First post ... What a week this has been

[Pepi]

First post guys. I was browsing the Internet and came across this site. Looked like a good place I could cry on someone's shoulder

Built my home in 1996. Richmond 40 gal installed at the time. Lasted around 7 years and just would not produce much hot water. Bought a 6 year Richmond at ******* model 5V40-7 on 3/29/03 (Made 1/2003). Installed two weeks later (Around 4/11/03).

Came home for lunch Monday and there was water everywhere. The wonderful Richmond water heater had water gushing out the top. Piece of crap ruined 4 rooms in my home. MetLife sent a crew out to dry out my home. They had to rip up all my laminate floors and vinyl. I had a Bradford White 50 gal installed today. Hopefully, this will be a good unit.

PS... If you ever have a new home built don't let the builder put a water heater in your house. THEY BELONG IN THE GARAGE

Thanks for letting me vent!

[master plumber mark]

that bradford white could leak also some day...

did the fellows that installed it put the unit in a pan ???


those pans dont cost much...and can really save you tons of greif..

[SewerRatz]

Have your plumber install one of these for peace of mind. http://www.watts.com/pro/_productsFu...pid=6250&ref=2

[Pepi]

that bradford white could leak also some day...

did the fellows that installed it put the unit in a pan ???


those pans dont cost much...and can really save you tons of greif..

Yes he did, but believe me a pan would have never stopped the leak that Richmond had coming out the top. It was like the fill tube broke away from the tank I'm looking into a whole house shutoff system for protection.

[SewerRatz]

Yes he did, but believe me a pan would have never stopped the leak that Richmond had coming out the top. It was like the fill tube broke away from the tank I'm looking into a whole house shutoff system for protection.

The one I posted is very good. I have installed a few of these already. They shut the watter off at the first sign of a leak, and also interrupts the signal from the thermocouple to shut off the gas control valve.

[Pepi]

The one I posted is very good. I have installed a few of these already. They shut the watter off at the first sign of a leak, and also interrupts the signal from the thermocouple to shut off the gas control valve.

Can you give me a ballpark cost for the unit plus the labor? Thanks

[SewerRatz]

Can you give me a ballpark cost for the unit plus the labor? Thanks

Well I can not give you a price on labor since labor rates very from town to town state to state. The units themselves I seen them as low as $100.00 to $225.00 The prices very due to different discounts given to contractors.

Labor wise I normally can install one with in an hour if all goes well. and hour and half it I run into any troubles. Best bet is to call around and get a few estimates. When you call around just tell them your interested in a price to have a Watts FloodSafe® Water Detector Shutoff installed on your gas water heater.

[jadnashua]

An alternative to the Watts device is www.wagsvalve.com from Taco. This one doesn't require an outlet, since it is all passive. It will shut the water off for any leaking WH (well, probably anything, but it's designed for a WH), but is only set up to disable a gas unit from firing.

[SewerRatz]

This is from the flood safe installation instructions. about power outages.

NOTE:
Temporary loss of power to the control unit will not cause the
pilot to be extinguished. The control unit will keep the pilot on
for up to 8 hours.

The Floodsafe™ Water Detector Shutoff will not operate as
intended without power. A battery back up is available to
allow operation for 36 to 48 hours in the event of a power
outage.

[jadnashua]

As I said, it requires power, whether from the a/c supply or from an (optional) battery to operate. The Taco device doesn't. Batteries, sensors, electronics, solinoid valves verses a heavy duty spring that is released to close a valve by the same thing that is used for emergency life vests that are stored for ages without maintenance. The Taco WAGSvalve is simpler, and it works. You don't need to run a circuit for an outlet nearby and it works when the power is off, plus, there's no maintenance or battery replacement required.

[SewerRatz]

As I said, it requires power, whether from the a/c supply or from an (optional) battery to operate. The Taco device doesn't. Batteries, sensors, electronics, solinoid valves verses a heavy duty spring that is released to close a valve by the same thing that is used for emergency life vests that are stored for ages without maintenance. The Taco WAGSvalve is simpler, and it works. You don't need to run a circuit for an outlet nearby and it works when the power is off, plus, there's no maintenance or battery replacement required.

I am still not sold on the Taco Wags valve.

[Redwood]

I am still not sold on the Taco Wags valve.

Me neither...

[hj]

The Richmond heater is a hardware store version of a Rheem/Ruud heater, just as GE is Home Depot's version of the same heater. I would be looking for a problem in your house causing the failure, since gas water heaters typically last much longer than either of yours have. Six years is typical for electric heaters in this area, but gas heaters usually last 12 or more years.