#TheFlood
Recently, I replaced my hot water heater. In an orderly set of conditions, I prepared and executed the process myself. Our Hot Water Heater (HWH) was past its *best before* date. About 10 years. I remember putting that in. It was too big for two of us but it was the same size as the previous one. (When a daughter filled a bathtub each shower)
But now, it's going to be very heavy, 5 foot tall, 200 lbs going in, now full of sediment and residual water.
First, I bought a new one /more

So, chose a normal 4-person home size. It's a messy job, rusty water dripping out, and I wasn't expecting to change it, so I had my shop TV on top of the HWH. My wife hadn't put away Christmas decorations, and my path was blocked. When all was ready, I started by turning off the power a day before, so the hot water would be mostly used up before having to be drained. Not just a cost saver, but a necessity if you are draining the tank with a garden hose. It will melt, Eye Nose

#TheFlood /more

Eventually, tank was drained to the tap height, and that of the shower drain. I removed it, pushed it aside and brought in the new one, stored in a room down the hall. ( I needed help carrying it downstairs, not room-to-room) I'm creative when working alone. There's no one to help, I've learned to move fridges alone. I put the heater against the workshop door and uncrated it. I left cardboard bottom to drag on the concrete. It was in place in minutes.

#TheFlood /more

All new fittings, I usually prefer copper, I solder my pipes when I do plumbing. But, did I have a tank? Solder, Sand paper, a piece of pipe? I'm not a big fan yet of PEX piping but it's better than copper in some ways. It's flexible, withstands freezing better (Used it a the cottage) and cheaper than Copper.
Snap, Snap, Snap, I was filling the new heater.
When full of water, out of the tap, I put power on,and heated it. Got a shower, inspected the work..
Saw a drip..

#TheFlood /more

So, it could be condensation, it was on the cold water line. Tape a piece of tissue around each joint and see if they get damp? I tightened one joint. (I've considered this might have been potential weak point)
Everything wiggled and jiggled and was tight, no leaks. It's always possible to *strike* a pipe when working in my workshop, cutting a piece of wood and see it knock something off the workbench, for example. So, I don't know for certain what happened.. but then it blew

#TheFlood /more

My hearing might not be perfect, but it's an Engineer's Ear. I might not hear what you said, but somewhere, I heard water running? I don't know how long it had been since I brushed my teeth, maybe I left the tap running? (I've done this several times before) but I heard the spraying, like a firehose and a room full of spray in the workshop, water everywhere, and deep on the floor. (in preparation for this, I had installed a quick-shut-off valve when city had the water off before

#TheFlood /more

So, like a drill I had trained for, I screamed FLOOD FLOOD FLOOD (that really moves sailors, BTW)
and tore open access to the water meter and cut the water supply. It was unbelievable. By now, my wife is here, the ceiling is dripping. There's some lumber on racks above, a pipe full of seldom used clothing on hangers, a table of computer parts and electrons. Tables of seed packages, tops of jars, full of seeds.
Everything in plastic tubs, was overflowing with water, ...

#TheFlood /more

After moving everything to do the swap, I spent a few days, cleaning and sorting and had all my tools in a big rubbermaid tub. (now full of water)
My plant soils, some sand in a 5 gallon bucket, potting soil and seeding soils, stacks of Red Solo Cups, my whole winter gardening workshop.
The *kids* like to be where I am, so I had to put more litter boxes in my workshop, especially for Jasper.
A new box was beside it, full of water too.
The inches on the floor found the drain

#TheFlood /more

This was not a regular old flood. That would have been easier to deal with. This line let go, it disconnected, broke, and like a garden hose, sprayed upwards onto the ceiling, all connections, all storage, dripped over places far away from the source, so every pigeon hole with garden seeds needs to be checked, emptied and discarded.
Even plastic pails, they won't rust, but will hide water and keep humidity just right for mold. So, even after all is dry looking,

#TheFlood /more

For example, I keep a few ice cream tubs, some with sorted nails or screws, some with parts that must stay together until I finish repairing, in a cup or lid.
They are all full of water. The TVs were dripping. CDs (Audio/DVD/MP3/MP4 storage) dripping.
The side of the new HWH had a plastic sleeve for the manual. It was bulged full of water, I had to slit the bottom to let it escape. All this is time consuming, frustrating and messy.. But the worst part of it all was..

#TheFlood /more

The electrical panel! 220v Electric Heat, Hot water tank, stove, each room has fuses. All dripping. Uncertain if it was safe to walk into the water to turn anything off? There was no arcing , that's a good thing. No smell of burning connectors or popped breakers. Also good. But can't touch a damned thing.
I rarely need fans here. We summer on the ocean. All my box fans, room fans, all there. I had to borrow fans from my neighbour. One just for the fuse panel, to dry it before needed

#TheFlood

@Rasta

Eek.

@Badgardener Put these rubber boots on and take a flashlight and kill the power?

@Rasta

That's the thing about having kids: by the time they're useful, they've grown out of their gullibility and general willingness to help.

@Badgardener
I have all these engineering instincts. water, power, not a good combination. I'd already thought of my wife's wooden cane, and an 8 foot piece of wood to kill the power..

@Rasta

Throw rocks at the nearest transformer?