Plumbing Nightmare

[Threnners]

So I arrived home one day to find my kitchen and laundry room under water. We isolated it to the water heater going nuts. Since said hot water heater was located behind a wall panel with no access, we had to shut off the water to the house to get the leak stopped.

When the plumber got there and sawed a gigantithor hole in the wall, he found that the hot water heater had not been set up to code (no pipes, just a hot water hose and a cold water hose, and no drain pan), and there was no water shut off valve on the unit, which there should have been, and my thermostat was set at 90 degrees (which explained why the water never got more than lukewarm)

Since it was a 40 gallon bottom of the barrel tank that was out of warranty, we opted to replace it with a new 50 gallon tank.

Do I have any recourse for making the dealer pay for the repair (minus the water heater switch) since it was shoddy non code work to begin with?

[Kevin C]

I hope you don't have cressdeck or novadeck floors.

[rmurray]

Yes if the home is not in compliance with the HUD code the SSA (the government agency that enforces the code in your state) will come inspect the installation and make sure it meets the code..If not they will make the manufacturer correct the installation of the heater....

I cannot believe you have had the water heater for any length of time and never check the temperature setting when the water was this cold.....The water heater pan is not required..the shut off might be..The water supply system does not have to be in "pipes"..Actually you probably have an approved water supply system..

The warranty has nothing to do with the size of the tank....It does have to do with the quality...You could have gotten a far better heater in the home new...