Water Heater Fixup
Our First Home: Water Heater in the garage had a drip-drip-quantity leak in the drain-down valve. Previous owner couldn't pony up for a rubber washer. His fix? Run the warm water through a hose attached to the valve, across the floor, out the roll-up, and onto the driveway. The first of many surprises.
(shamblinthru Grasshopper! Next time use the potholders!, Wed 16 Mar 2011, 19:22, 2 replies)

old rule of thumb...
one drip per second equals three gallons a day.
which is about 1100 gallons per year.
assuming the water was warm, as you say, from coming out the DOC on the cold feed then that's a whole lorra cash.
had a job 2 years ago. hot bath tap in hotel bathroom (decrepit, unused room) dripping at 6/second for at least 14 years(since the present manager started there).
18*365*14 = 91980 gallons of mains cold water electrically heated to 72 degrees centipole, or put it another way: 418 cubic meters of water and a temperature rise of minimum 60 degrees.
that's gonna be some expensive maths!
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Wed 16 Mar 2011, 21:04, closed)

Oh yes. A nice Green Garden hose housewarming gift. Put it to better use.
- Huge holes in the plaster... covered with wallpaper.
- Drip edge on the back porch.... installed upside down, on the composition tarpaper flat roof. One could raise carp on the pond that formed.
- Leak under the kitchen sink. Rotted out the plywood. Attracted and provided moisture for ants. They brought in about 5 kg of dirt. Found only after ripping out what was left of the under cabinets.

Infectious I s'pose. The neighbors watched me working my ass off and started fixing up their places too. The next house got the hairy stinkeyeball goingover before I bought it.
(shamblinthru Grasshopper! Next time use the potholders!, Thu 17 Mar 2011, 3:34, closed)