FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - It was a hot Texas afternoon last August when a homeowner was shocked to find hot water gushing from a centrally located hot water heater closet in his 40-year-old, single-story, 3,500-square-foot home. He quickly shut off the water supply and noted that the corrugated copper hot water pipe was broken at the connection to the tank. He called my son Doug Holzschuh, a master plumber, to repair it.
Soon afterwards, he noticed that his relatively new 5-ton air conditioner wasn't working. He checked his thermostat; the temperature was rising and he couldn't get the system to start.