Hot Water Heater

We always joke about getting a tankless hot water heater when ours finally goes out. Of course, we always expected to have money to buy one when that happened.

A couple days ago I noticed a funny smell coming from the garage. Upon opening the door, the smell of burning rubber and a faint black smoke swirling through the air like a low fog were signs that something wasn’t right. My first thought was that it was the extension cord leading to the pond on our deck, so I quickly turned the power strip off and searched for the offending wire. No luck. Everything was cold and the smell didn’t seem to be coming from that direction. So I opened up the garage to let the smoke air out.

Minutes later I thought, oh crap! What if it is the gas furnace? So I ran back into the garage and flipped the switch off on it when I noticed the hot water heater that sits next to it had leaked a little water out of both the top and the pressure release valve. Because of where our hot water tank is located it is difficult to see, so I grabbed a flashlight to investigate and sure enough it died. So I grabbed another one and within a couple seconds it died too. So I grabbed yet another flashlight and it wouldn’t turn on. Fortunately it is a windup kind, so I wound it, turned it on and pointed it where I needed to. I could see signs that something burnt from inside the vent. Of course, I assumed that some of the water that escaped the pressure release valve splashed back up into the vent since they are literally only a couple inches away from each other, and the only noticeable difference in our hot water was that it was hotter than usual.

Internet research lead to two different conclusions, with one being more obvious than the other. Either there was an electrical issue and the wires melted, or one of the heating elements went out, causing the other to overcompensate which overheated the water which then began to leak out of both the top and release valve. Not a lot of water mind you, but enough to notice. The further I got into my research, the more it sounded like the element burnt out. So I further investigated to find out if this indeed was an issue that can be repaired by me, or if we have to go without hot water for a while until we magically have enough money to buy a new tank. Apparently if it is indeed the element it is easily replaced. If, however, it is electrical, an electrician is required, and we all know that they are not cheap. If, and this third option scares me, the tank has died (it was installed in 1995) I don’t even want to know how much it will cost to replace.