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lascar · 05-13-2013, 12:22 PM

After a Easter weekend trip, I forgot to re winterize, then the temperature dropped into the twenties. I turned the furnace on, but maybe too late. Everything seemed to work at first, but after a few days, water ran out onto the ground from near the water heater. I found a hose with an open end, it has a hose clamp on it, and water runs out of it when the pump is on. I plugged the hose, turned the pump on and tried all the faucets, the toilet and shower and all worked. I have the water heater bypass on, I tried turning the bypass off, and water ran out the water heater drain. I have no idea where this hose should be connected. It is grey, all the others are white. The only time this area has been worked on a hose was replaced in 2005.
You guys always come up with good ideas on how to fix things, shall I just leave it plugged and forget it?

luvmydolphin · 05-14-2013, 06:52 AM

The length of the hose will determine the possible locations. I would check where the hose will reach and backtrack from there. I'm sure that there can't be too many possibilities. Easier to fix in driveway than on the road somewhere. What is the diameter of the hose?

tompen · 05-14-2013, 07:08 AM

When you say the "water heater drain" do you mean the low point drain ? Is the hose clamp the same as the rest of the clamps ? Could this hose have been plugged off as a result of the work in 2005 and the plug blew out ? If it doesn't reach somewhere obvious it is pretty odd.
Good luck
Tom

bruceisla · 05-14-2013, 07:46 AM

Is this hose soft (like rubber) or harder (like plastic)? What is the diameter of the hose (inside and outside)? If all the heater connections, including the bypass, are intact I would expect the hose is from something "near" the heater. For instance, the reefer ice cube maker ?

lascar · 05-14-2013, 08:02 AM

Thanks for the replies, The hos is 1/2 inch ID is long enough to reach a lot of places. The drain in the water heater is where the plug is removed for winterizing, the plug is out now, and when the valve is set to "water heater" not "water heater bypass" and the pump is on, water comes out the drain, as it should. I don't remember seeing that hose before tihis incident.
Thanks again.

tompen · 05-14-2013, 08:21 AM

I love a mystery. The upside is, it is water, not gas or electricity that you can't see. Let us know what you find.

bruceisla · 05-15-2013, 05:12 AM

Hard or soft ... as in Plastic Pipe or Rubber Hose? Are you plumbed for clothes washer?

donhoward49 · 05-15-2013, 07:26 AM

Plug it and forget it.. Last week i found a water line under the fridge, by the furnace that is plugged, and goes nowhere.. I wonder why it has never froze?

lascar · 06-16-2013, 03:30 PM

After the hose end was plugged, I refilled the waterheater ,and the leak resumed when the pump was on. We then found another loose end and connected the two, then the problem was solved.