hot water pressure relief leaking antifreeze?

Larry, What did you find out?

Well sure looks like the HW tank didn't get drained before the pink stuff.
Used it in that past, and always drained the HW tank by pulling the drain plug and opening the relief valve.

Now days I blow all the lines. Remove the low point drain caps and open all faucets, open the relief valve on the water tank and sit back for about 15 minutes.

Once water has stopped draining, connect blow out fitting to water supply, close all faucets and leave low point open and turn on the compressor. After about 5 minutes, then cap low points and stare opening faucets,(don't forget to open flush valve on the toilet). Do a full round, close faucets, and drop the low point caps again. Now done deal, pink stuff in the the traps.

I ruined a water heater one year, even though it was "drained."

What happened: I pulled the drain plug, saw water running out and then left to do something else. When I came back, the water no longer was draining so I put the plug back in. I used no antifreeze in the rest of the system. In the spring I found the water heater was cracked.

I had made at least two mistakes: I did not open the hot water faucets in the trailer when I was "draining" the water heater, nor did I open the pressure relief valve on top of the water heater. So, apparently a vacuum was created in the hot water system that prevented full draining of the water heater.

Nowadays, when I drain the water heater I open the water faucets and the pressure relief valve and even leave the drain plug out for the winter. I also now have a bypass to the water heater and use antifreeze in the water pipe system.

Belts, suspenders, underwear...I'm covered one way or the other now.

Any time you drain your water heater 100% of the water doesn't come out, unless you roll the trailer on it's side or something. There's not usually this type of issue since most tanks are by passed and the little bit of water in the bottom has plenty of room to expand. I would prop the blow of valve stem in the open position and leave it. It's an aluminum tank you could take the drain out and put a heat gun on it to thaw out a little of the mixture and let it out of the tank.

x2 on Terryallen post.

I would check all your hot water pipes and taps as well. They could also contain diluted water/antifreeze if it was pulling water from your Hot Water Tank.

I have to agree with Terryallen. The water heater wasn't drained, as that's the only way water/antifreeze could be leaking out of the relief valve, which is high up on the tank. Antifreeze also got into the water heater, which makes it appear that the heater wasn't bypassed. The cold water lines are probably OK, as they were purged with full strength antifreeze. The water heater and hot water piping only have dilute antifreeze in them making them subject to freeze damage.

My suggestion to stop further damage is to turn the heat on in the TT and remove the drain plug in the water heater. Removing the plug so it drains melt water outside will at least reduce the amount of water that leaks into the TT if the tank has split. The ice in the heater is going to thaw anyway when the weather gets warm enough and you want to minimize interior water damage. The hot water lines don't hold a lot of water, so leaks from cracked fittings shouldn't be a big deal. You can pull out drawers and open cabinets and inspection panels to check for pink leakage around fittings.

Good Luck!

ljedik wrote:

The antifreeze is well mixed with water. Otherwise, There would be no hanging icicle. I don't know how water, and antifreeze was mixed in the tank. But it is. .
IF you didn't drain the water heater, and let the antifreeze run thru it. 2 gallons is not near enough. You have 6 gallons of water mixed with 2 gallons of antifreeze. Antifreeze that should NEVER be mixed. You would have had to use at least 8 to flush the water out of the WH, and lines. Did you let the hot water run until solid pink came out of the tap? That is the only way to know you got all the water out.

It really sounds like the tank was/is still full of water and it froze... :(

I hope that's not the case... Good luck!

Mitch

Carb Cleaner wrote:
I pull the water heater's anode rod and leave it out when the coach is winterized.

I do this also, plus I tape a note on the gas and electric switches that say "DO NOT TURN ON". I also put a piece of tape over the hole to keep critters out.

Cale

Thanks all, Its a 6 gallon tank I used two gallons of antifreeze. its a small 17 footer so that should have been enough. its night now, so tomorrow morning I will go out and re-assess the damage! I really hope the tank didn't crack, really no way of testing until spring thaw happens.