(this should be in the "what are you fixin today?" thread but there is a time sensitivity issue. I stink)
Something sounded funny downstairs today and thankfully the spray was caught within a few minutes.
Everything water/blower vent/gas was shut off immediately.
It could have turned out very differently..
The water was first drained. It was clear as day after being flushed last year.
The 13yo AO Smith has some external rust around all the outside joints, and severe corrosion on the end of the copper overflow pipe.
Internally it looks good, but there seems to be some electrostatic reaction occurring.
The connector was un-sweated to give some head space and the rest of the copper supply flexed out of the way.
That crack of it breaking loose was the most satisfying thing I've heard.
Rust was continuously blown out of the base while doing this. There's nothing like a clogged other valve to take up another day.
There was no light through the extracted stub pipe because it was clogged with a small rubber disk:
My buddy had helped me replace the other pipe (held on by literally two threads) a few years ago, and I noticed it also had the same thing stuck inside:
The questions:
1). What are those rubber disks?
Is there supposed to be a special base gasket under the stub pipe?
2). Should the water heater
not be grounded?
(The blower fan is grounded to the tank, but I'm not sure what that is grounded to.)
My understanding is that electrolysis occurs with dis-similar metals in contact, especially with electricity present.
The original copper-to-galvenized fittings don't have the internal plastic spacers, but the new ones do have them.
3). Should the tank be sitting on a special base?
It is currently sitting on rusty metal shim plates on the concrete floor which could serve as ground.
4). Should the tank be bolted to the floor?
Those fittings were a bear while it was twisting around.