My water heater popped its relief valve at 5am and soaked half the garage

Woke up last Tuesday to water running in the garage and found the T&P valve on my 8 year old heater dumping full blast, so I killed the gas and shut the cold inlet. Turned out the expansion tank had a busted bladder, and swapping it out plus a new valve ran me about $85 at the hardware store on Menaul. Anybody here ever skip the expansion tank on a swap and regret it, or is it really needed with these newer heaters?

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robertb308h ago

The expansion tank bladder busted and it soaked half the garage? Man that's rough for 5am. $85 for the tank and valve is not bad at all though, I figured a plumber would've hit you for way more. Skipping the tank is a gamble since the closed system has nowhere for that water to go when it heats up, so the pressure just sits there and beats on your pipes and valve.

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