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My Rheem Electric hot water system is leaking from the top. The round plug to the top very centre of the cylinder I found on the ground with warm water trickling from the shaft that the plug was covering. In the shaft is a big bolt and some very wet spongey stuff (insulation?). I presume water in not mean to be in this compartment?
I turned on the pressure valve on side to release a little water and put the plug back in at top, but checked it a short time later and it had come out again due to water forcing it out, with warm water continuing to run from the top of my unit all down the side.

I would appreciate any advice before Xmas.

Sorry mate.

Time to ring the local gas company.

Buy new. Gas instant, for repalcement or Solar.

I don't think you can get the same as you have anymore?

Probably $1500-$2000+ all up?

Cheap for another 15+ years service, really.

There is probably some from the it thread that will argue...

tiger07andbeyond wrote:My Rheem Electric hot water system is leaking from the top. The round plug to the top very centre of the cylinder I found on the ground with warm water trickling from the shaft that the plug was covering. In the shaft is a big bolt and some very wet spongey stuff (insulation?). I presume water in not mean to be in this compartment?
I turned on the pressure valve on side to release a little water and put the plug back in at top, but checked it a short time later and it had come out again due to water forcing it out, with warm water continuing to run from the top of my unit all down the side.

I would appreciate any advice before Xmas.

Check the age of your HWS as it may be repairable. If it is nearing the ten year mark, my advice is to replace it with a gas instantaneous unit (if gas is available) or electric boosted solar. The shaft and big bolt you are referring to is called the anode and this is replaceable and could fix your problem. But the first thing I would do is check how old your unit is. There is no point spending money on a HWS nearing the ten year mark as it's probably close to dying anyway.

tiger07andbeyond wrote:My Rheem Electric hot water system is leaking from the top. The round plug to the top very centre of the cylinder I found on the ground with warm water trickling from the shaft that the plug was covering. In the shaft is a big bolt and some very wet spongey stuff (insulation?). I presume water in not mean to be in this compartment?
I turned on the pressure valve on side to release a little water and put the plug back in at top, but checked it a short time later and it had come out again due to water forcing it out, with warm water continuing to run from the top of my unit all down the side.

I would appreciate any advice before Xmas.

Sorry to hear mate. Shitty time for it! Mine gave up the ghost a month ago. It was 15 years old, so I replaced it with a Rheem gas instantaneous unit. Cost me $1600 installed.

My advice is ring a plumber and ask how much they charge to install a hot water system. Then go and buy one yourself direct from the manufacturer. I heard Rheem and Rennai are the best. You should save a few hundred bucks by doing that. I wish I did it that way after talking to the tradies who installed my unit (I went through GasWorks). Good luck!

thanks for the advice guys. Not good just before Xmas!

I repaired my current Solar/Electric HWS last year.
It was put in by the previous owner in late 2003 - but its leak was from the solar connection on the roof and just needed a new connector.
However, its impeller motor was also gone and that showed up once fixing the solar assembly put pressure on it.

It cost me all up about $500, but the Plumber said the tank itself seemed pretty sound.
I had a similar one at Hahndorf when I lived there and that was still fine when I left after 13 years.
If you have to replace it and you do have a natural gas supply I'd agree with Dog_ger about the gas instant jobs - we had one in Victoria.

Sorry, my mistake ... I thought this was a thread on men's health.

Sorry, the reply might be a bit late. The Big Bolt is a sacrificial anode designed to corrode instead of the HW tank. These are meant to be replaced every couple of years to prolong the life of the H.W.S. It may be that this just needs replacing or the seal on it has perished. Get your local plumber out it might be a nice easy(cheap) job if that is all that it is.