Hot water tank

maroo

So ok tonight the hot water tank was hissing really loudly and I called for maintenance I was afraid to go downstairs and see what it was. Maintenance came and said the hot water tank blew up and black sludge was all over the floor. So there is a gas boiler which I believe is connected to the hot water tank and I asked if the heat can stay on and I was told yes but I’m iffy because I don’t trust what they say otherwise this wouldn’t have happened. I called back in January of this year because the shower water was always cold and someone came and said he fixed it but the shower water is lukewarm at best. So now I’m wondering if it’s safe to leave the gas boiler on for heat tonight because they said they can’t fix the water tank til tomorrow? It smells weird too like some oil type of smell. I’m honestly afraid right now. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

@maroo

Can't be certain without seeing it but yes. If the shut the water off to the hot water tank then you should be able to run the boiler for heat. The smell your getting from the old tank and sludge from it is normal

JakeCK

I must ask, why do you believe a failure that you had nearly a year ago is related to this new failure? January could have just been an issue with a thermostat and when it was fixed just had the temperature set low. This new issue sounds like a failure caused by corrosion. Which happens occasionally with old hot water tanks. 

Of course without seeing it anything anyone here says is speculation. If you can please take some good pictures of the boiler and hot water tank experts here can better advise you. And please realize that it's extremely unlikely it would fail in such a way that it could injury you. You are much more likely to die in an auto accident while cruising down the highway. There are safeties in place to prevent that as long as they haven't been tampered with. And if a catastrophic failure did occur, the floorboards might not protect you. You are better off seeing it for yourself and getting pictures so people here can help you.

maroo

JakeCK said:

I must ask, why do you believe a failure that you had nearly a year ago is related to this new failure? January could have just been an issue with a thermostat and when it was fixed just had the temperature set low. This new issue sounds like a failure caused by corrosion. Which happens occasionally with old hot water tanks. 

Of course without seeing it anything anyone here says is speculation. If you can please take some good pictures of the boiler and hot water tank experts here can better advise you. And please realize that it's extremely unlikely it would fail in such a way that it could injury you. You are much more likely to die in an auto accident while cruising down the highway. There are safeties in place to prevent that as long as they haven't been tampered with. And if a catastrophic failure did occur, the floorboards might not protect you. You are better off seeing it for yourself and getting pictures so people here can help you.

Because the shower water was never warm since then so apparently that would be it because when they came to fix the issue last time it still wasn’t warm and the maintenance knew it because he even said that it wasn’t really warm but better than before. I had this issue in another place that I lived and same thing with the shower then the hot water tank needed replaced. If there are certain things that need to be maintained and no one is doing anything until it’s too late then yeah there is going to be problems. I’m not the only one around here whos hot water tank needed replaced just last month a neighbor and that neighbor called the fire department in the middle of the night over the issue so apparently somebody isn’t doing their job and I am relating what happened last evening to the issue I’ve had all along with lukewarm shower water. There’s been an issue. I may not be a plumber but I know when something isn’t right. 

JakeCK

I'm not saying there isn't a problem. There obviously is. But they may or may not be related. Correlation does not imply causation.

If management is that bad, that is an even greater reason to investigate and document it yourself. With out photos or a very detailed description of what you are seeing no one here will be able to help you.

maroo

.

pecmsg

In April you said the boiler was broken.
https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/184219/boiler-question#latest

pecmsg

Is this the picture?
https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/182070/is-everything-ok-on-this-gauge#latest