30 gallon hot water heater

Not too sure if this is the right place to ask but I'll give it a go

We have a self contained studio unit away from the main house which has a 30 gallon water cylinder in it circa 1971! We had it turned off as it's used as a music studio, no-one actually lives in it so we didn't see the point of wasting electricity/water. Now it's kaput, to put it politely. I turned everything on to check it out and the water pressure valve(ajax is it?) is leaking quite badly so turned everything off again. Problem is - still leaking!! Hmmmm the water mains is off, I thought I emptied the tank by turning all the taps on but there's still dribbles of water coming out of the pipes, where the heck is that coming from if the mains is off? I didn't think you could have a leak without a source. Obviously I'm not a plumber. Can't afford one at the moment so just wondered if there might be a plumber or two out there who could advise. Thanks

Hi sugarpie,

If you have turned off the water supply to the pressure reducing valve (Ajax is/was one common brand of these) and drained the pipes to the hot taps, then the cylinder is probably still full of water (120 L or so!). This is because the hot water withdrawl pipe normally comes from the top of the cylinder, which means that you can't use a hot tap to empty all of the water out of the cylinder.

If you are lucky, you will have a drain tap under the cylinder (it might be under the floor), if not, you will have to remove a pipe cap or undo a fitting and deal with the ~120 L or so of water that will come out...

Good luck and make doubly sure that you have the power off as you will burn out the element if it is powered up and not immersed in water.

Cheers

Thanks Spark - unfortunately can't find anything under the tank, might have to replace the valve and have some buckets standing by!! Tricky little blighters aren't they?

Get ready to put your palm on the open end and get a wet armpit when your bucket fills faster than you planned. Have help handy for emptying buckets.

Where in the country are you?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Find the closest pipe junction below floor level, take it apart there, and allow the water to run out on the ground. You will still get wet but it is easier than shagging around with buckets and spilling water inside the building.

Aquila;474342 wrote: Get ready to put your palm on the open end and get a wet armpit when your bucket fills faster than you planned. Have help handy for emptying buckets.

Where in the country are you?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

In Otaki in the Kapiti Coast. The tank is mounted on a wooden support inside the self contained studio, the pressure valve is about a couple of feet above the ground and the bottom of the tank is probably about waist height. I'm going to get another ajax valve(pressure valve) to replace the broken one, hopefully the tank itself is ok. Guess I'll soon find out :rolleyes: