Water Heaters

By Author: Glen Kellogg
Total Articles: 20
Comment this article

Know These Safety Tips For Water Heaters If You Don't Call In A Plumber

There are many situations involving water heaters that can be done by a homeowner. But there are many more that require the experience of a plumber and sometimes an electrician. Only work on water heaters if you're handy and comfortable that you know what you're about to do.

Before doing plumbing work you must perform these safety steps:

Turn the electricity off if you have an electric water heater or turn the gas control knob to PILOT if you have a gas water heater.

Find the cold water line on top of the water heater and turn the gate valve off. The cold line is always located on the right hand side as you face the water heater.

Open a hot tap inside the house at any sink. This relieves pressure on the lines.

Twist the knob on the drain valve to open it on the water heater. It's located at the bottom of the water heater and looks like a hose bib. Drain out a gallon of water from the water heater, so it's not completely full at the plumbing connections on top.

Tell everyone in the house or building to use ...
... cold water only.

Whenever removing electric elements on an electric water heater, be sure that the electricity is turned off.

Whenever replacing the drain valve on a gas or electric water heater, be sure to turn the gas control knob to PILOT or to turn the electricity off.

Check the gas connections on your gas water heater by spraying liquid glass cleaner on them. If you have a gas leak. The glass cleaner will spit and foam slightly if you have a gas leak.

At this point you need to be careful that the gas fumes do not backdraft into the house. When the gas fumes from a gas water heater travel up and out the draft diverter on top of the gas water heater, they go to the outside of your house through a vent. The fumes can sometimes be pulled back into a chimney flue, an open window, or an air conditioner. If you smell fumes inside the house, call a plumber immediately.

If you are insulating your pipes for your water heater, do not cover dielectric unions, fittings, or copper flex lines. The insulation will cause the water to stay on the surface underneath and cause more damage from leaky pipes. Never put insulation on the tin draft diverter located above the gas water heat. The insulation can ignite.

If you know you have a recirculating loop for you water heater, it is a good idea to have a ball valve before the point where the loop connects to you water heater. If you have any type of pump located on this line, have a plumbing professional install a ball valve before the pump also.

Again, if you are not certain of your ability to work on a water heater in any way, get a professional service technician to help you.

Maintenance Tip #1 Preparing the water heater
Turn off the power if its an electric water heater.
Turn off the water to the water heater by closing the valve on the cold water line. Its located on top of the water heater. The cold line is always to the right.
Open a hot water tap inside the house. Air pressure will come out of the tap.
Open the drain valve located at the bottom of the water heater. It looks like a
hose bibb. Let a gallon or more out of the water heater.
Do not allow anyone to use hot water for the time you are working on the water heater.

Maintenance Tip #2 Why do maintenance?
The information in this article isn't public knowledge. It should be. It is also very difficult to find any maintenance information about water heaters anywhere.
These tips will make it more heat efficient, and far less capable of causing problems down the road. Most maintenance is quick and cheap as well.

Maintenance Tip #3 Access of the hexhead
On top of every tank-type water heater lies a hexagonal-shaped head. It is either readily seen or it is not. If it is not, then this is a chance for improving the future maintenance of the water heater.
Drill very shallow 1/4 inch holes one at a time through the sheet metal top of the water heater. Do not drill into the water heater or it will be unusable. Once a hole is drilled use a thin object such as a pen or screwdriver to poke inside and locate the hex head.
When located, use tin snips to peel back the tin metal at the top and remove any foam insulation near the hex head. Use tape to cover up the sharp edges of the tin metal to avoid cutting your hands. Pat the edges of tin down with a hammer as well. Now your anode rods inside your tank can be maintained more easily. That's because they are attached to the hex head.

Maintenance Tip #4 When can a gas water heater receive maintenance?
Turn the control dial to PILOT. Look inside the combustion chamber once the flame is out with a flashlight. Do you see any water, rust, or water marks? If yes, then you'll probably need to invest in a brand new water heater altogether. If no, then maintenance of the water heater will be an option for you. Now look on top of the gas water heater at the chimney baffle. It's the long piece of tin metal that extends to the ceiling usually. Does it have any rust on it? If yes, then you have poor ventilation in the room with the water heater in it. Call a plumber for advice on your situation, because you don't want a hole rusted through the tin metal. If no rust appears, maintenance can be performed.

Maintenance Tip #5 Recording the maintenance you do.
Put a large sticker on the outside of the water heater, but don't put it on anything important. Record the date when you check or replace the anode rods. Also write down any time you flush the tank out. If any new parts are used, write the part and date down too.

Maintenance Tip #6 Anode inspection
Check your anode rods every two or three years. Every once in awhile the anode location is written on the instruction on the outside of the water heater.
You may have a combination anode rod. This means that it is attached to the hot water outlet on top of the water heater. To find out if you have one, disconnect the plumbing at the water heater and the hot water outlet, which is always on the left. Poke a clothes hanger wire straight down inside the hole. If it hits something a few inches inside, you have a combination anode. Use a pipe wrench to remove the combination anode.
You may have an anode rod underneath a plastic disc only 2 inches wide or less. Pop the disc and then use a 1-1/16 inch socket wrench, a 3/4 drive, and a breaker bar. Any person may have to steady the tank when you unscrew the anode rod.

For more information call :Chimney Liner Depot (8700) 943-1515
or go to http://www.chimneylinerdepot.com/
Glen Kellogg is a certified chimney professional that has single hanidly revolutionize the do it yourself chimney repair industry.