[rockadanny]

Please share. Although my water heater is in the basement, there is no drain in the floor, so wish to recognize a leak and shut it off a.s.a.p.

[rajacat]

Install a drip pan under the heater.
https://www.amazon.com/Holdrite-QuickPan-QP-28-Aluminium-Diameter/dp/B00662PZB0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1470950878&sr=8-3&keywords=drip+pan+for+water+heater

[aldcoll]

No basement should be without a water alarm.  They are Radio Shack cheap or security company wifi fancy.
My basement use to leak and we lost a washing  machine hose.  Man was I glad for three sump pumps.

So if you put a drip pan it will need to hold 50 gallons or same as heater???

I belive there is a water valve that sense free flow and will shut off.

Alan

[JLM]

Have never seen a water heater burst, but they do leak, so a drip pan with an alarm should do the trick.  I have drip pans with battery powered alarms under our washing machine and water heater.  I check the alarms annually and keep fresh batteries on hand.

[*Scotty*]

I bought a Honeywell water leak alarm from Amazon with a 6ft. long sensor cable for my washing machine. The entire cable is the sensor, any water hits it and the alarm goes off.
 I live in a condo and any water leak that gets through to the floor below me means I have their repair bill to pay as well as my own.
Scotty

[richidoo]

With tank maintenance you can prevent leaks from ever happening. Replace the electrolysis anode rod before it fully dissolves to prevent tank corrosion and it will last a very long time, not just 10 years. Those "extended warranty" tanks simply have a bigger rod. You can buy long wide rods from amazon. If you see scale during annual tank flush then suspect that the anode is gone. Check the pressure relief valve every year. If the water ever feels too hot, or if you see water dripping out of the pressure relief pipe by itself check the thermostat immediately.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/index.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html

[rockadanny]

Thank you for the replies thus far. Will get a pan for sure. But doubt I'll be able to hear the alarm as the heater is in a closed room in the basement. Will not be able to hear it from upstairs.

Any alarms which can also alert me via my smart phone?

a water valve that sense free flow and will shut off

  How can it determine a leak vs. normal use?

[JLM]

My little alarms (roughly 1/2" x 2" x 1") are pretty darn loud and most leaks are slow dibbles anyway so you should have lots of warning.

OTOH I can barely hear our new fixed generator going through it's self-test 6 feet from the kitchen window (thanks to good windows).

[Doublej]

Google "smart phone leak detector" and you'll see a few options.

One option is to replace it every X years no matter what. This is what the automotive and aircraft folks do to help ensure against failures.

Wen is the last time you heard about someone having a timing belt failure when following the replacement guidelines?

[rajacat]

Install this 12V automatic bilge pump in the drip pan, power it with a 12V power supply and plumb the outlet to a drain where you'll notice it. Alternatively, wire an  indicator light for the visual cue.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Rule-25S-Submersible-Automatic-Electronic/dp/B000O8B7R8/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1471038089&sr=8-13&keywords=boat+automatic+bilge+pump

[smk]

If you go the cheap route & install drip pan, make sure to check often. Remember, some of the audio equipment in basement is near irreplaceable.