Although a water heater has a lot more reasons to leak if
it's been neglected for several years and had time to rust through, a newer
water heater can leak as well. If you've just had a water heater installed and
it seems to be leaking, don't panic. Most of the reasons a new heater will leak
aren't catastrophic.
Here are four possible explanations.
1. Poor Connections
If your water heater was installed in a hurry or has a loose
or otherwise faulty fitting, a poor connection could be to blame for your leak.
In addition, plumbing materials can experience damage from issues such as
expansion and contraction caused by temperature changes, wear and tear caused
by pressure, and more.
The connections, joints, gaskets, and other components that
hold your plumbing system together can experience problems from these and other
issues, and that includes the connections where pipes meet your water heater.
If this is the case, adjusting the connections should stop the leaks.
2. Faulty Relief Valve
Water heater tanks have temperature and pressure relief
valves that help them release any excess pressure caused by the hot water in
the tank. However, if a valve is faulty for whatever reason, it may simply keep
leaking even when it doesn't need to relieve any pressure.
In this scenario, your valve may simply need to be replaced.
Your plumber can come out to diagnose any issues with the valve.
3. Non-Faulty Relief Valve
A leaking temperature pressure relief valve isn't
necessarily faulty. These valves are designed to open up if the temperature
inside the tank is too hot or the pressure goes over 150 PSI. So it could just
be leaking because of too much pressure in the tank.
If your plumber tests the pressure and finds that it has
gone too high, you may need both a new relief valve and an additional
modification (such as an expansion tank) to prevent future pressure problems.
4. Leaky Spigot
The drain valve spigot at the bottom of your water heater
tank is designed to allow flushing out of the tank every year or so. But in
some cases, whether because the spigot is faulty or because something gets
jammed inside, this spot may begin to leak. Typically this isn't a catastrophic
issue for a water heater.
Your plumber can come out and check whether flushing the
spigot out to release any debris fixes the issue. If not, he or she will
proceed to the next troubleshooting steps and may either repair the valve or
replace it completely.
5. Early Failure
This is unlikely, but you should keep in mind that your
water heater tank could simply fail earlier than expected for some reason. A
faulty product caused by a manufacturing defect, for example, or some other
issue could mean that the wall of your tank has simply sprung a leak. In this
case, the whole heater will need to be replaced.
The good news is that if you just recently had it installed,
a failed tank should still be under warranty, which means you may not be on the
hook to pay for a replacement. Of course, this assumes that you've kept the
warranty valid (through proper installation and maintenance and so on).
These are just some of the potential causes of a leak if
your water heater is still nearly new.
Remember, just because the leak may be an easy
fix doesn't mean you should ignore it. Call us at
AERO Plumbing
if you notice that your water
heater has started to leak. We offer emergency service so we can help you with
your leaking heater no matter what time of the day or week it happens.
