Hot water system leak

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Originally Posted by Utemad

That's the reason I was thinking gas.
Being a two story townhouse I think a solar system would be out of the question. Even if practical it wouldn't get passed by the body corporate. They don't even like air conditioners in view.

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Justin, steel tanked Hot Water Systems (HWS) (like yours) have a plug in the top centre of the tank, there should be a removable plastic cover (plug) in the top outer casing. The plug in the tank has a sacrificial anode attached to it, it should be checked every 2 years (or more with a corrosive water supply) and replaced as necessary. The pressure valve should be flushed regularly to make sure it isn't blocked, I have seen half a house blown away by exploding HWS. It has been known for Wasps to build their mud nests in the drain pipe, blocking them, as I live in the country (plenty of Wasps) I don't have a drain pipe that can get blocked, I test my pressure relief valve every time I walk past the HWS, better safe than sorry, whenever you are doing any work on the HWS always have the relief valve in the open position, Regards Frank.

Big thing.
Only test the releife valve when you know the shops are open. Been told that by a couple of plumbers. If you test at night especialy on a sunday then that is when it will break forcing you to turn of the mains and either wait or call a plumber. They are supposed to be tested every 6 months. To test just lift it so it opens and lets water out.

Thanks Frank.
There is indeed a plastic cover top centre of the unit. I took the cover off and looked in there. I didn't know what I was looking at but it was definitely there :)

I test the relief valve whenever I am killing weeds in between the concrete slabs. They aren't too fond of hot salty water ;)
That's once a month or three.

Justin, should have mentioned that as your tank has reached antique status it would Not be a good idea to pull that top plug, as it will surely be rusted tight and too much twisting on a tank that old and you might just end up pulling the whole top off and BTW always turn the power off when working or draining a HWS especially if it has a top booster element, dont turn the thermostat lower than 50 degrees as you can get a buildup of bacteria and algae, Regards Frank.

Thanks Frank. I'll keep all that in mind.
The actual thermostat can only go though an arc of 50-70 though so it can't go too low.

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Originally Posted by Utemad

Thanks Frank. I'll keep all that in mind.
The actual thermostat can only go though an arc of 50-70 though so it can't go too low.

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Justin, some of the old tanks could go to 40 and that was not hot enough to kill bacteria or algae, if on off peak, check that your meter is not running all weekend, the power co. used to switch off off-peak over weekend, Regards Frank.