Water Heater Shut-Off and Connections in Las Vegas

Where it is in a valley home

Usually in the garage in a valley home, sometimes in an interior closet. Look for the cold inlet valve on the top of the tank, the T&P relief valve on the top or upper side with a pipe running down toward the floor, and the drain valve at the bottom.

What usually goes wrong

• Scale. At roughly 17 grains per gallon, hard water drops minerals onto the bottom of the tank, which is what causes the rumbling and popping as the burner fires through the sediment layer.
• The T&P valve weeps because the tank is over-pressured or the thermostat is set too high, and it is a safety device, not something to cap.
• Water on the floor around the base of the tank generally means the tank itself has gone, not a fitting.

What to check first

1. 1

   Listen: rumbling or popping while heating is sediment, and flushing it early buys years.

2. 2

   Look at the flexible connectors and the T&P discharge pipe for rust trails or dried mineral crust.

3. 3

   Check the age on the data plate. Hard water shortens a tank's life, so a valley heater rarely matches the brochure figure.