Our gas water heater suddenly began overflowing tonight, perhaps half
an hour or so ago. I turned off the gas burner and shut off the water
supply. Id' say we have a couple of gallons of water on the floor.

The heater is overflowing from the top. That is, the water is coming
out from under the cover which is held on by several screws. There is
no water on top of the heater.

The heater was installed in 1997 by the previous owner of our house
and we've never had any problem with it before.

I don't know anything about water heaters so I haven't the slightest
idea of what happened.

Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I'll call
a repair company tomorrow, but in the meantime I'll be checking back
here later tonight.

Thanks,

-Len

LenS wrote:
Our gas water heater suddenly began overflowing tonight, perhaps half
an hour or so ago. I turned off the gas burner and shut off the water
supply. Id' say we have a couple of gallons of water on the floor.

The heater is overflowing from the top. That is, the water is coming
out from under the cover which is held on by several screws. There is
no water on top of the heater.

The heater was installed in 1997 by the previous owner of our house
and we've never had any problem with it before.

I don't know anything about water heaters so I haven't the slightest
idea of what happened.

Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I'll call
a repair company tomorrow, but in the meantime I'll be checking back
here later tonight.

Thanks,

-Len


Water is spraying out from under the sheet metal flue
(draft hood) connection?
If so, the central core (flue passage) inside the heater
has failed.
Doesn't happen too often at only 8 years service,
but possible. May be related to corrosive water
or very high water pressure.

Jim

"LenS" wrote in message
...
Our gas water heater suddenly began overflowing tonight, perhaps half
an hour or so ago. I turned off the gas burner and shut off the water
supply. Id' say we have a couple of gallons of water on the floor.

The heater is overflowing from the top. That is, the water is coming
out from under the cover which is held on by several screws. There is
no water on top of the heater.

The heater was installed in 1997 by the previous owner of our house
and we've never had any problem with it before.

I don't know anything about water heaters so I haven't the slightest
idea of what happened.

Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I'll call
a repair company tomorrow, but in the meantime I'll be checking back
here later tonight.

Thanks,

-Len

My water heater was installed in '98 and also started leaking at the top. I
think I died about a year past warrantee. but I had trouble with the gas
valve/ thermostat before that.
They pretty much self-destruct soon after the warrantee expires depending on
how hard your water is.
Look for date of manufacture and warrantee information printed on a label on
the water heater. The date code may be part of model or serial number or
something, (not the date on the ANSI standards declaration). For example
3597xxxx would mean built in the 35 week of 1997.

Kevin

"LenS" wrote in message
...

Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

Hot water tanks just don't last like they used to and the manufactures don't
put 15 - 20 year warranties on them anymore, think ten years is about the
max now and most or less than that. The house that we sold three years ago
had to have an eight year old tank replaced and the house we moved into had
to have a nine year old tank replaced. We live in N.E. Okla and the water
quality is above average. RM~

PS, Installation is very high these days, probably as much as the tank or
more. If you have the time you can save several hundred $$$ by installing
your own tank (it's a piece of cake).

Have your water heater replaced with a quality replacement. Demand a ten
year parts and labor coverage on it. Any good dealer will accommodate
that. The new tecchnology is very touchy with the conditions around the
water heaters. Dirt, gas pressure, and draft. Make sure they are all
addressed by the contractor.

--
Bob Pietrangelo


www.comfort-solution.biz
On Time or Your Service Call is FREE
Preventive Maintenance Specialist




"LenS" wrote in message
...
Our gas water heater suddenly began overflowing tonight, perhaps half
an hour or so ago. I turned off the gas burner and shut off the water
supply. Id' say we have a couple of gallons of water on the floor.

The heater is overflowing from the top. That is, the water is coming
out from under the cover which is held on by several screws. There is
no water on top of the heater.

The heater was installed in 1997 by the previous owner of our house
and we've never had any problem with it before.

I don't know anything about water heaters so I haven't the slightest
idea of what happened.

Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I'll call
a repair company tomorrow, but in the meantime I'll be checking back
here later tonight.

Thanks,

-Len