No hot water in New Orleans

This question is for a friend who has a homw in New Orleans. He said that he is not getting any water out of his hot water tank, which is located above his living space. Is it possible that the leveee flooding could have caused his tank to fill up with junk, and is clogging his outlet pipes? Can uou guys give him any suggestions as to what can cause his problem.

This forum is so great, and informative.

Thanks

Ed from Chicago

Don't start a new thread with the same question, if nobody answers, if you add something to it, it will pop it back up to the top of the queue.

If there is no flow, has he ensured that the valve going to it is opened? If it is, can he drain anything from it from the drain valve at the bottom?

Is the pipe at the top hot? is it working?

If there is water flowing into the house and he can get it out of the cold faucets, unless there is a valve shutting it off to the water heater, it is unlikely that the waterheater is full of sludge. Can you get cold water out of all faucets and shower heads? That would tell you that the screens in them are not clogged. If you can't get any water out of some things, then take the aereators off and check/clean them and try again.

As noted in the previous replies, if the power was on and the tank got drained for some reason, then especially if it is an electric, the elements have burned out. That wouldn't keep water from flowing through it, but it would prevent it from heating the water.

I worked with a bunch of firefighters from Chicago last September down in New Orleans. The NYFD and NOFD guys outcooked them though. They all worked hard. Anyway since the tank is over the living space is it possible that there is not enough water pressure to get it up and over? Some of those systems are just coming on line and may not be up to the pressure they were before the storm. This is assuming that NO water is coming out of the hot spigots. How many stories up is the water heater? What's the water pressure on the cold lines like and how is his neighbor's pressure? Are they having similar problems?

I got to thinking some more. There should be a one way valve on the supply line to the hot water heater to prevent the hot water backing into the cold water supply when the water expands when it is heated. Maybe that backflow valve got stuck closed. Hopefully some real plumbers chime in soon. The one way valve I put on my system looks like a brass cylinder. There are other kinds though. If you find the valve tap on it and see if that loosens it up. I wouldn't rap on it too hard but a bit of tapping shouldn't hurt. If it is the one way valve and it is coroded on the inside it probably wont do it's job very well (keeping hot water tank water out of the cold water supply). It probably needs to be replaced. Let us know how it turns out.

Twigpig,

I have never heard of a check valve on a water heater. Unless your thinking of the T&P valve. A check valve at the entry point with an expansion tank on the cold side of the heater , yes or a shutoff valve, yes but not a check valve.

I didn't know they called them T&P valves. It sounds like you know what I'm talking about though. The one way valve just upstream from the expansion tank going to the hot water heater. What does T&P stand for? Do they ever stick closed? Since they are just now getting around to posting the valve has probably been closed for about 10 months without water pressure from the city lines.

TPR stands for Temperture and Pressure Relief. They are installed in the tank, either on top or on the side and relieve the pressure in the tank if it rises above a safe level. This is usually 150 psi. If the valve is in good condition, it will open when the pressure reaches the danger point, then close with the pressure is OK. I have never heard of a check valve in a supply line. When one has a closed system, it created when a Pressure Regulator Valve, PRV, is installed in the incoming water line to reduce the pressure in the supply. It is a one way valve, and what happens when the water heater heats, the heated water expands (a law of physics) and, because of the PRV valve, it has no place to go. This increases the pressure in the tank and trips the TPR valve. The cure for this is to provide a place for that expanded water to go, and that is called an expansion tank. It is installed between the PRV and the water heater. If you do not have a PRV, the expanded water just is absorbed back into the water supply system so an expansion tank is not needed.

Thank you all for your replies. I guess I need to ask my friend some more questions. He did say that when he opened the drain valve the water was hot, and that he checked the aerators. The tank is located in the attic. He also said that when he turns on the cold water, then opens the hot faucet, the cold water pressure is reduced.

I apologize for starting a new thread, I look to see if there were any response, and could not find my question, so I re-submitted it....old eyes I guess.

ED

Could be a bad gate valve on the cold supply to the water heater.