Questions tagged [water-heater]
For questions generally relating to the hot-water supply system of a typical residential or commercial building, primarily regarding the heating mechanism itself (a traditional hot water heater tank, tankless heaters including "point-of-use", boilers and heat exchangers, etc).
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How can I speed up my slow hot water?
Our water heater (gas) is located in the garage. It is 25 to 30 feet away from the closest faucet, which I'm guessing is the main reason it takes so long -- a minute or longer -- to get hot water ...
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Why do gas water heater exhausts have an air gap before the chimney?
Every conventional (i.e., non-direct-vent) gas water heater I have seen has a roughly 1" vertical gap between its exhaust port and the exhaust vent (or "chimney"). See photo below. What function does ...
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How can we dry out a soaked water heater (and restore a novice plumber's dignity)?
Suppose a novice plumber -- a completely hypothetical novice plumber -- removed the top heating element in their electric water heater before the tank had sufficiently drained, resulting in about a ...
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Why does this pipe feeding a hot water heater dip down like this?
This is a cold water pipe just in front of the hot water heater it is feeding. Why is it shaped that way? What is its function?
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What temperature should I set my water heater to?
When adjusting my water heater, what temperature should I set it to? Is the answer different if you have:
Concerns about diseases
A dishwasher
Young children or elderly that can be easily burned
...
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Are water boilers dangerous when showering?
Where I'm from (Serbia) everybody says to turn off the water boiler (the container that heats up water and stores it for use in the bathroom and shower) when you take a shower or use the bathtub. They ...
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Should a gas water heater be shut down if the water main has to be turned off?
I have a brand new AO Smith 50gal gas water heater. Today there was a burst pipe from the cold spell we're having currently, so I had to turn off the water main to the house until the plumbers get ...
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Is flushing a waterheater a good idea?
I've been told that water-heaters build up sediment at the bottom over time, and should be flushed out (ie. drained, then allowed to refill). Is there value in this exercise? Does that value exceed ...
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Which water heater types do you recommend?
I would like to upgrade my current water heater with one that
Is able to produce/store more heated water so I won't run out
Energy efficient
Inexpensive
What are the advantages/disadvantages to each ...
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Turn off hot water without hot water valve
I have a leaky pipe on the hot water side that I'd like to fix. Following the pipes back to the water heater, I don't think there's a shutoff valve installed anywhere in the line, not even at the ...
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How do electric hot water heaters explode and what can be done to prevent that from happening?
My neighbor and good friend is a union steamfitter, and general handyman. He had to replace his electric hot water heater last year and he did it himself.
My wife and I have to replace ours now, and ...
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How to drill through wall without hitting boiler on the other side
I need to drill a hole through from my living room to my garage to put an ethernet run between them. I can only drill through from the living room in one spot due to the positioning of the electrical ...
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Why is my hot water running out quickly regardless of other household water usage?
I've noticed that my shower, which used to run hot water for what seemed like forever, now can only produce about 15 minutes of hot water. This doesn't appear to be related to other water usage in the ...
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Can tankless & conventional water heaters join forces?
Although I have properly maintained my nearly 20-year-old 40-gallon (150-L) Kenmore natural gas-fired water heater, I have been considering replacing it with a natural gas-fired tankless water heater ...
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Are tankless water heaters worth it in cold climates?
I was thinking of switching over to a tankless water heater. A friend of mine said they are not good in colder climates since the water coming in is colder and takes longer to heat. Is this a valid ...
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Can filling up a 75 gallon water heater tank without opening a faucet cause damage?
Had a bit of a snafu at home today that resulted in an empty 75 gallon tank getting refilled without opening a faucet. Faucet was opened only after the tank was full, which resulted in a long burst of ...
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How high to raise water heater above floor?
I saw a water heater stand at Home Depot but it's about 15" high. That's a bit too high for my basement. Can I just make one with 2x4 and plywood that's only 4" tall, basically just enough to be able ...
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Why did my water heater wire burn up?
Here is a picture of the damage. Thank goodness they're was no fire. We had our breaker panel replaced today. I don't know if that's related or just coincidence.
Tonight about 8:30pm while getting ...
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4
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Is my plan for fixing my water heater leak bad?
Here is the situation (with pics):
See that pan on the bottom? The hole in it is covered by tape.
So here is what I was gonna do. Is this a good idea? First. I've gone out and purchased a new pan ...
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Why does my hot water arrive at point of use slowly after water heater replacement?
I recently had a new water heater installed and since then, the hot water has taken a very long time to reach the faucets. For reference: I was able to fill 1.5 gallons (nearly 6 litre) with the cold ...
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Would a larger pipe bring hot water to a sink faster or slower than smaller pipe?
Would 3/4" pex from a tankless water heater 25' up in the attic get hot water to the kitchen sink on the 1st floor faster or slower than 1/2" pex?
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What causes a water heater's relief valve to discharge water?
I have a Gas Reliance Water Heater 1212. I found recently (in winter) there is a water dip through the relief valve into a 5 gallon bucket. Sometimes, it can fill the whole bucket. Sometimes, it has ...
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How does a Thermal Release Device (TRD) work?
Rheem hot water heaters have a device in the combustion chamber called Thermal Release Device (TRD). It contains a vial filled with liquid that seems to be mounted in a flex metal plate. It is a ...
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Is it safe to transport a gas water heater lying down?
I need to replace my water heater. I've happily been using gas for the last 30 years and will continue to do so.
I have a minivan which will easily swallow the heater and all its packing material, ...
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Any special precautions when turning off water to a property?
When turning off incoming pressurized fresh water to a property for a few hours during non-freezing conditions, are there any special precautions that need to be taken?
Specifically, is there anything ...
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Is it about time to replace the water heater?
My wife and I just recently closed on our first home. The home was built in 1930 and aged excellently. The couple who we bought the home from had purchased it as a foreclosure in 2006 and made it ...
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Are water heater blankets a good idea?
Is it a good idea to wrap a water heater in insulation? Does it lower the heating cost? Does it shorten the life of the water heater?
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Could my water heater in a 4 unit townhome be shared and explain my high power bill?
I am renting a townhome in San Antonio, TX. I have looked for a cutoff valve for the water because my electric bill shows my water heating is my major reason for an extremely high bill. When I ...
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Need to know if tankless hot water system for my new house build is a good option if I only have electric power
I am building a house and I’m considering a tankless hot water system for the entire house. I live in New Brunswick, Canada and I will only have regular electricity via NB Power. We don’t have gas. So ...
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What caused a burn mark near my hot water pipes?
I was doing some household cleanup in the storage room where my heat tank is located when I noticed a burn mark on the wall frame near the pipe that goes from the heat tank to the shower next room.
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Are hot water returns worth putting in?
Once I saw on an episode of This Old House that they were putting in hot water return lines: pipes that recirculate idle hot water back to the heater so you get hot water right away, instead of ...
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Why would water faucets use a different energy source from the radiators?
In my apartment, hot water in the faucet is heated by an electric heater, while the hot water in the radiators for heating the rooms comes from a central gas boiler in the building. To me it seems ...
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Prewarming for tankless waterheater
I have a tankless water heater that is just a little bit to small for our new house - the temperature rise isn't quite enough for the winter months. Our basement is big and relatively warm so I struck ...
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Why will my pilot light on the gas water heater not stay lit for more than 15 minutes?
The pilot light went out on my gas water heater. I followed the instructions and had it lit three times now for about 15 minutes each time but it wont stay lit. Not sure what to do at this point?
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Why does my water heater's drain line rejoin the outlet pipe?
I know very little about water heaters and plumbing. Done some minimal work, but never water heater hookup.
I need to replace my 20 year old AO Smith 50 gal gas water heater in a house I've owned ...
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How to evaluate the suitability of an electric tankless water-heater
I'm trying to evaluate if an electric tankless water-heater would be suitable for my home. There are just too many variables to consider, and I wonder if there is a mathematical approach to it.
I'm ...
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Should I install an inline water heater for my bathroom?
It takes 3-4 minutes of the shower running before the hot water reaches my upstairs bathroom. I'd like to not have to waste all that water and time. My initial though was to install an inline water ...
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I ran out of propane and now the water heater pilot light will not stay lit
I had run out of propane. Now that I have propane, I can’t get the pilot light to stay lit on my water heater, nor will it stay lit even long enough to light the burner.
Click for larger view:
...
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Where can one find the aluminum anode rod that replaces a magnesium anode rod?
I purchased a Rheem Performance 40 Gal water heater (Model XE40M06ST45U1). I've removed the anode rod in the water heater and discovered there's substantial corrosion. The anode rod that came with the ...
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Why is the first shower of the day is colder than the second?
Description
Since I've moved into this house, I've noticed that the first shower of the day is colder than the any subsequent shower. More specifically, if no hot water has been used for a while, the ...
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What type/thickness of drywall should be used in water heater closet?
I have a rental house built in the 70's that had severe water damage in the small room (4x5 feet) that houses the hot water heater. The room is off of the garage. I've had the water heater replaced ...
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What's the most energy-efficient way to run a boiler?
I have an electric boiler equipped in my house, and also a timer that make me schedule the time in which I want to turn on the boiler and heat water.
I am looking for the most efficient way to run the ...
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What can I do about high water pressure that is causing a leak?
One of our showers has an intermittent leak, and I've figured out that it happens when the hot water heater is on. There's no expansion tank on the cold supply side for our hot water tank, so I'm ...
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Replacing a hot water heater: tank or tankless?
We've lived in this house for 20 years and the hot water heater (tank style) was 2 years old, as was the rest of the house, when we moved in. In the last year or two we've started to have occasions ...
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Can my home's power supply handle this tankless water heater?
So my home was built in 1960 and 15-20 years later another room was added on. There are panel boxes everywhere ha. I have mapped it all out and isolated almost everything. Anything that is ...
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Does a heat pump water heater in upstate NY make sense?
I currently have a 17-year-old, gas water heater. It's not giving me a problem yet, but I'm getting nervous about it and investigating replacing it. I am trying to be both economic and reduce my ...
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What is the proper way to clean a water heater?
I have heard many times that it is good to clean your water heater about once a year by flushing it. I went to look online to find the proper way to do so and found many people recommending different ...
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Water leaving the house when water cut off
Every now and then, I have an interruption in the supply of water from the city. In the past, I would simply notice there is no water provided, and that the water meter would stand still.
But I have ...
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(When) Does room messiness affect water heater efficiency?
I have what I think of as a "standard US electric standby water heater." I will update this when I know the model; I am out of town right now.
It is located in a cold, cluttered closet in a ...
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Do tankless water heaters have a maximum temperature limit for the incoming "cold" supply water?
I currently have a tankless, natural gas hot water heater on the side of my house. I want to preheat the incoming water using a solar water heater. Is there any concern with having the input supply ...
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