On newer water heaters, this component is known as a flame sensor. Or is there an advantage to taking water from bottom of tank. Just touched it, I swear. Please wait as we prepare your PDF. Well I had already shown who was an idiot but plumbing job time was one thing, life another. 
A sort of insanity set in. Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. I know some fellows would have been in their truck long before all of this, but really? If you're not familiar with that approach see the article on this page beginning at WATER HEATER PIPING. We could just shut off the well pump and drain pressure from the system. Bob Formisano is a licensed architect and builder with nearly 40 years of experience building new homes and restoring older homes. I ran 100 yards back to the house to grab a broom. Parallel 1 is what we would expect to see in a small apartment building or multifamily house - essentially each tenant has their own water heater - common cold water in but individual hot water out is fed to each tenant or apartment or building area. Richard Epstein is a licensed master plumber with over 40 years experience in residential and commercial plumbing. With the new parts on the water heater it was time to turn water pressure back on, refill the heater, turn it on, and check for leaks. At a home inspection I noticed that a water heater (cylinder) had no pressure/temperature relief valve installed: instead there was a pipe plug screwed into the opening where the TP valve belonged. Cold water supply pipe:Cold water is provided to the tank by acold water supply linecontrolled by a shutoff valve. "Pleeeeeease fix it! WATER HEATER PIPING at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. Watch for leaks (there were no more leaks), Total plumbing job time to this point: 220 + 45 = 265 minutes, Mop up basement, turn on fans, move boxes, These steps took another 2 hours and 15 minutes (135 minutes), Total plumbing job time to this point: 265 + 135 = 400 minutes - nearly 7 hours to "just install a simple TP valve". Fitted to the top of the tank, there are two water pipesa cold water supply pipe and a hot water discharge pipe.
We describe a water heater relief valve repair catastrophe when just touching parts leads to a flooded basement. Tank-type water heaters are available in both gas and electric versions, but the gas models are more prevalent thanks to their lower initial cost and lower operating cost. As Carson Dunlop Associates' illustration (left) shows, one way to improve hot quantity in a building is by hooking up more than one water heater, in parallel or in series. 2016/01/02 U.K. reader. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. The home buyer looked at me with a funny glint in his eye, then he suggested that it would be fine with him if I fixed the water heater TP valve problem. I ran 100 yards up to the well pit, kicked away snow, banged on the cover to dislodge it from being frozen in place. More suggestions are at HOT WATER PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT, Shown at left are two of five water pipe connections found at an antique water storage tank fonund in the attic of a California home. A gas water heater works by a law of physics knowns as convectionwhich defines how heat rises. While at Davies' I also picked up a replacement water heater tank drain valve, 8 minutes to re-chase the tapping in the water heater tank and clean the opening, 5 minutes to cut and solder a thread adapter and fit the discharge tube. The home buyer understood and was not panicked. Time to complete connections to the new water heater and place it in operation: 45 minutes to an hour. if the problem is adequate total hot water quantity when hot water demands vary significantly over time then he'd want to use the cascade approach - hook up the heaters in series. Is this a mistake?
A variation of the cascade approach is to install a simple water stoarge tank indoors ahead of the heater; water in the storage tank absorbs heat from the ambient indoor environment before feeding the water heater - reducing the heater's workload. ", "I could fix it," I answered," but it would be unethical for me to both point out work needed during a home inspection and then offer to perform the work. I'm sorry but that question is a bit tricky to even try to answer. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. The hot water discharge pipe may also have a shutoff valve, often identified by a red handle. The exhaust flue, a hollow cylinder running through the center of the tank,serves two purposes. Just look at the water heater installed in our photo at left: the location along will add considerable time to any work that has to be done on this unit. Now what happens if we hook up two or more water heaters in series? In the case of a water heater, the cold water enters the tank through a cold water supplytubeto force a constant supply of cold water into the tank. Included ar typical time estimates to install a water heater. Hot water discharge pipe:This is the business end of the hot water heaterthe pipe that supplieshot water to all your sinks, tubs, showers, and appliances needing hot water. If it doesn't operate properly, the T & P valve should be replaced. Stop laughing! There is an innate conflict of interest in such operations.". The owner can instead make a contribution to a local charity for what a plumber would have charged for a service call. Between the inner storage tank and the outer tank jacket is a layer of insulation designed to reduce heat loss. There are a couple of approaches depending on how you set the thermostats but bascially the second of the in-series heaters doesn't turn on until cold water enters it from the now-used-up first water cylinder. Once the file is ready it will download automatically. In addition to the longdip tube that supplies cold water to the tank, and the shorter hot water discharge pipe through which hot water flows into the plumbing system, there areother key components inside the tank. Cracking reply. Then turn the gas control valve to the ON position and check to make sure the gas burner ignites. If I've misunderstood your situation or question please let me know. 25 0 obj
<>stream
One just connects a garden hose to the water heater tank drain at the tank bottom, then carries the other end outside or to a suitable drain location. Cold Water Supply and Hot Water Discharge, Cold Water Supply Pipe and Hot Water Discharge Pipe, 6 Common Reasons Your Gas Water Heater May Not Be Working, Troubleshooting Checklist for an Electric Water Heater, Use These Tips to Drain a Water Heater Properly, How to Light the Standing Pilot on a Gas Furnace, How to Replace a Leaking Water Heater Drain Valve, What to Do When Your Water Heater Is Making Noises, The 10 Best Efficient Water Heaters of 2022, Inspect Plumbing Regularly to Prevent Expensive Problems, Replacing a Heating Element in an Electric Water Heater, A Step-by-Step Guide to De-Winterizing a House. What does the plumber say about shutoff valve locations on a multi-heater installation in series? All were either missing completely or were frozen solid. Realizing that all of the other stop valves and shutoffs I'd seen in the building were jammed, I thought I'd just try to open and shut that water cylinder drain a bit to see if it worked. I prefer piping water cylinders in series in a cascade design for more economical hot water production - that avoids the question entirely. Its purpose is to draw rust-causing ions in the water to itself, thus preventing the metal tank from corroding. endstream
endobj
11 0 obj
<>
endobj
12 0 obj
<>
endobj
13 0 obj
<>stream
When the tank is empty, shut the tank drain valve, and open the cold water supply valve to refill the tank. Is it a fairly easy job? SPEW! This assembly includes the pilot light and gas burner itself. His home repair articles for The Spruce span more than 10 years. Apologies for the delay. He is also a contributor to InspectApedia.com in several technical areas such as plumbing and appliances (dryer vents). By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. I just touched it on one edge. This valvealsosupplies gas through a small secondary tube to the pilot light, which serves to light the burner when the regulator valve and thermostat call for it. Read reviews. WHAM! But if you do not combine the heaters close to one another and or even then, if the outlet piping lengths, number of bends, altitude, and actual time and flow rate of hot water usage is not identical, the flow will be uneven out of the heaters. The natural gas or propane that heats the wateris supplied by a pipe having its own gas shutoff valve attached to a gas pipe made from steel black pipe or copper tubing. Parallel water heater hookups (Which I think you are describing) basically are feeding cold water in parallel to multiple water heaters (i.e. For all conventional vertical reservoir-type tank-type water heaters, we always take hot water from water that is near the top of the tank interior ( hot water rises to the top of the tank interior regardless of how the water is being heated; cold water flowing into the tank to be then heated is delivered to the tank bottom) when delivering hot water to the building, 2. There are very different reasons for hooking up multiple water heaters in series versus in parallel as I outline just below. In thecenter of the tank is a hollow exhaust fluethrough which exhaust gases from the burner flow up to an exhaust vent. 10 minutes to remove the worthless water heater tank drain valve and install a new one. The in-series allows you to use one of the heaters to boost temperature when the hot water in the other has begun to run out - reducing hot water cost while still providing more hot water quantity. If hot water coming from faucets becomes smelly or discolored, it may be an indication that the anode rod has been consumed. A simple approach is to install an automatic, adjustable flow balancing valve on the heater outlets, but Watch Out: never install a valve that can close off all hot water outlet or you may be asking for an exploding water cylinder. Depending on how the water heaters are located and how their use is intended, I'd consider a revision to pipe them in series rather than in parallel. Drive time back from the job is usually not billed by the plumber so we'll eschew that final 40 minute trip back to Poughkeepsie. HW-+&60c80lK!~9d`}ok;-O_o0~Vj=zo?z[Gof>w=axtLGm[M#(G78i--m50|?38:n}O`qb^a. Probably less than an hour of time for the plumber. Page top sketch provided courtesy of Toronto Home Inspection & Education Firm Carson Dunlop Associates. This valve is located on top of the tank and often is threaded directly into the tank top itself.
I decided to hook up a garden hose to enable draining pressure off of the building plumbing system and out of the water heater (cylinder) itself, sufficient to lower water level below the TP valve opening on the side of the water cylinder tank. No worries, I could just shut off the well pump so that we'd only drain 40 gallons of water onto the basement floor and onto the boxes of stuff stored there. At the job site I looked at the water heater again. I was losing. I just touched the handle. I made a big mistake. Or see WATER HEATER PIPING FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at the end of this page. If a contractor had the tools and parts present, what is your rough estimate of the amount of time needed to replace a hot water heater feeder if there weren't any technical issues involed. By periodically draining the tank using the tank drain valve, these sediments are removed and problems are avoided. - C.B. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve and place the open end of the hose in a floor drain or utility sink. Or do we need to hire one and get it out of the lot? We explain the piping for a basic water heater installation compared with options for connecting hot water heaters in parallel, in series, or ganged. OK?". If two water heater cylinders are next to one another the solution is easier as we can make the input supply pipe lengths equal to each of them from a common tee point, and we can join their outlet pipes at a second outlet tee common point again making sure that lengths, elbows, etc. The purpose of this valve is to relieve excessive temperature or pressure build-up inside the tank if it approaches the limit of the tank's design. Other methods for shutting off building water supply in an emergency are. No worries! As the water grows warmer, it rises in the tank, where it is drawn off by the hot water discharge pipe to provide hot water wherever it is called for. Hooking up a water heater backwards gives bad results. A shutoff valve on the outgoing hot side of the heater - right at the heater, invites a disaster.See BLEVE EXPLOSIONS. Parallel 2, which I've heard-of but never seen and which I think has less application, is in my OPINON an inefficient variation on the cascade water heater approach designed to give a high hot water output quantity to a single destination. For your boyfriend's case, hooking up hot water supply for a bar, to decide how to hook up his two water heaters depends on what problem he's solving. This was going to be a catastrophe. Shutting off the cold water supply effectively shuts off the water flow entirely, since it is the pressure from the cold water entering the tank that keeps the hot water flowing outward. Another key safety feature of a hot water heateris the temperature andpressure-relief(T & P) valve and discharge pipe. hbbd```b``*~ q+t 2drO>_A"`3h `s30` = A close examination of each component demonstrates the ingenious simplicity of the traditional tank-type gas water heater.
A sort of insanity set in. Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. I know some fellows would have been in their truck long before all of this, but really? If you're not familiar with that approach see the article on this page beginning at WATER HEATER PIPING. We could just shut off the well pump and drain pressure from the system. Bob Formisano is a licensed architect and builder with nearly 40 years of experience building new homes and restoring older homes. I ran 100 yards back to the house to grab a broom. Parallel 1 is what we would expect to see in a small apartment building or multifamily house - essentially each tenant has their own water heater - common cold water in but individual hot water out is fed to each tenant or apartment or building area. Richard Epstein is a licensed master plumber with over 40 years experience in residential and commercial plumbing. With the new parts on the water heater it was time to turn water pressure back on, refill the heater, turn it on, and check for leaks. At a home inspection I noticed that a water heater (cylinder) had no pressure/temperature relief valve installed: instead there was a pipe plug screwed into the opening where the TP valve belonged. Cold water supply pipe:Cold water is provided to the tank by acold water supply linecontrolled by a shutoff valve. "Pleeeeeease fix it! WATER HEATER PIPING at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. Watch for leaks (there were no more leaks), Total plumbing job time to this point: 220 + 45 = 265 minutes, Mop up basement, turn on fans, move boxes, These steps took another 2 hours and 15 minutes (135 minutes), Total plumbing job time to this point: 265 + 135 = 400 minutes - nearly 7 hours to "just install a simple TP valve". Fitted to the top of the tank, there are two water pipesa cold water supply pipe and a hot water discharge pipe. We describe a water heater relief valve repair catastrophe when just touching parts leads to a flooded basement. Tank-type water heaters are available in both gas and electric versions, but the gas models are more prevalent thanks to their lower initial cost and lower operating cost. As Carson Dunlop Associates' illustration (left) shows, one way to improve hot quantity in a building is by hooking up more than one water heater, in parallel or in series. 2016/01/02 U.K. reader. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. The home buyer looked at me with a funny glint in his eye, then he suggested that it would be fine with him if I fixed the water heater TP valve problem. I ran 100 yards up to the well pit, kicked away snow, banged on the cover to dislodge it from being frozen in place. More suggestions are at HOT WATER PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT, Shown at left are two of five water pipe connections found at an antique water storage tank fonund in the attic of a California home. A gas water heater works by a law of physics knowns as convectionwhich defines how heat rises. While at Davies' I also picked up a replacement water heater tank drain valve, 8 minutes to re-chase the tapping in the water heater tank and clean the opening, 5 minutes to cut and solder a thread adapter and fit the discharge tube. The home buyer understood and was not panicked. Time to complete connections to the new water heater and place it in operation: 45 minutes to an hour. if the problem is adequate total hot water quantity when hot water demands vary significantly over time then he'd want to use the cascade approach - hook up the heaters in series. Is this a mistake?
A variation of the cascade approach is to install a simple water stoarge tank indoors ahead of the heater; water in the storage tank absorbs heat from the ambient indoor environment before feeding the water heater - reducing the heater's workload. ", "I could fix it," I answered," but it would be unethical for me to both point out work needed during a home inspection and then offer to perform the work. I'm sorry but that question is a bit tricky to even try to answer. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. The hot water discharge pipe may also have a shutoff valve, often identified by a red handle. The exhaust flue, a hollow cylinder running through the center of the tank,serves two purposes. Just look at the water heater installed in our photo at left: the location along will add considerable time to any work that has to be done on this unit. Now what happens if we hook up two or more water heaters in series? In the case of a water heater, the cold water enters the tank through a cold water supplytubeto force a constant supply of cold water into the tank. Included ar typical time estimates to install a water heater. Hot water discharge pipe:This is the business end of the hot water heaterthe pipe that supplieshot water to all your sinks, tubs, showers, and appliances needing hot water. If it doesn't operate properly, the T & P valve should be replaced. Stop laughing! There is an innate conflict of interest in such operations.". The owner can instead make a contribution to a local charity for what a plumber would have charged for a service call. Between the inner storage tank and the outer tank jacket is a layer of insulation designed to reduce heat loss. There are a couple of approaches depending on how you set the thermostats but bascially the second of the in-series heaters doesn't turn on until cold water enters it from the now-used-up first water cylinder. Once the file is ready it will download automatically. In addition to the longdip tube that supplies cold water to the tank, and the shorter hot water discharge pipe through which hot water flows into the plumbing system, there areother key components inside the tank. Cracking reply. Then turn the gas control valve to the ON position and check to make sure the gas burner ignites. If I've misunderstood your situation or question please let me know. 25 0 obj
<>stream
One just connects a garden hose to the water heater tank drain at the tank bottom, then carries the other end outside or to a suitable drain location. Cold Water Supply and Hot Water Discharge, Cold Water Supply Pipe and Hot Water Discharge Pipe, 6 Common Reasons Your Gas Water Heater May Not Be Working, Troubleshooting Checklist for an Electric Water Heater, Use These Tips to Drain a Water Heater Properly, How to Light the Standing Pilot on a Gas Furnace, How to Replace a Leaking Water Heater Drain Valve, What to Do When Your Water Heater Is Making Noises, The 10 Best Efficient Water Heaters of 2022, Inspect Plumbing Regularly to Prevent Expensive Problems, Replacing a Heating Element in an Electric Water Heater, A Step-by-Step Guide to De-Winterizing a House. What does the plumber say about shutoff valve locations on a multi-heater installation in series? All were either missing completely or were frozen solid. Realizing that all of the other stop valves and shutoffs I'd seen in the building were jammed, I thought I'd just try to open and shut that water cylinder drain a bit to see if it worked. I prefer piping water cylinders in series in a cascade design for more economical hot water production - that avoids the question entirely. Its purpose is to draw rust-causing ions in the water to itself, thus preventing the metal tank from corroding. endstream
endobj
11 0 obj
<>
endobj
12 0 obj
<>
endobj
13 0 obj
<>stream
When the tank is empty, shut the tank drain valve, and open the cold water supply valve to refill the tank. Is it a fairly easy job? SPEW! This assembly includes the pilot light and gas burner itself. His home repair articles for The Spruce span more than 10 years. Apologies for the delay. He is also a contributor to InspectApedia.com in several technical areas such as plumbing and appliances (dryer vents). By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. I just touched it on one edge. This valvealsosupplies gas through a small secondary tube to the pilot light, which serves to light the burner when the regulator valve and thermostat call for it. Read reviews. WHAM! But if you do not combine the heaters close to one another and or even then, if the outlet piping lengths, number of bends, altitude, and actual time and flow rate of hot water usage is not identical, the flow will be uneven out of the heaters. The natural gas or propane that heats the wateris supplied by a pipe having its own gas shutoff valve attached to a gas pipe made from steel black pipe or copper tubing. Parallel water heater hookups (Which I think you are describing) basically are feeding cold water in parallel to multiple water heaters (i.e. For all conventional vertical reservoir-type tank-type water heaters, we always take hot water from water that is near the top of the tank interior ( hot water rises to the top of the tank interior regardless of how the water is being heated; cold water flowing into the tank to be then heated is delivered to the tank bottom) when delivering hot water to the building, 2. There are very different reasons for hooking up multiple water heaters in series versus in parallel as I outline just below. In thecenter of the tank is a hollow exhaust fluethrough which exhaust gases from the burner flow up to an exhaust vent. 10 minutes to remove the worthless water heater tank drain valve and install a new one. The in-series allows you to use one of the heaters to boost temperature when the hot water in the other has begun to run out - reducing hot water cost while still providing more hot water quantity. If hot water coming from faucets becomes smelly or discolored, it may be an indication that the anode rod has been consumed. A simple approach is to install an automatic, adjustable flow balancing valve on the heater outlets, but Watch Out: never install a valve that can close off all hot water outlet or you may be asking for an exploding water cylinder. Depending on how the water heaters are located and how their use is intended, I'd consider a revision to pipe them in series rather than in parallel. Drive time back from the job is usually not billed by the plumber so we'll eschew that final 40 minute trip back to Poughkeepsie. HW-+&60c80lK!~9d`}ok;-O_o0~Vj=zo?z[Gof>w=axtLGm[M#(G78i--m50|?38:n}O`qb^a. Probably less than an hour of time for the plumber. Page top sketch provided courtesy of Toronto Home Inspection & Education Firm Carson Dunlop Associates. This valve is located on top of the tank and often is threaded directly into the tank top itself. I decided to hook up a garden hose to enable draining pressure off of the building plumbing system and out of the water heater (cylinder) itself, sufficient to lower water level below the TP valve opening on the side of the water cylinder tank. No worries, I could just shut off the well pump so that we'd only drain 40 gallons of water onto the basement floor and onto the boxes of stuff stored there. At the job site I looked at the water heater again. I was losing. I just touched the handle. I made a big mistake. Or see WATER HEATER PIPING FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at the end of this page. If a contractor had the tools and parts present, what is your rough estimate of the amount of time needed to replace a hot water heater feeder if there weren't any technical issues involed. By periodically draining the tank using the tank drain valve, these sediments are removed and problems are avoided. - C.B. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve and place the open end of the hose in a floor drain or utility sink. Or do we need to hire one and get it out of the lot? We explain the piping for a basic water heater installation compared with options for connecting hot water heaters in parallel, in series, or ganged. OK?". If two water heater cylinders are next to one another the solution is easier as we can make the input supply pipe lengths equal to each of them from a common tee point, and we can join their outlet pipes at a second outlet tee common point again making sure that lengths, elbows, etc. The purpose of this valve is to relieve excessive temperature or pressure build-up inside the tank if it approaches the limit of the tank's design. Other methods for shutting off building water supply in an emergency are. No worries! As the water grows warmer, it rises in the tank, where it is drawn off by the hot water discharge pipe to provide hot water wherever it is called for. Hooking up a water heater backwards gives bad results. A shutoff valve on the outgoing hot side of the heater - right at the heater, invites a disaster.See BLEVE EXPLOSIONS. Parallel 2, which I've heard-of but never seen and which I think has less application, is in my OPINON an inefficient variation on the cascade water heater approach designed to give a high hot water output quantity to a single destination. For your boyfriend's case, hooking up hot water supply for a bar, to decide how to hook up his two water heaters depends on what problem he's solving. This was going to be a catastrophe. Shutting off the cold water supply effectively shuts off the water flow entirely, since it is the pressure from the cold water entering the tank that keeps the hot water flowing outward. Another key safety feature of a hot water heateris the temperature andpressure-relief(T & P) valve and discharge pipe. hbbd```b``*~ q+t 2drO>_A"`3h `s30` = A close examination of each component demonstrates the ingenious simplicity of the traditional tank-type gas water heater.