Go to http://www.house-improvements.com for help. Shannon from House-Improvements.com gives you a full explanation of a typical natural gas water heater. It includes a cutaway of the back of it showing you what is inside your heater, you might be surprised!
If you have questions about your home improvement or maintenance projects, stop by the forum on our website, where Shannon will answer your questions in detail for free.
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In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey explains how new energy-saving regulations affect today’s water heaters.
Watch the new season of Ask This Old House: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,,00.html
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How to Maintain an Electric Water Heater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTPSoUKiKRs
How to Flush a Water Heater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjwENIksoWE
Plumbing and Repairs playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4X1yg-Fb88&list=PLkJADc1qDrr_0MRi-qB9a5w2iyaBS-Ivb
Key points:
1. Small-capacity gas-fired water heaters, in the 30-gallon to 50-gallon range, must now have at least 2 inches of insulation on the sidewalls of the tank and 2 to 4 inches at the top of the tank.
2. Gas-fired water heaters with 55-gallon or larger tanks can no longer be vented into a chimney.
3. New condensing water heaters must be connected to a PVC vent and direct-vented to the outdoors.
4. The new electric-powered water heaters with 55-gallon and larger tanks will be hybrid heat pumps that use 50 percent less energy but are much larger and taller than previous units.
5. The new regulations don’t affect on-demand tankless water heaters.
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Video Rating: / 5
My water heater tank doesn't seem to have a sacrificial anode! At least there's no opening at the top where it should go. That seems odd right? Are there any water heaters manufactured without a sacrificial anode? Or are located in other places beside the top of the tank? Mine is a gas water heater located in my attic (no basement here in TX).
Great video, thanks for taking the time to make it!
So, this is why one should never, ever, use hot water from the tap for consumption.
Thanks for a very practical video that really helped to 'reveal' the working principles of the water heater. it also makes one think a few times about whether they would actually want to drink any hot water from the tap. :)
I have a gas water heater in my apt. I discovered that the inner door to the flame chamber was open, and I closed it. My apt is much warmer now. Is an open inner door dangerous?
Does a closed inner door help make my apt warmer? Thanks.
water heaters like this haven't been around that long
he said 40 or 50 years old…..that's crazy talk….the drain was plastic
Very good presentation. Thank you. How does one know when to change the anode rod?
Is water in direct contact with the tank at any point?
Very good explanation but perhaps cut the unnecessary words at the end.
great vid! straight to the point and good explanations!
do I need a expansion tank if my electric water heater already has a t&p valve?
How often should you replace the dip tube?
Hello, I have a leak which is causing water to appear at almost every area, including around the water inlet/outlet, around the relief valve, and even from under the lid where it attaches to the top of the tank. It's almost like the inner tank is leaking into the inside the outer case, and has filled that area. Sound like anything you've heard of? Thank you!
I have a newly installed hot water tank… Is it necessary that I light the heater to check whether the hot water lines are functional with the same pressure as the cold water? I have tried turning on the hot water in the sink without heating the tank and no water flows out of the tap. My reason for not igniting the burner is soley for the purpose of checking for leaks. thanks for your video but it does not answer my problem unless a broken dip tube can affect the flow. Thanks for the great video on how a gas hot water tank works. Cheers James
Excellent! Thank you very much.
Thank you it was very helpfull for me.
Shannon — thanks for the explanation. I knew — generally speaking — how my water heater worked, but this video really put it all together for me! Keep up the good work, and please keep the videos coming…
👍👍👍
This was a very helpful video. Thank you very much…!!
Hang or Cradle your Electric Water Heater Horizontal for a 75% cut of Cycling loss and a 35% energy savings and a 40% increase in first hour draw
Note, more energy efficient. Not, more economically efficient. Money savings is negated by future repair cost.
How to change the Hybrid anode rod?
what kind of hot water heater should you use in a crawl space?
"They only last 7 to 10yrs"? That must be the line plumbers tell us so we panic. If you flush it yearly and change the anode rod when needed, there's no telling how long these will last. We have a 19yr old Kenmore Power Miser 6 that still works like it did the day we bought it.
It always is nice to have gas hot water in case of a power outage
I have a question. We have a 50-gallon electric water heater that's about 9 months old. We only use hot water in the morning for showers. Could we save energy by using a timer that allows power to the water heater only between 6 and 8 AM ?
Our house is ten years old, and we've never flushed out our water heater tank nor even replaced it.
I did flush it out last year for the first time though
My old gas water heater lasted 17 years and it was only a cheapo unit. This guy said they are only going to last 7-10 years? He has not a clue.
Why don't they just increase the insulation outright, rather than dictating what type we use. Silly nanny state laws. We're essentually forced to use certain light bulbs, weaker appliances, etc. yet I can just switch to electric heat.
More energy efficient = you'll be replacing it every 5 years.
What it really means is water heaters are almost double the price they were last year! I've been waiting for my old 40 gallon to give out before replacing it and it finally started leaking this past summer and because i had been expecting to replace it i went to Lowes to get a new 50 gallon elec and found it was almost double the price and they didn't have an explanation.
We have soft water around here, so they last longer than 10 years.
The govt is saving us by stealing more money and telling us what to do….like usual. Its ridiculous. Srsly sick of the EPA and govt.
I have a heat pump and haven't seen the savings promised. We also kept getting cold showers, so we turned off the heat pump feature entirely.
More government causing more problems
Amazing, you release a video and take all this time do filming, YET you can't provide a single example of these "NEW" water heaters to validate anything you're talking about.
Do you honestly expect me to say, "OH, he used his hands to symbolize the changes..thats what it must look like."