First, stop the water and the heat
Turn the cold-water supply valve on top of the heater clockwise until it stops. Then cut the energy: for an electric heater, switch off its breaker at the panel (it is usually a double 30-amp breaker); for a gas heater, turn the gas control knob on the front of the unit to OFF. A tank that keeps heating with no water in it will destroy its elements or crack its lining.
If the tank is in the garage or a utility closet, put towels or a shallow pan under it and move anything stored nearby. A 50-gallon tank drains slowly through a small leak, but it will not stop on its own.
Find where the water is actually coming from
Dry the area, wait ten minutes and look again. Drain valve (the spigot near the floor): a drip from the spout or the threads is a worn or loose valve — a small part, usually a same-day repair. Pressure-relief valve (the brass valve on the side or top with a pipe running down to the floor): water at the end of that pipe means the valve opened because of excess pressure or temperature, or the valve itself has failed; it is doing its job and must never be capped. Seam or bottom of the tank: water weeping from the tank body itself, often with rust streaks, means the inner tank has corroded through. That is not repairable — the heater is replaced.
Condensation is the false alarm. A gas heater in a humid Florida garage can sweat enough to puddle, especially on its first heating cycle after being refilled. Condensation stops once the tank warms; a leak does not.
What each fix costs
A drain valve or pressure-relief valve replacement is a minor repair; Rosco Plumbing charges a $75–$150 service call in Manatee County, applied toward the repair. A tank that has rusted through is replaced: $900–$1,500 for a standard tank, $1,800–$3,500 if you use the failure to switch to tankless — see the pricing page for the full table.
A heater that has failed at the seam after ten or more years has simply reached the end of its life. The U.S. Department of Energy's purchasing guidance assumes a 13-year product life for residential water heaters, and sediment from Manatee County's hard water tends to shorten it. Compare against whether a 10-year-old heater is worth repairing before spending on the old one.
When to stop and call a licensed plumber
- Water is coming from the tank body or a seam, not from a valve — the heater needs replacement, and the sooner it is drained the less it damages.
- The pressure-relief valve keeps discharging after the heater is off — the valve or the thermostat has failed and the tank was over-pressurized.
- You smell gas near a gas heater: leave the house, call 911, then the gas utility, before calling anyone else.
- Water has reached drywall, cabinets or an adjoining room; a plumber can stop the source tonight and tell you what the tank replacement will cost before morning.
Rosco Plumbing's 2026 planning range for a standard 40- or 50-gallon tank water heater replacement in Bradenton is $900–$1,500, including the unit and installation.
Call (941) 345-2464 or request a free estimate. Residential service in Manatee County; ranges are planning figures, not quotes.
Have Rosco Plumbing contact you about this
Describe what you are seeing and Ross will call or text back with what it sounds like and what the visit costs — no obligation.
What changes in Manatee County
In Manatee County, most heaters sit in the garage on a slab, so a bottom leak shows up as a puddle you can see — but in condos and villas in the 55+ communities the heater is often in an interior closet, and the first sign is a wet carpet or a stained ceiling in the unit below. Manatee County's water tests up to 16 grains per gallon, and the sediment that hardness leaves in the bottom of the tank is the usual reason a drain valve stops sealing and the usual reason a tank rusts through early.