Hurricane relief

john smith wrote:
"Martin Levac" wrote in message
During several days following the passage of the hurricane, none of the
above was readily available in the immediate vicinity hence the need for
outside assistance.

I can tell you where you can find tens of gallons of potable water
available in probably any part of the city, right now, that has never
been touched in the past week.

Don't bet that the hot water heaters haven't been destroyed by collapsing
housing material or contaminated by the toxic waters in the area.

Not to mention that NONE of them have backflow valves on them, and the odds
of floating turds in the tanks are about unity.


Jim



"Blanche Cohen" wrote in message
...
..

Don't bet that the hot water heaters haven't been destroyed by collapsing
housing material or contaminated by the toxic waters in the area.

In article ,
(Blanche Cohen) wrote:

Don't bet that the hot water heaters haven't been destroyed by collapsing
housing material or contaminated by the toxic waters in the area.

Would that water be contaminated if the shutoff to the water heater
had been closed (assuming it exists)?

Is shutting off the water at the meter a recommended practice?

(I have no idea - I don't live in or near an area that would see
this kind of flooding).

Thanks

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

Bob Noel wrote:

Would that water be contaminated if the shutoff to the water heater
had been closed (assuming it exists)?

Standard plumbing practice is to install a shutoff valve on the inlet to the
water heater to allow it to be drained. There is usually none on the outlet
line; security there would depend on the integrity of the various faucets in the
house.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

In article WDOSe.10249$nd.7746@trndny04,
George Patterson wrote:

Would that water be contaminated if the shutoff to the water heater
had been closed (assuming it exists)?

Standard plumbing practice is to install a shutoff valve on the inlet to the
water heater to allow it to be drained. There is usually none on the outlet
line; security there would depend on the integrity of the various faucets in
the
house.

ah yes, I had forgotten at about that side of the heater.

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

Bob Noel wrote:

ah yes, I had forgotten at about that side of the heater.

Thinking about it, though, the heater wouldn't be a real good source during a
flood. They usually are located about as low in the house as you can get one
(sometimes actually in the crawl space) and the drain is on the bottom. If
anything is below flood waters, it'll be the drain on that tank.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:1L6Te.1821$8i7.921@trndny07...
Bob Noel wrote:

ah yes, I had forgotten at about that side of the heater.

Thinking about it, though, the heater wouldn't be a real good source
during a flood. They usually are located about as low in the house as you
can get one (sometimes actually in the crawl space) and the drain is on
the bottom. If anything is below flood waters, it'll be the drain on that
tank.

Why wouldn't the water heater be a good source of uncontaminated water? If
the water supply to the heater is shut off and the faucets aren't turned on,
there should still be clean water in the heater, right? If there is a drain
on the heater, it would normally be closed. There is a pressure release
valve that may release some water from the heater but should be closed also
to keep outside water out. Getting the good water out of the heater may be a
problem since as George says, the drain is usually on the bottom and
possibly below the flood water. Of course if the house is destroyed, might
as well destroy the plumbing to the heater also to get at the good water.

Up here in the north the water heaters are usually in a basement but down
south, they're usually on ground floor in a utility room/closet or in the
garage. If it's in the garage and is a gas water heater, it's raised about
12-18 inches per code, if recently installed or replaced.

No, I'm not a plumber but I've had water heaters replaced or repaired in my
houses in Oklahoma, Texas and Minnesota.

-Greg B.

N93332 wrote:

Why wouldn't the water heater be a good source of uncontaminated water?

You have to wait until the flood waters go down enough to access it. That's the
only problem. The water in it should be uncontaminated, especially if you had
the presence of mind to turn off the inlet valve or the main water valve.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

N93332 wrote:

Why wouldn't the water heater be a good source of uncontaminated water?

Bad stuff settles in low spots, taking from the drain on a ho****er tank
would insure that you got the nastiest stuff it contains...

Typically you want to drain the settlement on an infrequent basis...