France in Focus

We live in a high calcium zone.
Our hot water tank was installed 10 years ago.
The group de securite is covered in calcaire.
Yesterday, I knocked it and water whooshed out. It didn’t stop and I couldn’t stop it with the red knob.
I turned off the electricity and water supply and rang for a plumber.
The plumber is supposed to be coming on Monday.
This morning, the tank is clicking and popping. No water is coming out.
I’m a bit worried it might either implode or explode.
Any suggestions please?

It cannot explode.
If you remove the safety valve you can release some water, but have buckets handy.
If nothing comes out with the safety valve off open up the hot water end slightly and it will empty out.

mysty wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 8:15 am It cannot explode.
If you remove the safety valve you can release some water, but have buckets handy.
If nothing comes out with the safety valve off open up the hot water end slightly and it will empty out.

Thankyou for replying.
The whole thing is caked with calcaire. I haven’t been able to budge the hot water side and I’m frightened of breaking it. As long as it doesn’t collapse/explode it’ll wait for the plumber!

Sounds like you need a new tank.

Plus a water softener.

1/ A new chauffe-eau is not always necessary: cleaning the tank and fitting a new groupe-de-sécurité is possible, see this video by Leroymerlin. Not always: when our good old Sauter stopped working after about thirty years I said: thanks, time for replacing you. Harvest time: two buckets from the inside.

2/ To feel more comfortable, waiting for a plumber, you can always defuse a thermal bomb: switch off the electricity in the tableau-électrique ( fuse or MCB of 20 A). Is, or should be, a so called circuit specialisé. Already done, but still good advice.

3/ Perhaps more work for the plumber: it is always a good idea to be able to stop the waterflow close to the hot water tank, input and output.

4/ Water softeners: with the help of the translation tool Deepl this article written in Dutch by Chris le Bricoleur is still an excellent introduction. As an engineer he designed large-scale water softeners for the food-industry in Europe, so he knew what he was talking about.

Ooh those images of sludge!
Thankyou for your replies.
The water supply cut off is right by the tank. I might consider getting a devis from the plumber (if he is any good) so that I can isolate the tank while letting the rest of the supply continue.
This is an extension with a loo,shower, washing machine, couple of sinks. It also supplies two outside taps and I have been thinking about putting cutoffs on those for a while.
Perhaps now is the time.

Stating the obvious but the hw cylinder should already have an isolation vanne, bad original instalation.

Splendid isolation: more than one water supply cutoff: the modern French system with nourrices.

RobertArthur wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 2:50 pm Splendid isolation: more than one water supply cutoff: the modern French system with nourrices.

Zoned heating system, mine's a bit like that but all horizontal.