Expansion tank forces water through leak after system water is off

[TimtheToolMan]

When water leak is found Yolink shutoff valve cuts water to house but water is forced from expansion tank into system and out leak. Has anyone solved this issue? Possibly use smart plug and solenoid water valve to drain system when leak occurs.

[TimtheToolMan]

Maybe this is wrong forum for issue. Sorry is this is the case.

[Goose66]

Seems to me that if you have a leak, you are going to get drainage from your system out of the leak from static pressure in the pipes - even after shutoff - whether you have an expansion tank or not. The expansion tank just adds a couple of more gallons (if that). Do you really need another system to account for that?

[jec6613]

I have a 5 gallon expansion tank, and still just remove power to the well pump rather than attempt to drain the system. It's not enough to make much of a difference once a leak is detected. 

[TimtheToolMan]

My experience has been slow leaks that are not caught over a long period of time. For this I'm covered with alarm. As far as major leaks I'm way better off with shut off system. It's the leaks while I'm gone for day to weeks that puts 1-3 gallons on floor that could be real wood that also concerns me with expansion tank. I'm not home now or would measure water drain down on main floor with expansion tank. A drain valve in basement would remove most water from system in all but sudden major leaks.

Maybe over thinking this.

 

 

[TimtheToolMan]

Adding large capacity mats, like Xtreme $50-60, in sensitive areas might be a simple fix.

 

[palayman]

On 1/27/2023 at 11:09 PM, TimtheToolMan said:

When water leak is found Yolink shutoff valve cuts water to house but water is forced from expansion tank into system and out leak. Has anyone solved this issue? Possibly use smart plug and solenoid water valve to drain system when leak occurs.

Use another Yolink valve to dump the pressure tank into a convenient location after you turn off the water to the house.  I use one to dump water from the pool if rain over fills it.

[TimtheToolMan]

I added Bulldog manipulator (with both battery and AC adaptor), YoLink valve to drain system, 15 sensors (includes sump pump) and Xtreme mats. System seems fine. I used Xtreme mats (about $60 each) because they did not have to be cut to size, which cuts off rim that holds water. Mats were modified to go over floor mounted plumbing in cabinet. Xtreme has a video on doing this.

Total cost about $900 in parts. The biggest bang for the buck and time in order of benefit: sensors, mats, system shut off and system drain. With a less likely occurring major leak, system shut off would be ahead of mats. For me, the time and money was worth it. As far a solid recommendation for leak management I would say the leak detectors are a clear winner.

System drain keeps 3.5 plus gallons from leaking with properly air charged 1.5 gallon expansion tank. It added about $120 to total cost.

[Goose66]

I think you are way overestimating how much damage a couple of gallons of water can do, especially when we are talking about clean potable water.

[TimtheToolMan]

If there is not much water and it is thoroughly cleaned up right away there is little chance of damage. It likely is the norm for a majority of people to live with cabinet damage or floor damage and it is not worth the effort and money to fully keep this from happening. We just live with it.

We travel and can be gone for many weeks at a time so water could be in place for that period. The current cherry floor has significant damage in front of the kitchen sink and some below the ice maker/dispenser. This home is new to us, so I do not know what went on.

My brother in law has real wood floors and they are very careful keeping any small spills that they spot cleaned up and they have had minor damage/wear and chose to have floor refinished. This was not from leaks.

Our pervious home had laminated floor and one room had raised edges because of a small amount of water spilled related to watering plants. We tried to be very careful with the watering and wipe up if anything is spotted and used spill proof trays but things happen. This is in a very dry climate so this small amount of water would not take long at all to evaporate.

One person in our household would not dry off well after a shower and then walk into the hall. This water caused damage to the floor.

I know of at least two businesses that have laminated wood flooring that have warped flooring do to the people walking through. The floors appeared to have very minimal water on them at any time.

The particle board that in the base of anything but quite old cabinets can take almost no water without being damaged. Today I am in the process changing out a cabinet base that has very significant water damage.

As I said, we and most people just live with the damage and it is not a big deal. Soon the cherry floors will be repaired and I hope to minimize future damage. The only flooring that I have seen that can take water well is vinyl. If water can't get under porcelain tile it does well but it normally is only sealed around edges in showers.

[Goose66]

I had a room in my house (theater room in the basement) that had four different leaks over the years. The first two were broken water supply lines that flooded from the outside into the house and were huge problems - new padding/carpet, water mitigation, mildew treatment, new wall for one of them, etc. The second one was a faulty pressure relief valve on hot water that leaked for a month or more before we noticed. That one was also a lot of cleanup and the one that prompted me to get sensors with a supply line valve actuator. All these were probably 10s if not 100s of gallons of water over time.

The fourth was a three and one-half gallon drinking water container that got shoved to the back of the pantry and sprung a small leak. Leak down through the tile floor and subfloor and through basement ceiling. We noticed it right away and captured maybe a gallon in a bucket. The remainder was sucked up with wet dry vac and dried with fans - no removal of carpet or pad. The ceiling took a little Kilz and some paint and everything was good. Moisture probes showed 0 for floor, ceiling and carpet after several days of drying.

sensors and a shutoff valve are definitely worth it and one of my home automation must-haves. It’s just the extra expense of the system drainage components that I think is probably overkill for the additional couple of gallons it may prevent.

Don’t get me wrong go, though. I certainly appreciate the design and engineering (and fun) that went into going that extra mile. 😁

Edited February 26, 2023 by Goose66