(Home) Water Heater Question

[oneheadlite]

Here's a slightly off topic one where I'd love to get folk's input.


Cliff's notes version: Does anyone have recommendations for an intelligent water shutoff system that can cut off water supply to a water heater if a moisture sensor detects a leak?

Long version:

We're coming due for a new water heater. Our current 35 gal conventional water heater that came with our house clearly has some sediment/issues and doesn't keep up with demand, so looking to replace before it's out of catastrophic necessity.

I briefly looked into going tankless, as the biggest thing I hate about standard water heaters is the many gallon reservoir of water damage waiting to happen. Both my wife and I have had water heater failures at previous houses. Ultimately, I don't think converting to a tankless setup is worth while for out house. Not even just basic price difference, but also factoring in our house is 2 levels above ground with the utilities in the basement. My understanding is sometimes you have to run a recirculation line to the farthest point of use to help cut down on the wait time for hot water to reach that far; this would be an expense that doesn't seem worth going through. Also not crazy about the additional maintenance required, though I'd love to hear people's experience on that front.

So really what I'm on the hunt for is a good system to cut off the water line to the water heater in case of emergency. That way if there's a malfunction it doesn't flood the basement.

Yes, it's right next to a drain, but I don't have a lot of faith that that's gonna prevent any damage. We just had our water softener malfunction and leak brine water out of the salt tank - turns out the foundation's not sloped towards the drain enough so I had a small amount of clean up to do. I was planning on talking to the installer about putting the new one in a drained pan to promote water actually going down the drain. Even then I'm not sure it's gonna be enough in the event of a big let go.

I'm also open to any input on makes/models to get/avoid - I hear too much lately about new stuff only lasting a few years...

 

[Stormin08]

First off...it is or should be highly recommended that you drain you heater once a year to flush that sediment.

secondly, in your case ( i am from Missouri with basements) being near the drain i would not worry about damage from water unless your basement is finished, even then the drain should handle the water just fine.

the main concern i would have or have seen issue with is the relief valve, when servicing or even just a regular passing...flip it to make it function.

i have had to X-ray what is believed to be a stuck relief valve that cause a home fire.

 

[oneheadlite]

Yeah, going forward an annual flush will be part of the maintenance regime. I'll also be clearing out the brine tank every couple years for our water softener after finding out what that looked like inside after the recent issue it had - yuck.

Our basement is finished, hence me being over-protective about potential water damage. It's pretty close spacing before it gets to drywall/carpet.

Not saying it's right, but growing up I never knew anyone who flushed their water heater. Again, it will definitely be routine going forward (both draining some of the tank via the regular drain as well as function checking the relief valve).

Thanks for the reply!

 

[dgage]

The Coccoontech forum would be a good place to ask that question. But the one that stands out most from memory is the Water Cop and for a water heater it would be the following. They also have versions that shut off the incoming water supply.

Watercop WaterCop Leak Stop+ - Watercop

 

[Bruno Soares]

I drain a few gallons of my tank every month. My water creates a lot of sediment and if I don’t do that the lower element won’t even last a year. I have an alarm in the pan but no smart shutoff.