WE had Kiley out yesterday for a problem with the expansion tank on our gas hot water heater.

They were efficient, reasonable, and did not do any upselling...only fixed what had to be done and didn't push any extras. Darn, wish I had noticed the 15% labor discount for POA members.

Our house is 7 years old. Almost exactly 2 years ago the expansion tank failed...the bladder inside collapsed, filled with water, and the pressure relief valve activated causing standing water in the drip pan. We called a local plumber (resident with a one van operation). He replaced the tank...said the old ones were only good for 5 years and this new one would be good for 7 years. Well, 2 years later and it failed...called the van plumber back and he offered no explanation or relief, so, I called Kiley instead.

The first thing the Kiley plumber noticed is that the expansion tank was incorrectly installed on the outgoing hot water pipe and not the proper install on incoming cold water side. This probably contributed to the early failures on both prior tanks. She reconfigured the piping to install the new tank on the proper side. Amazed that the original plumber did this and the Van repair plumber two years ago didn't notice or say anything about it.

The expansion tank is one of those things to periodically inspect .... if it is listing to one side (full of water) or you have water in the drip pan, might need to investigate further. Also, make sure it is installed on the incoming side and not outgoing hot water.

FYI, Half of the homes in our CYV loop (built in 2005) have pressure relief valves instead of expansion tanks on the cold water inlet pipe above the hot water heater. It drains on the outside of the house next to the garage door. There's also a second standard pressure relief valve on the side of the tank which drains into the drip pan underneath. The local plumbing code calls for either the expansion tank or the pressure relief valve--on the cold water supply side. Either one meets the local plumbing code. We originally thought the expansion tank was a better approach but we're seeing that when the expansion tank fails, that it fills with water and the weight pulls down or deflects the PVC supply pipes. I should think the code should also call for this pipe to be better supported to prevent it.