Water Heater Exposion on my way to this afternoons inspection

[mboyett (Michael Boyett, TREC #7290 (Ret) Boerne, TX)]

This goes in all of my reports:

Note: Many manufacturers of the water heater Temperature and Pressure Relief (TPR) valve recommend the homeowner operate the test lever yearly and have the TPR valve professionally inspected by a licensed plumber every three years. Caution - ensure the TPR valve discharge piping is still properly installed and not clogged prior to manually operating the lever. Scalding injuries and/or water damage can occur if the discharge piping is not installed properly. If the valve fails to flow water or if it does not reseat or if it leaks then contact a plumber immediately.

And if the TPRV lever is stuck or ‘balky’ when I spin it then I add this:
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The age, appearance and feel of the Temperature & Pressure Relief (TPR) valve indicates that it likely would not operate properly or would leak after manual testing. TPR valves are safety features and are required by the manufacturer to be tested regularly but seldom are and this may allow the valve to become ‘stuck’ or otherwise inoperable. All safety devices are required to operate THE FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME, and any valve which is ‘stuck’, like this one may be, needs to be replaced. If a plumber or other person operates the valve and ‘unsticks it’, the valve STILL NEEDS TO BE REPLACED as it was required to operate THE FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME, not just be able to operate after someone played around with it ‘freeing it up’.

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[bdoles2 (Brian K. Doles)]

Simply amazing - did anyone get hurt?

[rmaday (Rick Maday)]

Saw this from a news article…

"While it’s not officially confirmed what caused the explosion, video from NewsChopper 3 showed a water heater on the corner near a school yard a couple of blocks away from the house. "

Full story…
http://www.azfamily.com/news/homepagetopstory/stories/phoenix-local-news-081408-home-explosion.46975254.html

[dduffy (Dale Duffy)]

@badair

Dale,

For some reason I have “replace every 3 years” stuck in my head but I know there are valves out there that offer 5 year warranty.

I have a Benjamin that says some ambulance chaser or the renter himself will go find an attorney and will be filing a lawsuit before the end of the year, more likely end of this month. Any takers? Probably file against the owner who was renting the place…
:roll: :roll: :roll:

Barry,

I just changed my auto-comment to three years…thanks…maybe I should make it two years too be on the safer side----

[dduffy (Dale Duffy)]

But I do not know a single person, including myself who changes their TPRV every 3 years…or 5----:shock:

Maybe I will one of these days after seeing that house----:lol:

[rmaday (Rick Maday)]

@dduffy

Barry,

I just changed my auto-comment to three years…thanks…maybe I should make it two years too be on the safer side----

How about…
Replace prior to close of escrow?

[dduffy (Dale Duffy)]

@rmaday

How about…
Replace prior to close of escrow?

Yeah, there you go Rick…generally a licensed plumber is needed at most properties anyway, he may as well change the TPRV while he is there, kill two birds with one stone----:lol:

That should irritate realtors I bet----

[escanlan (Emmanuel Scanlan, TREC# 7593)]

These pictures are from a Flip Home I inspected last week. The first picture shows the TPR mounted on the hot water distribution pipe. Second picture shows another connection at the 90 degree elbow for the TPR discharge pipe. :-k Hmm what could that be? It was a discharge pipe for the HVAC condensate sump sitting next to the hot water heater. The last picture shows the proper TPR discharge point having been capped off.

That was an accident waiting to happen!

[mkyriacou (Mario Kyriacou, CHI)]

@shand

I have a question…Why would someone screw a nut into the TPR valve?

I wish this system would let me attach a photo. I guess the file size is too big.

Scot,

Try resizing it before you upload it to the MB.

Here is the link for Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

[mkyriacou (Mario Kyriacou, CHI)]

Nice pic’s Dale!

[shand (Scott A. Hand)]

Here it is.

http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=23367&stc=1&d=1218840164:](http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=23367&stc=1&d=1218840164:)

Thanks Mario.

[mthomas2 (Michael D. Thomas)]

Grabbed this off the net, here’s the heater, the garage door ended up on the roof across the street.

[bgromicko (Ben J. Gromicko)]

Kenton made a calculation of the force of an expoding water heater in his video. I forget the numbers, but he calculated the foot-pounds of energy released when 30 gallons of water is exposed to atmospheric pressure. It approaches the power of a 16-inch gun on a USS Iowa class battleship, which produced a 7,500,000 foot-pounds of energy. That’s why there’s so much destruction.

Texas recently approved his Water Heater Course for CE units.

[ccurrins (Christopher Currins, CMI)]

[quote=shand]
Here it is.

http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=23367&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1218840164
Stupidity. It took just as long to screw in that plug as it would to screw in an extension.