" wrote in message
...
"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
that sounds like the most likely cause. An expansion tank would cure
that problem, IF in fact that's what's happening. ANOTHER cheap way of
dealing iwth the problem would be to flush a toilet AFTER turning the
water off for the night. THEN when the WH causes expansion, it could
just flow into the now emtpy toilet tank.

The toilet tank will fill with cold water. That will help with the WH
tank expansion?

Yes, it takes pressure off the system from the main. Water expanding can go
backwards too.


Expanding water? The laws of physics are not what used to be