Helpppppppppppp!!how do i turn it off!??

Question

i have a electric water heater in my basement. its quite old its a cascade 40.i woke up one morning and went in the basement and saw this lake in my basement.a huge puddle.at first i didn't know what caused it but then i cleaned all the water up and i could see where it was coming from. the water was somehow leaking from the bottom of the heater and it doesn't stop.it also smells a bit and its dirty.i think the only way to make it stop is to turn it off but idon'tt know how . i read all the labels on the machine but i found no on/off bottons and searched on google but i found no soloutions. PLEASE HELP!!

Answer 1

You need to turn off the water to your house! Sounds like you also need to get a new hot water heater. Make sure you put in a release valve on the new one.

Answer 2

If there's no plug to pull out, there should be a fused spur. This looks like a blank single socket - usually with a switch. turn this off, or remove the fuse. Lastly, trip the switches on the circuit board, or pull out the fuses; they should be marked up. Ring main means sockets, the rest should explain themselves.

Answer 3

There should be an on/off switch or an emergency switch but, since you say there's not, is it plugged into an outlet?  If so, pull out the plug. There must also be a valve to turn off the water that is feeding into the heater but on the one hand I want to tell you to turn off the water and on the other hand, if you can't turn off the electricity that is heating the water heater, that can pose a problem too if there is no water in the tank.  Kind of like if you put an empty pot on the stove and keep the heat under it with no water or anything in it.  Could maybe go on fire or blow up or something. If you can't find any way to turn off the heater, just put a pan under it for the time being to catch the dripping water and routinely empty it.  You will need to call a plumber or the company to install a new one probably anyway.  I think the life expectancy for water heaters is just 10 years or so, so if yours is older than that, that's definitely it.  Probably all pitted at the bottom of the heater and the water is leaking out.  REHM (or Rheem - not sure how you spell it) is a good water heater.  I had one and it too was electric.  I had a plumber install mine but, as I said, sometimes the company that sells it will also install it for you.  Or, you can check with Home Depot and stores like that.

BE CAREFUL not to be standing in the water when you pull out the plug, if there is a plug.  I'm sure you know that!

Answer 4

You need to turn off the water coming into the heater, there should be a shut off valve if installed correctly, if not shut the water off coming into the house.

There are usually two pipes on the top of the heater, one going in, one going out. There should be a shut off valve on the one going in.

Answer 5

The electric shut off switch is in your electric panel with the other circuit breakers or fuses. It should be labeled "hot water". If it is a circuit breaker you need to flip it to the off position. If it is not labeled, usually it will be two switches that look like they have been attached together or it will be a single larger than the rest breaker with a much larger number on it like 50 or 60 (the rest have 15 or 20) If it is fuses there should be 2 for the hot water heater, just loosen them 4 or 5 turns out. Next you will need to shut off the water to the heater. It should be either a lever or a round handle on the pipe (usually copper) that is coming into the top of the heater. If there is one on each pipe shut them both off. If there is only one shut that one off. Keep in mind that until it is fixed you should only use your single handle faucets fully on the cold side as otherwise the cold water will go back down into the heater and continue to leak onto the floor. Now comes the bad part. You should empty the heater by placing a hose onto the valve that is down low near the floor, turning it on and letting the water go into either a floor drain or outside. The heater is going to leak until it is empty and there is a lot of water in it (40 gallons) You will need to replace the heater as they can't be repaired. You will save money by buying the heater yourself at Lowe's or Home Depot and ask them to recommend an installer. If you call a plumber he is going to charge you a lot more for the heater than what you will pay if you get it yourself. If the one you had was providing enough hot water then ask for the same size (40 gallon) though you may want to upgrade to a 50 or 55 gallon which will give you a lot more water and will probably be more efficient  than the one you have now. Good Luck.