My Hot Water Tank is Leaking, Now What???

Its 2 AM and you get a call from one of the units. “There is water coming into my apartment!!”

After a quick investigation of the roof-top boiler room, you notice that there is a significant amount of water coming from the bottom of your commercial hot water storage tank. These hot water tanks are typically surrounded by 2” inches of insulation or more so it can be very difficult to determine the exact location of the leak.

Determine where the leak is coming from:

The first areas to investigate is the associated plumbing attached to and above the hot water tank(s). It is very common to assume leaks are coming from the tank itself, when water is coming from the bottom of the tank. However, most of the time the leak is actually coming from a pinhole leak in the piping that is making its way behind the insulation and funneling down to the bottom of the tank.

If these areas look good, then take a look at the pressure relief valve and hot water out connections on top of the tank(s). The second most common areas were a leak can be found are caused by a corroded nipple or a leaking flange or union. If a leak occurs at the top of the tank, the water will travel behind the insulation and will be coming out near the bottom of the tank.

The next areas to investigate would be the rest of the couplings / connections attached to the tank walls. You may have to cut or pull back the insulation to get a closer look. And finally have a look at the man-way access and the tank drain.
If you can not find a leak in these areas, then you may have to remove the insulation from the tank to find the leak. You would want to do this as a last resort so you may be able to prevent the cost of installing or repairing the insulation on your tank.

I found the leak, what’s the next step??

Now that you have identified where the leak is coming from, its time to call in the professionals.

If you have more then one tank on that loop it may be possible to isolate the leaking tank and continue to run the building on one less tank until the leak can be repaired.

If the issue is the associated piping, call in your plumber to complete the repairs.
If the leak is coming from the tank itself, its time to call in HydraStone. if the tank is leaking from coupling or flange, a weld repair can be completed in most cases and the tank can be returned to service with minimal downtime. However, if the tank is leaking from the tank walls, a full assessment of the tank interior and exterior will need to be completed to determine if weld repairs will be the most cost-effective option.

Hydrastone services thousands of tanks yearly across Canada. Hydrastone is equipped to complete all of your hot water storage tank needs.

Hydrastone Inc. Hot Water Tank Services:

  • Tank inventory and assessments
  • Tank inspections and cleaning
  • Sacrificial anode replacements
  • Manway cover replacements
  • Weld repairs
  • Tank relining
  • Tube bundle cleaning and replacement
  • Repair / replace tank insulation
  • Complete tank replacement

If you would like an assessment completed for your Hot water Storage Tank, feel free to visit call our head office toll free at 1-888-321-8265.