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I keep my bottled water in the garage. I needed another jug, so I went out to get it. Something was hissing and it was the little tank above the water heater. The indoor shutoff is 5 inches after the tank, so I had to get my handcrafted street shutoff wrench and turn off all the water. I called my home warranty company and ashed them if the little tank was covered along with the water heater. They wanted to know what kind of tank it was. I didn't know. I set up the call anyway and went back to the heater to see if I could put a pressure patch on it to get enough water to wash and flush the toilet. There was a obscure label on it saying it is a thermal expansion tank. The warranty contract says it doesn't cover it. Now I get to see if the fact that the heater was installed in June of 2000 will make the plumber get all conscientious and condemn and replace it or not. The heater would be covered. At least the ____ thing doesn't use freon.

We had our water heater replaced last summer. The little expansion tank we had went bye-bye then. Code doesn't require them anymore, they caused so much trouble and caused damage to homes when they exploded. We were lucky, but ours was where it was seen when driving into the garage, so wasn't any trouble to keep an eye on. Would some epoxy fix it well enough so you could flush the toilet at least?

Sorry, Rex. I never, ever, ends. How about this stuff:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-4-i ... /306379572

Or, this stuff:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/FLEX-SEAL-F ... 634866-_-N

Bill

Depending on the kind of leak, you could also use a self-threading metal roofing screw, one of those with a rubber gasket on its big head, and just run it into the hole.

Chris Campbell

It's a slot shaped hole in the wall of the tank. The pressure patch works if I turn on the water in the tub when turning on the service. It let's me fill the toilet tank.

Well, the home warranty company got the plumber to come the next day. It wasn't covered and I had it repaired anyway. The original installation had the tank on the inlet line supported by the bronze T fitting inserting the tank in the line. The Freuds that installed it thoughtfully placed the shutoff valve on the water heater side of the tank, so if the tank failed, I would (and did) have to shut off all the water to the house. The tank and water heater are now downstream from the shutoff, so I will be able to shut off only the hot service when the heater craps out, soon, probably. it was $365 to replace the tank and they used the plastic pipe with metal elbows and other fittings. I'd never seen it used before. I hope it lasts.

It always puzzles me why someone that supposedly knows what they are doing, does it wrong. All the hot water heaters I have seen installed have shut off valves on both sides of the heater. At least that is correct now, and you have water.

Bill

I'm happy the shutoff shuts off the weak links.

19&41 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:29 pm Well, the home warranty company got the plumber to come the next day. It wasn't covered and I had it repaired anyway.

Warranties tend to be the biggest scams around. That's why "we're calling about your car's warranty" is a punch line. The ones that come for free? Take 'em, but with a grain of salt. The ones they try to sell you? Say "No thank you" while keeping one hand on your wallet. Somehow no matter what the problem is, the warranty never seems to cover it. I've got a client right now who bought a used car warranty. The engine seized. Guess whether the warranty got him another engine....

Chris Campbell

I figure if I take the money they want for a warranty each month and put that aside, I'll have money to come out of pocket for auto repairs. Extended factory warranties are variable in usefulness. The warranties they hawk on TV are worthless. I figure the warranty companies know the average cost to maintain a vehicle or a home and base the monthly payments on roughly what you would have to pay out of pocket if you didn't have their warranty. I'm glad you got it squared away, Rex.

electra225 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 1:43 am I figure if I take the money they want for a warranty each month and put that aside, I'll have money to come out of pocket for auto repairs.

Exactly. And if you tend to your vehicle so there are no major repairs needed, you get to keep the money. That reminds me... time to drop the collision insurance on the Ranger and self-insure. I always get a bit superstitious about that. What if I drop it, and somebody hits me the next day? But generally they don't, and it saves a ton of money. They almost totaled the Ranger when I got my deer two years ago. Now they'd total it if a stone cracked the windshield.

Chris Campbell

Our thinking on insurance is that if it runs, it gets full coverage, especially out here where people tend to drive aggressively and uninsured. And this place grows rocks on the freeways. Windshield glass breakage is a big deal out here. There are no junk laws out here. People drive Jeeps with no doors and they take the fenders off so the wheels run open. They throw rocks. And big trucks with huge tires and no fenders with the catalytic converter higher than my MIni throw rocks. It costs almost $1200 for a windshield for my Mini. I need a new windshield at least every two years in one of the vehicles.

electra225 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 1:59 am Our thinking on insurance is that if it runs, it gets full coverage, especially out here where people tend to drive aggressively and uninsured.

Yeah, but out there vehicles still have value after 15 years. Here in MI they have rust.

Chris Campbell

True. The rust doesn't get the junkers out here. The sun does. We didn't run full coverage in Missouri, but we feel better doing it here.

They didn't cover the expansion tank. Last year they replaced my furnace and central air unit. It works out. I won't be able to afford it once I retire.

19&41 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 3:15 am They didn't cover the expansion tank. Last year they replaced my furnace and central air unit. It works out. I won't be able to afford it once I retire.

Geez, how old were they? And what failed? One area in which I yield to old-fartism and lament that they don't make 'em like they used to is appliances and furnaces/water heaters. We replaced an 80-year-old steam boiler in my Mom's house with a new one that only lasted 15 years before it was leaking (I think it was a bad casting with an inclusion that led to the leak). The old one was still functional, just massive and inefficient because it was designed for coal. The 1973 hot-air Lennox in her cottage is still going (knock on wood). Water heaters only seem to last 20 years now. I think we've already discussed washers, dryers, and fridges, which are disposable items these days.

Chris Campbell

electra225 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 2:17 am True. The rust doesn't get the junkers out here. The sun does. We didn't run full coverage in Missouri, but we feel better doing it here.

My '38 Buick fenders and running boards are from AZ. Sun didn't kill 'em, but it wasn't kind to the running board rubber. I improved them (slightly) with tire paint. Remember tire paint?

Chris Campbell

TC Chris wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 4:45 am

19&41 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 3:15 am They didn't cover the expansion tank. Last year they replaced my furnace and central air unit. It works out. I won't be able to afford it once I retire.

Geez, how old were they? And what failed? One area in which I yield to old-fartism and lament that they don't make 'em like they used to is appliances and furnaces/water heaters. We replaced an 80-year-old steam boiler in my Mom's house with a new one that only lasted 15 years before it was leaking (I think it was a bad casting with an inclusion that led to the leak). The old one was still functional, just massive and inefficient because it was designed for coal. The 1973 hot-air Lennox in her cottage is still going (knock on wood). Water heaters only seem to last 20 years now. I think we've already discussed washers, dryers, and fridges, which are disposable items these days.

Chris Campbell

They were installed in 1973. The evaporator failed. Also. the condensation troughs were about to rust out. The new furnace had to have a new electrical service installed to replace the aluminum wiring feeding it. I had to run a window unit to piggyback the old unit.

I'm not sure if this is true in every state, but, here in Michigan my home owners policy has an addition to cover equipment. It's just part of the policy, nothing I asked for. Anyway, two years ago my heating system started acting up. There was up to a 5 degree variation in temp in the house. It would drop 5 degrees before the thermostats would call for heat. Long story short, after the service guy coming several times he finally figured out the problem. There is a main controller for the heating system. It's in floor hot water heat. Each room has it's own thermostat and they all tie to the main controller. After calling the manufacture of the controller it was decided it was bad. It was still the original installed in 1998 when the house was built. Controller order up, installed, and all was not well. Come to find out the new controller was not compatible with the old thermostats. So, 5 new ones were ordered, installed, and not all was good. Total bill, just shy of three grand. I turned in a claim to my home owners insurance and all was covered except my $500.00 deductible. I was a happy camper!

As far as auto warranties are concerned. Having been in the car business, I would not recommend a used car warranty. I just take my chances and hope for the best. For new cars, especially with all the gadgets they have and if you plan on keeping them for 10 years or more I would probably buy one. Yes they are kind of pricy, but, they usually can be discounted especially if they dealer really wants you to buy the vehicle. The parts that will fail after the normal car warranty is done are the gadgets, which are some of the most expensive things to have repaired. It's something to think about if anyone out there is planning on a vehicle purchase in the future.

Bill

I'd imagine it'd very unlikely that a used car warranty would ever be a good financial decision, the warranty company's actuaries would make sure of that. I heard on NPR that a study showed that a near majority, something like 47% of Americans, could not cover a $400 emergency car repair. That's a pretty shocking number that has implications way beyond just car repairs. I wonder if some insurance companies take advantage of that, you see them hawking very low-cost poor actual coverage policies with high deductibles with what looks like very affordable monthly payments.

For those of us lucky enough not to have to worry about having to make car repairs or even car replacement if necessary, It's hard to imagine the feelings of insecurity that come from worrying about not being able to get to work to make a living that many of the less advantaged undoubtedly have. The vast majority need a dependable car, and it's not like most people can hop on good public transportation if they need to. And don't get me started on our pathetic passenger rail system. All it takes is a trip through Europe or Japan to realize how convenient and wonderful a really efficient high-speed rail system can be.