A few weeks ago I noticed that water was leaking from the pipe that runs out of the emergency pressure release valve on my water heater. I did some research and came to the conclusion that either the valve was defective or the expansion tank was defective. I did a visual inspection of the expansion tank and noticed a wet line of what looked like rust on the side of the tank. This made me concerned that the tank was developing a leak. I also checked the tank's pressure and found that it was at 35 psi, which is less than the pressure of the water coming into my home, which I measured to be 50 psi. I decided to change the expansion tank first to see if that stopped the leak.
I purchased a new tank and I was all set to replace the old tank. However, I ran into some major issues because I couldn't get the old tank off after draining all of the water from my water heater. I had the right tools and I applied significant force, such that the entire water heater moved. In spite of all my efforts, I couldn't get the darn thing off. I ended up adding air to the old tank to increase the pressure to match the pressure of the water coming into my home, then I abandoned the project. The threads on the tank has some white stuff, which I assume is plumber's putty, that seems to be the root cause of my failure to remove the tank.
Does anyone have any tips/tricks that I can use to get this tank off? I''m reluctant to apply overly significant force because I'm afraid of damaging the water heater. I've attached a few pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about.
Thanks.
I purchased a new tank and I was all set to replace the old tank. However, I ran into some major issues because I couldn't get the old tank off after draining all of the water from my water heater. I had the right tools and I applied significant force, such that the entire water heater moved. In spite of all my efforts, I couldn't get the darn thing off. I ended up adding air to the old tank to increase the pressure to match the pressure of the water coming into my home, then I abandoned the project. The threads on the tank has some white stuff, which I assume is plumber's putty, that seems to be the root cause of my failure to remove the tank.
Does anyone have any tips/tricks that I can use to get this tank off? I''m reluctant to apply overly significant force because I'm afraid of damaging the water heater. I've attached a few pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about.
Thanks.
