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COLA is something I have never seen. We’ve had generic 2% raises for the past decade when inflation has been much greater than that, so in effect I’ve been on a declining pay scale for the past 10+ years.
Who mentioned water heaters. Went downstairs this morning to let Tiger out and water was all over the floor. The purge valve on the side of the water heater was trickling pretty good. I thought I had heard a whooshing noise earlier, that must have been the valve letting off. I didn't know what to do so I turned the gas off and shut the incoming water off. Cold showers this weekend.
So all that rain we were supposed to get this weekend is not going to happen. Yay. A little rain here or there but no big storms. We had a bit of wind yesterday, I need to go check my car covers at the shop.
So work both days this weekend. Not sure I'm feeling it. Hard to turn down double time. We'll see how I feel this afternoon. My elbow has been hurting like hell, it's either gout or tennis elbow. I don't play tennis.
Who mentioned water heaters. Went downstairs this morning to let Tiger out and water was all over the floor. The purge valve on the side of the water heater was trickling pretty good. I thought I had heard a whooshing noise earlier, that must have been the valve letting off. I didn't know what to do so I turned the gas off and shut the incoming water off. Cold showers this weekend.
Mike - You can fix &/or replace the pressure relief valve on your own depending on your skill level - you most likely have the correct tools. There are many reasons they can begin to slowly drip, leak & fail - but, my point is they "can" be replaced and most hardware stores carry them in stock. There are many videos on YouTube and elsewhere showing how to replace them. Sometimes, you don't need to replace them but instead open them up, close them, open them up, close them, etc. and they re-seat - I'll let you make the decision. Again, they can be replaced and pretty fast so you can get hot water running again.
Mike - If you like, you can simply call a plumbing store and pick up a relief valve from them. There should be a tag (Green) on the relief valve indicating temp, pressure, etc. you'll just need to tell them. They may know which relief valve you need if you give them the water heater model number.
On my way to the Newport Hill Climb this weekend in my van. At work currently for a half day. Van is doing well, I cranked up the slow idle a bit for better stability. It has manual choke/fast idle, so you play the game of when to shut it off.
Got one of the neighbor's cats to let itself be petted last night. As long as I am in the middle of the yard, it seems friendly and doesn't think I will take it inside. The other cat is too scared of me. I enjoy these cats being around as they scare away mice, but I don't have to feed them. They prowl my property daily, so it hopefully keeps my acre mouse free.
On my way to the Newport Hill Climb this weekend in my van. At work currently for a half day. Van is doing well, I cranked up the slow idle a bit for better stability. It has manual choke/fast idle, so you play the game of when to shut it off.
John - Hope you have a safe and trouble free trip to the Hill Climb, and have a great time while you're there. I'm gonna be at a show in Columbia, IL tomorrow. I've got two buddies that are going to meet me there and there are also several members of our Old's Club that are going.
Awoke this morning to find a large tree limb on the ground which fortunately managed to avoid two buildings. That could have been quite costly. Lots of water beginning to pile up in the area.
Thanks Norm. I may look into that instead of forking out 2K for a new water heater. It's only 4 years old. Although I would take this opportunity to put in an electric heater and ditch the gas one.
Looks like we're finishing up. Noon or after on a Friday. Pitiful. I'll probably work tomorrow so it doesn't really matter.
Mike - Don't get another new water heater especially if your current water heater is only 4 years old. My current water heater is ~18 years old and works great. I (personally) have changed the anode twice and had to replace one (of two) heating elements once during that time period. Your water heater should last another 11 years at least.
My concern would be WHY did it regurgitate all over the basement floor?
^^ THIS. The water heater over-pressurized for some reason. Either your thermostat is set too high, or something else went haywire that caused the temp to keep rising until the pressure valve opened.
I'm guessing this has happened before, as I've gone downstairs and seen water on the floor. I attributed it to rain. Although it isn't always raining when I see this. But since I was hit in the face(figuratively) with the problem that's why I turned it off and shut off the water. I think I will turn it on tonight so I can have a hot shower in the morning. This purge bit only happens every couple of weeks. Very odd.
We got out of work around 1230. My friends were leaving Awful house as I drove past so I didn't stop. That's okay, Mom and I just got back from there after running some errands. I was on the fence about working tomorrow, but since I don't have the lead's phone number I can't call in. So I guess I'm going in. I'll see if I can take off Monday, so I have some sort weekend.
Glad Mr. Baker got taken care of finally. Wouldn't it be funny(or apropos) if the guy making the plans is always like that and Mr. Baker always had to wait on him. Or that Mr. Baker was late to everything, thus making the old adage "late to your own funeral" true.
Mike - You may need a small diaphragm expansion tank added to your water heater. There are several scenarios where a small expansion tank is needed - sometimes it’s the sizing of the plumbing itself, the venting of the house plumbing, geographic location, water sourcing. If you see venting every several weeks you most likely might need a small expansion tank. Look about 5’30” into the video you’ll see an expansion tank. They’re sometimes quite common in select areas.
Here I am at overtime. Sounds like it will be a good day. Only 100 wheels to do and we have to be done by 8 anyway, because plant maintenance is going to work on the tire retriever.
Norm I do need an expansion tank. The way it was explained to me was if a main breaks out in front of my house and the water rushes out, it will pull all the water out of the water heater, and that small tank keeps that from happening. My water heater is a job done by the previous owner, who was a wizard with automobiles, but houses not so much. By the way, I turned it back on last night and set it on low. The burner came on for about 5 seconds then went off. Apparently the water in the tank was still hotter than what I had set it at. Had plenty of hot water this morning.
Gonna be nice today. Got plenty to do. Hope everyone has a good day.
https://www.thespruce.com/water-heat...mation-2719063 A water heater expansion tank is a safety device (sometimes called a thermal expansion tank). It is an overflow receptacle that alleviates the pressure caused by the normal thermal expansion that happens when water is heated.
Absolutely gorgeous outdoors. Put up x3 vertical sections of scaffold this morning. Washed fascia, eaves, soffits, attic vent, some siding, did some caulking, painted the drip molding, began painting fascia, eaves & soffits. Finished painting the remainder of the back side of the house where I had scaffolding erected. Productive day. Going to address the taller peaks of the house first - those which require x3 sets of vertical scaffolding. I don't need to replace any boarding, I'm actually repainting the entire house. The majority of painters would never wash boarding &/or paint prior to painting - those folks don't know the first thing about painting.
Mike, that sounds more like an anti-siphon valve.
From the internet: https://www.thespruce.com/water-heat...mation-2719063 A water heater expansion tank is a safety device (sometimes called a thermal expansion tank). It is an overflow receptacle that alleviates the pressure caused by the normal thermal expansion that happens when water is heated.
Correct. Mike most likely needs an expansion tank (as I previously indicated) - note "most likely" there can be caveats. Explained in next post(s).
Times change, municipalities change, water system dynamics change. Where once we **** in an outhouse, we now **** indoors in a toilet. Where we once used a septic tank, we now have sewer lines. Where we once used cisterns, we then moved to underground wells, then we moved to city, local, municipal water supplies. Hopefully, in most cases local codes kept up with the needs of housing communities in regulating water supply & delivery - but, that isn't always the case. And, not every home was built to the same identical standards and upgraded to the same standards. Some (most) towns use a water tower (to supply water and potential energy to deliver water [under pressure] to homes in the community). Water pressure increases with height of the water tower - ~0.43 psi/vertical foot in height. Albeit, a 200' water tower (on average) would supply ~86 psi water pressure. But this is modestly misleading since we don't know of the diameter of the main line from the water tower nor the volume of water. At any rate, most water towers supply between 80 psi - 100 psi water pressure and much of this is determined by hydrostatic fundamentals of the geographical region.
With regards to water supply systems - in general, we've moved (historically) from "open" water supply systems to more modern "closed" water supply systems. The majority of homes and their attendant water heaters operate via a closed water supply system. There is a small tradeoff with regard to water heater systems & the type of water meter and pressure relief valves used by modern water companies. Let's just face facts - not all municipalities upgraded and employed the same water supply systems including the meters and the check valves used in those meters.
The "typical" water meter into a home regulates water pressure to the home at ~70 psi. There are many ways a water company can regulate water pressure. Remember, sometimes a water main can have a water pressure much higher than the feed into the home (in the range of 100 psi). Much depends on the water company's supply lines - size of the lines, length of the lines, communities served, commercial, industrial, residential, etc. At any rate, the most important aspect of water entering the home is to regulate the pressure from the main water line into the home. The standard is between 50 psi - 70 psi. This is accomplished (most often) with a PRV (Pressure Relief Valve) installed into the water meter BY THE WATER COMPANY. But - this is NOT always the case, much depends on the water company. Most residential consumer appliances operate within the range of 20 psi - 40 psi EXCEPT for a standard residential water heater. A standard residential water heater should operate in the range of 50 psi - 60 psi (generally). The MAWP (Maximum Allowable Working Pressure) of a water heater is 150 psi. If the pressure exceeds 150 psi the water heater relief valve will puke water. GENERALLY speaking, the water heater should be set to a temperature of 130°F - 140°F. The reason for this is to eliminate bacteria in the water tank from growing in stagnant water (1° Legionella bacteria).
So, NOT all houses need or require an expansion tank this simply depends on several factors - the most likely of which is the pressure of the water which is entering the home (which should, again, be ~50 psi - 70 psi). If it's higher than 80 psi that is an issue which can DEFINITELY cause problems with a water heater puking water every so often. And, as Jim eluded to - if the water heater is set to its maximum value (which often is stated on the water heater [~150°F]), that can cause the pressure in the water heater to increase as the temperature increases (temperature and pressure are proportionally related - if the temperature increases, the pressure increases; if the pressure increases the temperature increases).
Finally, here's the last piece of the puzzle. Not all PRV (Pressure Relief Valves) employed in water meters are created the same. Some PRV valves are designed to accommodate back flow in a closed (loop) system. Generally a PRV valve is "set" to accommodate a predetermined pressure (say 70 psi) and a 10% fluctuation in back pressure. This means a good water supply meter can accommodate 7 psi of back pressure (against a predetermined "set" pressure of 70 psi). But here again, if the water meter PRV is bad, incorrectly "set" or if your incoming water pressure is 80 psi or above - all bets are off and you most likely need a pressure reducing valve, instead.
So, Mike - if you have your water heater set above 145°F that is too high. Dial it back to ~130°F and see if that resolves the issue. If not, you may need an expansion tank. But, you know, you could measure your incoming water pressure to the house by simply hooking up a gauge to any COLD water faucet in the house.
Both my homes are on wells. But years ago, One of my neighbor in the mountains [ a home builder [and an a$$ hole] put water pressure reducing value on his new house. Couldn't understand why he had no water pressure. I let him stew until he sold the house to a dentist [nice guy] sent my main ,man to jerk that thing out problem solved
Both my homes are on wells. But years ago, One of my neighbor in the mountains [ a home builder [and an a$$ hole] put water pressure reducing value on his new house. Couldn't understand why he had no water pressure. I let him stew until he sold the house to a dentist [nice guy] sent my main ,man to jerk that thing out problem solved
Yeppers. Water pumps on wells are a different animal but not dissimilar in regulating pressure. My city recently (4 years ago) installed new water meters at the street (buried below ground ~1') directly off the main. These new water meters have a home-owner friendly adjustable PRV flow-rate turn-style spicket on them where you can actually dial back the pressure. Mine is set wide open, I have no issues w/ water pressure, but if I did, it's nice to know I could dial it back which is rather nice.
