 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
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 ·Verizon Broadban..
| Water heater question I may be staring down the barrel at replacing this water heater as it does not seem to be heating the water as good as it did when it was first installed. The reason I would do it is the landlord would put in the cheapest (and most likely an energy hog) water heater and I want one that is energy efficiant (GE GeoSpring would be nice but I'll settle for the Whirlpool EnergySense at Lowe's). I am capable of doing it myself but there is a nice utility rebate but that requires a plumber install to get the rebate. The current one was installed in 2003.
My question is: what is the fitting in the picture.
Edit: I do pay the electric bill in this unit and the electric rates here are higher than the national average. |
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 tschmidtPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
kudos:8
 ·G4 Communications
·Fairpoint Commun..
 ·Hollis Hosting
| Really hard to tell without seeing more plumbing. Depending on warranty and water conditions may make sense to replace it even though it is not yet leaking but you ought to make sure you know the root cause or you will have the same problem with the replacement.
The device does not have a handle so it is not the PTRV. Looks like there are two pipes connected so my guess would be a tempering valve.
Before you run out and replace the heater need to do a little investigation. What specifically is the problem?
1) Is the water not hot enough? Check the upper and lower elements and thermostat. The bottom thermostat and element do the majority of the work. Tpp one only comes on under high demand to keep temperature up.
2) If hot water runs out too quickly may be the dip tube is broken or heater is installed backwards. Second is not likely since it worked until recently.
3) When it is actively heating check the voltage at the element. Low voltage will not affect final temperature, that is controlled by the thermostat. But if voltage is low recovery time is adversely affected.
/tom |
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 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to IowaCowboy
It's a vacuum breaker. It prevents scalding hot water from being sucked into the cold water lines if there is a break in the house water piping or the water supply becomes depressurized for any reason.
--
~Help Find a Cure for Cancer~
~Proud Member of Team Discovery ~ |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy: it does not seem to be heating the water as good as it did when it was first installed.
Why not troubleshoot the problem and repair it? Can you give some better pics of the entire water heater. Wouldn't hurt to post the model number also. |
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wthPremium
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA Reviews:
·Mediacom
| reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy: The reason I would do it is the landlord would put in the cheapest (and most likely an energy hog) water heater and I want one that is energy efficiant (GE GeoSpring would be nice but I'll settle for the Whirlpool EnergySense at Lowe's). I'd first offer the landlord to pay the difference between the cheap WH and the one you want. AND let the landlord/plumber do the install, as you don't need any extra liability, like your new WH flooding out the building your paying rent in. |
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 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8
·Charter
·surpasshosting
 ·voip.ms
| reply to IowaCowboy
You always give the same story of an absentee landlord. I'm not buying it anymore. As much as you've spent on this place, it probably would cover moving to a place where the LL isn't an ass hole.
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't. |
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 tp0dyabbazooiePremium
join:2001-02-13
Carnegie, PA
kudos:4 | yes this is a vacuum breaker..
As for the quality of the heater, from the control panel in the pic, sure looks like a lifetime-warranty American or Whirlpool water heater.. definitely not a cheapo heater.. Could be something wrong with it, if you arent getting the same hot water, but then again, it -is- winter, and cold water beats up heaters..
and I`m definitely gonna have to agree with nunya here as well..
-j
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if it aint broke, tweak it!!
currently on FiOS (kick aZZ!) |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey Reviews:
·Optimum Online
| reply to IowaCowboy
There's not a big difference with efficiency of electric water heaters. They're all 100% efficient, as all the energy goes into the water. The difference would be in the insulation (to reduce heat loss), and you can simply wrap your water heater to improve that.
If there's not enough hot water starting just recently, it's because it's winter and the supply water is colder!! The solution is to turn up the thermostats. The bottom one should be set to a HIGHER temperature than the top one. The markings normally are as follows:
"dot" 110 degrees
"Hot" 120 degrees
"A" 130 degrees
"B" 140 degrees
"C" 150 degrees
"Very Hot" 160 degrees
I would recommend "Hot" for the top one and "A" for the bottom one. If your heater is small and you use a lot of hot water, "A" and "B" could be used.
The other possibility is a burned out element. That's an easy fix. |
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 LazManPremium
join:2003-03-26
canada | reply to nunya
said by nunya:You always give the same story of an absentee landlord. I'm not buying it anymore. As much as you've spent on this place, it probably would cover moving to a place where the LL isn't an ass hole.
QFT |
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IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| reply to nunya
said by nunya:You always give the same story of an absentee landlord. I'm not buying it anymore. As much as you've spent on this place, it probably would cover moving to a place where the LL isn't an ass hole.
This unit is in better condition than most of the units in the city, many with higher rents and rodent infestations. Fortunately this unit lacks a rodent infestation but if I did have rodents, the handy tool is in the picture. |
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| reply to IowaCowboy
Try shutting off the water supply and opening some hot water taps in the house, then opening the drain at the bottom side of the tank to flush out accumulated scale deposits which may be (technical term alert) 'gunking up' the heating element. Then refill the water tank and do the process a 2nd time. That might improve things for you for a while. You will probably have to remove the vacuum breaker to get the water to flow out with some velocity.
If you want to do a more invasive cleaning, see the instructions at this link
»www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to···r-heater |
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Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
kudos:1 | WARNING: MK you should have advised IowaCowboy to turn off the power to the water heater before draining it. If the water level drops below an element and the thermostat applies power the element will immediately burn out. |
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| said by Mr Matt:WARNING: MK you should have advised IowaCowboy to turn off the power to the water heater before draining it. If the water level drops below an element and the thermostat applies power the element will immediately burn out.
My bad.
You are correct...... turn the power/gas off to the water heater BEFORE doing anything else. |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey | I don't know that it's a good idea to open the drain valve on a 10 year-old water heater. He might never get it closed. |
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| If it closes, flushing it might help his situation.
If it doesn't, the landlord replaces the faulty water heater. |
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tschmidtPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
kudos:8 Reviews:
·G4 Communications
·Fairpoint Commun..
·Hollis Hosting
1 edit | reply to Bob
Re: Water heater question said by Bob: He might never get it closed.
Guarantee it will leak after he flushes the tank. Have a supply of hose caps to seal it.
/tom |
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Tig
join:2006-06-29
Carrying Place, ON Reviews:
·voip.ms
·TekSavvy DSL
| reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:it does not seem to be heating the water as good as it did when it was first installed. If you could elaborate on what this means, you will get more pointed advice.
ie: -Water is hot, but quantity seems less.
-Water is not as hot as it used to be
-Makes funny noises |
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 tmh
@comcastbusiness.net | reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:Fortunately this unit lacks a rodent infestation but if I did have rodents, the handy tool is in the picture.
Said handy tool seems to be off the clock. |
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IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| reply to MaynardKrebs
said by MaynardKrebs:If it closes, flushing it might help his situation.
If it doesn't, the landlord replaces the faulty water heater.
The current water heater was installed by the previous landlord before the building was sold to the current owner. One good thing about the current owner is she is okay with cats. The previous owner was slightly better with repairs (installed the energy saver water heater) but had a no pets policy (hide the cat in the closet when the landlord comes). If the current landlord were to replace the water heater, we'd get some cheap energy hog. I was looking at water heaters at Sears and the operating costs on the energy guides varied. Some cost over $500 a year to operate (based on average utility rates and our area has higher than average utility rates) and some (like the GE GeoSpring) were cheap to operate. No matter who pays the cost of installing a new tank, it will ultimately be myself paying the costs of operate it (and trust me, my electric bills are NOT cheap).
As for pets, we are responsible pet owners (current cat is a neutered tomcat) but there are a lot of tenants that are irresponsible such as filthy litter boxes (and the cat does it's business elsewhere), keeping intact animals (male cats spraying/female cats multiplying), vicious dogs posing liability issues, etc. |
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