What a mess! My mom called me and mentioned she needed a new hot water heater. Right off the bat....I wasn't really thinking....which will become clear in a bit.
Lowe's had a 10% off sale on hot water heaters, (and after shopping the competition) ....had the best deal.....soooooooo.....Before I pulled the trigger on a $4-500 purchase, I wanted to consult with her whether to get a 3,6, or 9yr. warranted heater....which we were of the same mind...of getting the cheapest.
So....I go back to Lowe's, and......there's a bunch of empty spaces in the hot water heater department! !!!! I finally get a fairly cheap 40 gallon natural gas hot water heater from another Lowe's.
Now....with careful measuring and (hopefully) a little luck...I think there's an outside chance I can get it in my Ford Escort.....UMMMMMM...........NO!!!! But actually....it was only a couple of inches too big!
So......the plan is to enlist my neighbor to haul the hot water heaters and help swap them for a small fee....(actually he preferred a reduction on the labor charge on repainting his garage) !!!.
Soooo....I mentioned to my mom that I would drain and unhook the old one so all my neighbor had to do was help exchange the two ...and be on his way.
OKAY!!!! So....here's where things go south.....I get to the house....there's a hose running out the front door....my dipstick stepfather is in the small bathroom...(in my way)....and the hose the hooked up....has no washer....so the bathroom and hot water heater closet is flooded! The cold water line is disconnected and the water shut-off valve is closed.
NOW....for all you non-professional wanna- be's out there....TAKE NOTE! This saved me absolutely no time...made my work area nasty....was absolutely NOT helpful....and ultimately proved extremely, unnecessarily costly. If you want to help a professional when he comes to work at your house......get the heel out of the way....touch nothing....and shut the heck up....(don't try to impress us with your limited knowledge.....)....(this isn't about manliness....you dipsticks...it's about knowledge and professional service vs. hormone induced minimal experience and knowledge! )
So....I had to rework the plumbing...(old galvanized piping) to accept the new, taller 40 gallon. vs. the old 30.
Soooo.....all done....now to fill up the new heater and check for leaks............and.........fill.........and fill.........and......WAIT....WHAT???? How come this thing is still filling?
Sooooo.....we check under the house.....THERE IS A LAKE UNDER THERE!!!!!
SO....here's the skinny....the part that really didn't click with me to start with: "The hot water heater runs...but the water doesn't get hot." I was really busy....and just didn't think...and took my mom's word for the fact she needed a new water heater.....
In fact....it was a busted pipe under the house that was causing the problem....(which took me about 2 minutes to diagnose AFTER I replaced the the heater)....and PROBABLY. would have taken me just as long BEFORE a $500 hot water heater replacement.....IF!!!!! ......Someone hadn't decided to "HELP"!!!!