So I'm enjoying my shower tonight and the water strats to get cold. That's strange, but OK I'm about done anyway. An hour and a half I am ready to wash the dishes - still no hot water?? Grab a torch and barefoot outside to the circuit board - all ok there, no breaker up? I wander around back to my hot water system and it looks like a bomb has gone off - the top is blown off, the foam insulation has heaved about a foot, water is spewing out of the thing and puddling at my feet.

Not happy Jan!!! (It's an Australian ad ;) ).

So it looks like I either have to extend the housing loan, or transcend the new found plumbing skills of our brave Cloudlet. I guess the other option is cold showers (then again there is also the British option :D ) tomorrow night. The finances were nicely balanced too - oh well, there goes that synchronicity :( .

<font color=lightblue> eeeeeeeeeeekk!! OH NO! maybe there was a blockage somewhere? [img]graemlins/bighug.gif[/img] </font>

Sorry bud. Looks like the thermostat on the heater didn't work. The heater went into overdrive, the water boiled, and the steam release valve must have malfunctioned or been overwhelmed. This type of gross malfuntion is probably covered by the manufacturers warranty. A malfunction of this magnatude is very bad publicity for a product, even if it's old. The product safety angle you know. The company will likely replace it for you with a new product as long as it wasn't tampered with. The water damage and maybe even the heater may also be covered by homeowners insurance.

Certainly not tampered with Sir K, I wouldn't know where to start - now neglect, that is more my cup of tea ;) . I have been in the house about 8 and a half years but I would have thought that was still reasonably young for a hot water system.

Seriously man. Get in touch with the manufacturer and send a photo along with a letter of your dissatisfaction. Make sure and stress the danger involved in this explosion and thank god nobody was close when it happened. You could also add that the local paper may want to use it as a story. [img]smile.gif[/img]

And just to impress this upon all of us in the Northern Hemisphere...it's the equivalent of winter in Australia right now! [img]graemlins/uhoh1.gif[/img]

Not fun, Davros! I hope you can find a way to get that fixed!

-Sazerac

<font color=Orange>Oh my word! Hope you have a fireplace Davros, and I hope you get it fixed!</font>

Y'know reverting back to a simpler way of life to a while isn't such a bad thing, just look at me, I'm the epitomy of living a "simpler" way of life [img]tongue.gif[/img] wow I wish the power would come back on already, it's been hot ALL DAY LONG TODAY!!! *sits with laptop and tounge sticking out all happily in a dumb sort of way*

What's the British option ,move an Aussie in to keep the flys off of you. [img]smile.gif[/img] . Seriously though it sounds as though the heating element has corroded and split causing a short ,same thing happened to Donut some time back , he called littlebro plumbing services in (very cheap)and then moved an aussie in . [img]smile.gif[/img] .Funny though it should have popped athe fuse first .

Cue Donuts plumbing no no story

Hi Lanesra - I will wait with bated breath for the Donut Plumbing No-No Story - that sounds like it will be as funny as a trip down a tube escalator :D .

New system is in now, and it's been tested ;) .

Come now Lanesra, the British option is to nominate next week as "Bath week" :D

Ooooh Davros, Bath Week? You are walking a fine line there mate! :D I'll have you know I take a bath on my birthday every year whether I need it or not.

Sorry to hear about your boiler, I sympathise, my heating/hot water breaks down regularly [img]graemlins/uhoh1.gif[/img]

Adding my name to the petition calling on Donut to post his Plumbing No-No story :D

We had something saimilar to this happen to us two winters ago.

Filling the bathtub for the kids out of pots and an electric kettle SUCKED. It would take and hour and a half just to get enough water in the tub for them to have a bath.

If you dont want to refinance the house get ahold of G.E. Finance I think it is. Im sure here is a waterheater seller (Gas Company???) around your area that will have somone install it and then add the cost of the installation and waterheater together onto the final total so you dont have to pay any money out of pocket. Youll have 6 months to pay the bill with no interest.After that they want 22%

If you want, you can email me tomorrow and in the meantime Ill ask my wife who it was that finaced it and who it was that we bought the water heater from, IF you cant get it replaced by the manufacturer.

[ 06-19-2002, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: Earthdog ]

<font color="#33ccff">22%!!!! Holy crap! sheesh, a home equity loan would be way lower than that.....errr well it owuld be here int he States...don't know about downunder :( </font>

Get a proper plumber in Davros - not one of those cowboys. When my hot water stopped working I called in a handyman (we'll call him Lasnera - it's not his real name). He came along with his two assistants (we'll call them CiderCoat and CiderCoat's brother the electrician). There was the usual intake of breath as he looked at the system. "What you need is a new element. We'll have to look inside the tank but to do that I'll need to buy one of them turbo charged spanner thingies which can only be used on hot water tanks and you have to pay for it but I'll keep it in my tool box afterwards"

Lasnera: We'll have to empty the water out of the system before we open the hot water tank. Where's your water tank?

Me:Err, I don't think I've got one.

Lasnera: "You must have, everyone's got one. Let's turn all of the taps on and drain the system."

Me: (30 minutes later) "The water is still running, I don't think I've got a water tank."

Lasnera: "Okay I'll open the top of your hot water tank anyway" (Has anyone guessed what's going to happen yet?)

He struggles with the huge nut on the top of the tank and it finally gives way. Of course the water in the tank has been taken directly from the mains and is under pressure. The water gushes out of the top of the tank - gallons and gallons of it nearly drowning poor Lanesra.

Lasnera: (to CiderCoat and CiderCoat's Brother) F***, help, don't just f******* laugh, oh God! Turn all the f****** taps on, don't just f****** stand there, get towels, oh shit, all the water's going through the floor (I live on the top floor of my block), turn the water off at the stop cock!

Me: Where is it?

Lasnera: I don't know f****** know it's your house!

Me: I think it's this one but it won't turn.

Lasnera: Don't you ever do any maintenance in this house?

Me: It's okay I've done it.

Lasnera: Of course, the water had to be under pressure, I should have guessed that!

Cheers Lasnera. This beats the time you shorted out all of my electricty on the day I moved in and the time you put the new lights in the living room and for two years after, every time I closed the door to the room I got showered in sawdust from the light fitting!

Mind you - you are cheap! :D

[ 06-19-2002, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: Donut ]

Geez Davros, I'm sorry to hear that happened to you and truly glad no one was injured. Sounds like an outside unit, which in this case was a good thing. Glad to hear the new system is in and checked out. Hope you have many years of happy trouble free hot water usage [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="white">Our hot water heater went out last year, and spewed water everywhere.
The insurance paid for water damage, but we had to buy the heater.

Once we had it installed, (we did it ourselves :D ), with a neighbors help. Since it is a NATURAL GAS heater, we had to check for leaks after installation.

<font color=blue size=+3>GET THIS.........</font>

Our neighbor, (who is an eighty-year-old man), climbs in the closet, lights a match and starts waving it around.....

needless to say we hauled ass out the front door!!!!! *LMAO*

Luckily, there was NO leak....otherwise, we could've had a MUCH BIGGER mess.........*LOL*

Moral........do NOT use a match to check for GAS LEAKS...</font>

Poor Davros! And he's really a very clean sorta guy, I think when he was in Brissie he had at least... one shower (rented suit and all) :D [img]tongue.gif[/img] . How cold does it get in Mandurah anyway? Probably colder than here - you know what the temperature was on Sunday? 29 degrees :rolleyes:

[ 06-19-2002, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Aelia Jusa ]

It is 7 deg C this morning Aelia - but the new system coped admirably :D . Good to see you hereabouts, and I hope your exams are going well.

TAO - LOL, checking for gas with a match..... the scary thing is I can imagine someone actually doing that.

Thank's for the plumbing story Donut - something reminds me of Faulty Towers - wasn't there a cheap Mr Fixit guy that Basil liked to use whenever something needed doing :D .

That's right. His name was Lanesra!

ROFLMAO @ Donut & Lanesra!

Great story, and told well [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="lightblue">29 degrees in the WINTER ?!?!?!
I`d hate to think what it`d be like in the summer... I boil (like water...) at anything higher than about 23 !! </font>

Actually 7 degrees was an overstatement - the weather report on the radio on the way to work said 3.8 deg C (Brrrrr).

<font color="lightblue">29 degrees in the WINTER ?!?!?!
I`d hate to think what it`d be like in the summer... I boil (like water...) at anything higher than about 23 !! </font></font>[/QUOTE][nitpick] Actually water boils at 100 degrees. Even alcohol (ethanol) has to reach 60 degrees before it boils. You are more like..... I dunno, mercury perhaps? [/nitpick]

He used O'Reily or as Manuel said orelly men

Watching all the candy feelings from the couples of brothers in here, I'm thinking my son really needs a brother (Like in : "Who need enemies ... "). :D

YIKES! Davros you've had a water heater catastrophe! Such carnage is typical. :D

Seriously, though, a real plumber sounds like a good idea. Hope the mess did't make too much damage! It does sound like the thermostat went haywire but I'd consider having the plumbers check out the system and replace anything that blew up! :D

I had a landlady once, who used a pair of brothers (plumbers) who always charged her double and used shoddy materials. Don't hire them! [img]graemlins/laugh3.gif[/img]

[ 06-20-2002, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

Are you sure it wasn't Donut & Lanesra? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Are you sure it wasn't Donut & Lanesra? [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]Donut? plumbing ? you're 'aving a bath he thinks DIY stands for don't involve yourself [img]smile.gif[/img]

Are you sure it wasn't Donut & Lanesra? [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]Donut? plumbing ? you're 'aving a bath he thinks DIY stands for don't involve yourself [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]HAHAHA!!!! I'm the opposite, I do most of my own repairs & decorating stuff. Bought a nice new load of tools half price yesterday [img]smile.gif[/img] Sod shopping for clothes, just point me in the direction of the nearest hardware shop [img]smile.gif[/img]