Topic: Water Heater Fail -- Malicious Plumber?

[vames]

I came home yesterday to a leaking hot water heater. It was a medium leak from where the cold water goes into the dip tube. Not as bad as it could have been but it still sucks. It's a seven year old run-of-the-mill gas 50-gallon unit. We have hard water, but still, seven years is kinda a short lifespan for one of these.

So when I looked more closely, I saw that the plumber who installed it didn't use a dielectric union. There was a steel nipple screwed directly into the copper pipe from the cold water supply, and into whatever metal is on the water heater side. Most people know that if you couple steel and copper or brass together, it's going to create a galvanic reaction, corrode, and eventually fail. A professional plumber should really know this!

But then I got to thinking that maybe the plumber isn't stupid, but actually does this intentionally (and maliciously) to make the unit fail well before it would otherwise. That suspicion is only bolstered by the fact that the plumber's card with his "emergency hotline" is taped to the unit and twist-tied all over the place. The heater pre-dates me owning the house, but I will certainly not call that plumber to replace the unit.   

What do you think? Is this a trick that malicious plumbers use to make these things fail more often? Or am I just paranoid?






 

[ekpent]

Mine came I believe with the galvanized pipe installed I think, been quite a while since I installed.

[Duke McDukiedook]

I imagine a call to his licensing board about his crap install would be a little sweet revenge.
You are still out the money on that last heater though.

[flybox1]

I imagine a call to his licensing board about his crap install would be a little sweet revenge.
You are still out the money on that last heater though.

True, but hold that card for later.
Call him and ask for it to be corrected.  If he says no, you know what to do 

[vames]

I'm usually up for retribution, but given that it's seven years since the install and I've only been in the house for two, I think I'm going to just let it lie. I doubt I'd get much traction without a lot of work. It would be hard to prove malice even if I'm a bit suspicious. I have a good plumber who is going to install a new one with a dielectric coupler. 

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Have you changed out the anode?

[vames]

Anode? I wasn't aware there were replaceable/expendable upkeep items in a gas water heater.

Just had a brand new AO Smith unit installed. I'm actually going to read the instructions on this one.

[Roach Carver]

there is a sacrificial anode that hangs down inside the water heater. Supposed to be replaced periodically. I agree about not going straight to the union or whatever it is. Not enough info available yet. I work in a field where any hothead can file a complaint and whether its legitimate or not it still is a red flag to the oversight group. We live in a society now where people want to complain about everything. Back to the water heater. I have an AO smith. It heats really well but its quirky. It has a ceramic thing in the bottom that allows air into the heating chamber. If it gets plugged up with dust and the chamber overheats it will shut down so my recommendation is if yours has it, keep the area as clean an d dust free as possible.

[BobbyR]

It was probably a lack of knowlegde, skill, or sloppiness.  Some of these guys are working under the owner's license.There is a difference between a guy that does pliumbing and a plumber.

[Steve F]

There should have been installed a "dielectric union" at the joint where the heater attaches to the house plumbing.  This is to prevent galvanic corrosion like what you're experiencing.  In some areas they're required by code.  If this plumber installed the water heater without one, you may have an edge to get repairs done for free.  Check your building code.  There is still debate about whether they work or not, I'd like to think they do, and will be installing them on the next water heater I do.
Click the link to see more.....

http://plumberologist.com/dielectric-unions/

[Stev-o]

Where's Don? Our resident Master Plumber...

[vames]

Thanks everyone. Clearly there should be a dielectric union to isolate the steel nipple and tank from the copper house piping. But after thinking/reading/pondering I'm starting to think that there's something to the anode argument. Seems as long as there's a functioning sacrificial anode, the steel tank will be protected from corrosion and the galvanic reaction of copper-to-steel will minimal. Once the sacrificial anode is spent, the whole thing starts breaking down very quickly.

So maybe this is planned obsolescence from the manufacturer. If they put a 5-year warranty on the heater, then they put in an anode that lasts about 5 years, and so on. Ironically, the manual for the new heater shows the anode in the schematic, but gives no service schedule for the anode. They don't want you to change it because they want you to buy a new heater for $Hundreds instead of a new anode for $Tens.

Unfortunately the plumber took the old unit, so I'm unable to take out the old anode and see if it was indeed spent. 

I just put an alert on my calendar to replace the anode on the new unit in 5 years (it has a  7 year warranty). I bet if I change the anode every 5 years and drain the sediment from the tank every year, it will probably last 20 years. I'll let everyone know in 2024.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/what-kills-water-heaters.html

[dusterdude]

We'll be here for that lol


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