Hot Water Heater Woes

Monday began with me trying to stop a nagging little leak I'd noticed on the inlet side of the tank. By late Monday night, part of the basement was flooded again.

I tightened down on the leaking nut a couple of times during the day, but never got the drip stopped. This little drip proved not to matter in the least, however.

Monday evening I was working on some utensils. I had the belt sander going, the dust collector going and the radio playing loud enough to be heard over the noise made by the other two. As I was sanding this spoon, I heard a couple of metallic pops. I looked around a bit, but could never determine the source of these pops. I just shrugged it off and assumed that a small chunk of wood that had been lodged in the dust collector hose had finally come loose and hit the fan on its way into the hopper. This happen occasionally.

However, when I finished sanding the spoon and stepped back from the belt sander, I noticed that water was pouring out from under our new hot water heater and running into the basement drain. I shut the water and electricity going to the heater off, then drained the tank.

I don't know exactly what happened, but obviously the tank ruptured with enough force to split the seam in the outer skin. I would have loved to pull off the outer skin and see exactly what the rupture looked like, but I didn't think that was a good idea since I needed to return the hot water heater. I can't think of anything that I could have done to cause the rupture. It was evidently just a manufacturer's defect.

So... Tuesday I went to town (again) and swapped out my junk hot water heater for another. Then I returned home and installed it. So far, it's working. It's producing hot water and holding the water inside the tank. I'm just glad that our hot water heater is installed in a very accessible location that makes it relatively easy to swap out. Still, I'd prefer to move on to some other form of entertainment.

(BTW: The flex line nut is still leaking just a little bit. I probably should have changed out the flex line and/or the pipe nipple where it attaches.)

Hot Water Heater Woes

Toothwort

It's definitely getting to be spring here in the Ozarks. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom, especially down in the woods. One of the most prolific is this toothwort. (Photo by Jo)

Toothwort

Surprise Lilies

(Lycoris squamigera)

The surprise lily's foliage emerges from the ground in late winter. The green leaves look a lot like those of the daffodils, only a little larger. Unlike the daffodils and other bulbs currently (or soon) pushing their way up out of the soil, the surprise lily doesn't bloom -- not now, anyway. The foliage will grow until the weather starts getting hot and then it dies back. Then, in late July or early August when the foliage is totally gone, the surprise lily sends up a two to three foot tall stem topped by a pale pink flower.



Surprise lilies are also known as magic lilies or naked ladies. They are native to southern Japan. We have three clusters of these plants growing randomly in the yard. They were here when Jo and I arrive. We've often talked about digging up the bulbs and moving them to better locations, but we've just never gotten around to it.

Surprise Lilies