Austin house explodes just before noon Sunday

[Walker]

Just an old retired Mechanical Engineer here. I completely understand the incompressibility or compressibility of water. I have conducted & overseen many hydrostatic pressure tests. Unless the thermostat stuck on and the water flashed to steam, a water heater rupture is not going to destroy a house. A weld seam or nozzle will fail & make a mess. If if did get hot enough to flash to steam, yes indeed, potential catastrophic damage for sure. Water to steam volume increase is roughly 1700 to 1. There is just not enough stored pressure in the volume of a water heater to destroy a house & fly off like a rocket.

I've seen it happen.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Just an old retired Mechanical Engineer here. I completely understand the incompressibility or compressibility of water. I have conducted & overseen many hydrostatic pressure tests. Unless the thermostat stuck on and the water flashed to steam, a water heater rupture is not going to destroy a house. A weld seam or nozzle will fail & make a mess. If if did get hot enough to flash to steam, yes indeed, potential catastrophic damage for sure. Water to steam volume increase is roughly 1700 to 1. There is just not enough stored pressure in the volume of a water heater to destroy a house & fly off like a rocket.

Agreed.
BTW, I-R N-GA-NEER too (retired). 😉👍

[waterdog]

AUSTIN, Texas — A "substantial propane gas leak" has been determined to be the cause of Sunday's home explosion in northwest Austin.

The Travis County Fire Marshal revealed the cause Friday after interviews with witnesses and the entities involved in the home's construction on Double Spur Loop.

According to the fire marshal, the final report will show the propane gas leak inside the home ignited at 11:23 a.m. and that there was nothing suspicious or criminal surrounding the explosion.

[flywise]

Yep

[Greenheadless]

AUSTIN, Texas — A "substantial propane gas leak" has been determined to be the cause of Sunday's home explosion in northwest Austin.

The Travis County Fire Marshal revealed the cause Friday after interviews with witnesses and the entities involved in the home's construction on Double Spur Loop.

According to the fire marshal, the final report will show the propane gas leak inside the home ignited at 11:23 a.m. and that there was nothing suspicious or criminal surrounding the explosion.

No way, man. It had to be the water heater, a hot water heater at that.

[bboswell]

No way, man. It had to be the water heater, a hot water heater at that.

Never understood why people want to heat hot water, it’s already hot

[trophy8]

No way, man. It had to be the water heater, a hot water heater at that.

1 psi will destroy a home!


LMAO

[Atfulldraw]

Never understood why people want to heat hot water, it’s already hot

of all the people on here…

i can’t believe we are still arguing this 25 years later

thermostat set at 130 degrees, water that is at 125 inside the hot water heater is hot but will still be heated until it reaches the set point.

hot
water
heater

[Bill]

Water is essentially incompressible, that’s why it’s used to hydrostatic test. If there’s steam inside a boiler and it explodes, that’s completely different.

[Bucknaked]

I think the best answers and explanations on here are people that read the header and skip straight to post their opinionated post which has already been posted fifty times before .
And was debunked.
it’s a blessing that no one lost their lives.

[Tejas Wildlife]

1 psi will destroy a home!


LMAO

Won't sniff the Gulf!