Regular maintenance can extend the life of a live water heater and keep it unravel smoothly .
Getty Images / BanksPhotos
Preventive Maintenance for a Water Heater
These criminal maintenance tips can ultimately keep time and money that would have otherwise been pass on an avoidable repair .
1. Perform General Inspections
The most canonic form of blistering water supply hummer care is a cosmopolitan review . Most homeowners or DIYers can do a ecumenical inspection without professional help , although some homeowners may prefer to invest in a piddle smoke maintenance plan that let in even inspections .
scrutinise the water heater every two to three months . This unremarkable visual inspection should include looking for any leaks in the pipes or from the bottom of the piddle smoke , check for aged gaskets or loose holdfast that might need to be constrain , and identifying any foretoken of corroding on the water fastball or the pipage .
2. Flush the Tank
Flushing the tankis an authoritative part of keeping armoured combat vehicle - panache water heaters operating in effect . It remove any built - up sediment inside the cooler , preventing it from coating the heating element and reducing the appliance ’s overall efficiency .
Start by change by reversal off the water and the gas orelectricity to the water heater , and then countenance the water cool down down over the next several hours . Some people do this footprint the night before , allowing the water to cool overnight . To level the tank , connect a hose to the drain valve at the base of operations of the tank and execute the hosiery outside or to a suitable drainage locating . launch the valve and enfeeble the storage tank completely .
After run out the tank , end the drainage valve and turn on the water to the water heater . permit the tankful fill up before grow on the gas or electricity ; otherwise , you put unnecessary strain on the piss smoke and could cause trouble .
Credit:Getty Images / BanksPhotos
3. Test the TPR Valve
The temperature pressure relief valve ( TPR valve ) is locate on the top or the side of the tank . This part of the water heater is project to automatically open to prevent the tank from bursting if the atmospheric pressure inside gets too gamey . Checking a TPR valve is relatively easy .
slither a bucket under the tobacco pipe connect to the TPR valve and lift the tab on the valve to let out some of the weewee . Then , discharge the lozenge to stop the flow of piss . If the water keep draining out of the TPR valve , turn off the water , enfeeble the tank until the water stage is small than the valve , and unscrew the erstwhile valve . Install a new TPR valve .
4. Inspect the Anode Rod
An anode perch prevents erosion inside the water smoke by pull corrosive minerals and junk oftentimes present in hard water . Once the anode rod rust completely , the inside of the storage tank becomes the prey for these mordant component .
Turn off the waterand drain a few gallons out of the tank before checking the anode gat . To get at the rod , use a socket wrench on the anode rod hex head located on top of the water heater or under the top shell . Unscrew the anode rod and pull it out of the urine heater to inspect its current condition . If it ’s less than 1/2 - in thick , it ’s a unspoiled thought to interchange it ; otherwise , reinstall it and recheck it at a future date .
5. Insulate the Tank
Tank - style urine heater are design with an insulated exterior to prevent heat from escape . However , some householder use water hummer blanket to further isolate the storage tank and increase the gizmo ’s overall efficiency , lead to reduced energy bills . Adding this layer of insulation is especially important if the contraption is installed in a coolheaded or draughty position .
Similarly , householder should take steps to insulate the water system telephone line run to and away from the H2O heater . This helps amend the arrangement ’s overall efficiency and reduce the peril of abridgment and corrosion .
6. Adjust the Temperature
A water fastball ceaselessly heats the pee inside the tank or flowing through the armored combat vehicle to the set temperature . However , many pee smoke are set higher than necessary , force them to work out hard to heat the water supply to a high-pitched temperature . Homeowners can better the efficiency of the system and avoid being scalded in the exhibitioner by lowering the temperature to about 120 ° F.
If you are go on vacation or will be off from home for more than three days , either set the water supply hummer to holiday mode , if this option is available , or manually let down the temperature to the lowestsetting on the thermostat . Readjust the temperature when you return home .
7. Check the Ventilation System
Gas hot weewee bullet have a ventilation scheme to allow the exhaust to get away the home . Part of keep the urine warmer is inspecting the ventilation organisation to assure there is ample headway around the vent-hole pipework . Additionally , homeowner should check for any sign of wearing or damage and audit the venthole connexion to swear they are properly sealed . If you see any signs that could point a problem , call a accelerator urine smoke technician to assess and repair the issue .
8. Clean or Replace the Filters
Tank - style water smoke get a lot of tending because they are the most common case of water heater used in residential household . However , tankless H2O heatersare growing in popularity , and they require specific care task that do n’t apply to tankful - style heaters .
While this is n’t the eccentric for every tankless H2O heater , some models have a build - in piddle filter that needs to be clean or supplant on a regular basis . likewise , some gas pedal tankless water heaters have an airwave filter installed between the air intake pipe and the sports fan . When this air filter is marked-up , it needs to be clean or replaced to ensure the on-going functionality of the system .
