An Infographic on the History of Water Heaters
Hot Water 911 wants to share a fun infographic on the history of water heaters that may help to take your mind off of the stress of the upcoming Holidays! Well, at least for a while!
If you have any questions about your water heater, make sure you give Hot Water 911 a call at 1-800-GO HOT WATER !!
Hot Water 911: How to Maintain Your Water Heater’s TP Valves
How to maintain your water heater’s TP valves, you ask? What in the world is a TP valve? Simply, the TP valve on your water heater is the temperature pressure relief valve or safety valve. Okay, so maybe that is still not so simple. A TP valve is installed on water heaters to release hot water pressure should the water heater’s internal pressure or temperature rise to an unsafe level. It is very important that the TP valve on your water heater is in proper working order. There is something that you can do to make sure that your TP valve is functioning and in good condition.
Your annual maintenance of your water heater is a perfect time for you to familiarize yourself with the TP valve and to assure that it is working properly. Place a bucket below the discharge tube before starting. Next, lift the lever on the valve…doing so should cause hot water to flush through the valve and through the discharge tube into your bucket. If water does not flow freely when you have opened the TP valve, you should call a trained water heater technician to assess the problem and, if necessary, replace the valve.
Once you have assured proper flow when the valve is opened, gently lower the lever back into its closed position. If you close the lever abruptly or with too much gusto, the TP valve can be damaged…damaging the TP valve can lead to problems with complete closure of the valve, resulting in leaks and/or risk of explosion.
If you haven’t had your TP valve checked or replaced in a five year period, you will want to call your trained water heater technician to assess if your TP valve should be changed. Hot Water 911 can help you with all of your questions or problems that you may have regarding the TP valve on your water heater. Give us at call at 1-800-GO HOT WATER and we will be happy to help you with your concerns.
Hot Water 911: Electrifying Information on Stray Voltage
Recently, Hot Water 911 has been asked to help out a few of our customers with what has turned out to be a stray voltage problem. We thought, since we are answering so many calls pertaining to stray voltage, perhaps we should address stray voltage on our site.
First of all, what exactly is stray voltage? Stray voltage is when voltage occurs between two objects that should not have any voltage difference between them. Stray voltage may result when there is corruption in the ground or neutral current to your building or home. So, how would stray voltage affect your water heater?
There is almost always a very minute amount of stray voltage that most buildings experience. Because of this, water heaters are equipped with a part called an anode rod, or the sacrificial anode. The anode rod is usually composed of either aluminum or magnesium, depending on the water heater’s manufacturers recommendations. This anode rod serves to accept any minute amounts of stray voltage so that the current stops there. Typically anode rods should last about ten years before they need to be replaced. If there is an inordinate amount of stray voltage coming into your building, you might find that you are needing to replace your anode rod more often.
So, how can you tell when your anode rod needs to be changed? When you do your annual water heater maintenance, one of the things that you should also check are the screens in all of your faucets. This is a perfect time to make sure that there is no grit or green chunks that are starting to block your faucet’s screen. The grit and green chunks can be an indication that your anode rod needs to be changed. For situations involving your anode rods, you are going to want to contact your water heater service company. They know exactly how to access the anode rod correctly and to diagnose an unhealthy anode rod and they will know how to correctly replace the anode rod with the appropriate new anode rod. If you are finding that you need to replace your anode rod every one to two years, stray voltage may be the cause. At this point, you will want to call in a competent electrician who can evaluate the level of stray voltage going to your building and rectify the problem.
Hot Water 911 is happy to help you with your stray voltage questions, your anode rod questions and any other water heater related questions that you may have. Feel free to contact us at 1-800-GO HOT WATER or email us at info@HotWater911.com
Hot Water 911 Pipes In About Your Flue Pipes
It’s winter. And its been a very snowy winter. Snow brings with it so many challenges but did you know that one of the things that you should be mindful of is the potential for snow to block your flue pipe? With the heavy and deep snow that we have been experiencing, this is a real concern. We at Hot Water 911 help people out with this frequently.
So what is a flue pipe? A flue pipe is an exhaust pipe for the gases to escape from you water heater. Typically these are found on gas water heaters. They are usually piped out through the roof or out the side of the building.
What are the gases that flow out of the flue pipe? As your water heater builds up heat, it creates noxious flue gases made up mostly of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as well as nitrogen oxide. The flue pipe assures that theses toxic gases will not build up within your building or home.
What happens if the flue pipe is clogged? If the noxious gases are not able to escape via the flue pipe, the risk is that they will back up and start infiltrating your building or home. This is, of course, very dangerous.
One of the things that you can do to prevent this from happening is to know where your flue pipe is and where it leads to on the outside of your building. If it goes to a side wall of your building, make sure that there is nothing, including snow, that is blocking your flue pipe. If your flue pipe is vented out through your roof and you are not sure if there is a mechanism built in the system that shuts the water heater off in the case of blockage, it is important for your to call your contractor. Many high efficiency water heaters have built within them a sort of checks and balance system that shuts off the water heater if it is detected that the flue pipe is blocked. However, it is VERY important to contact a specialist if you are in the least bit unsure. Always feel free to call 1-800-GO HOT WATER …we would be happy to help.