Water Heater

A water heater can become an explosive device if not properly maintained. Click here to watch a video of a controlled water heater explosion. The video is of a 12-gallon water heater exploding. After watching the video, imagine what might happen to your house from a water heater that holds 30, 40, or 50 gallons. The United States averages 50 water heater explosions each year, one for each state.One water heater explosion leveled the house, and the water heater was found a half mile away. So although the water heater is an appliance providing great convenience to us in our homes, please don’t ignore it. Following the recommendations here should provide you with many years of service from your water heater. If there were any visible problems if your property inspection report, you should first have those items repaired by a licensed plumbing professional.

Water heaters should always be readily accessible. If you can’t get to it casually (see Figure 1), you’ll probably never get to it in time to shut off the gas and water in the event of an emergency. And while they are not exactly designer appliances, hiding them (see Figure 2 and Figure 3) creates the same accessibility problems. The pictures in Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6 show a garage conversion. Unfortunately, the house was being bought by an elderly lady. The door to the closet was so heavy that it took her two sons, two Realtors, and me to remove it. Hiding the water heater and neglecting to have it inspected annually quite often results in pipe connections like those shown in Figure 7.

The temperature and pressure relief valve (TPR valve) is a safety device, and when it operates, it typically indicates a problem with the water heater, usually water temperature or water pressure that is too high and dangerous. The drain pipe should terminate in a place that will not cause damage if the TPR valve operates; it should also drain by gravity so that it will be easy to see if even a small amount of water is released. Figure 8 shows an improperly installed drain line that will not drain by gravity.

When the drain pipe terminates at an exterior location, an unknown location, or a drain or sink, it is difficult to determine whether or not the TPR valve has operated since any water that has been discharged is not seen because it evaporated, was absorbed by the ground, or was drained away. I personally like the drain pipes on my water heater to terminate at the base of the water heater. Then I place a 5-gallon metal pail under the drain pipe

Figure 1. This was as close as I could get to that water heater way back there.		Figure 2. Water heater in a garage conversion.		Figure 3. Water heater in a garage conversion.
Figure 4. A “designer” enclosure for the water heater in a garage conversion; also see Figure 5 and Figure 6.		Figure 5. A “designer” enclosure for the water heater in a garage conversion; also see Figure 4 and Figure 6.		Figure 6. A “designer” enclosure for the water heater in a garage conversion; also see
Figure 7. What happens if water connections at the water heater are not inspected regularly.		Figure 8. An improperly installed TPR drain line.		Figure 9. An electrical “jumper bond” at the water heater.

termination point. Every time I walk by the water heater, I look in the pail to see if it has water in it. If it does, I call the plumber. If you ever suspect that a TPR valve has operated, call a licensed plumber immediately.

Jumper bonding (see Figure 9) typically is not present at the water heater, although it should be. The water heater and metal water pipes typically serve as part of the continuous grounding of the electrical system. The hot and cold water supply pipes above the water heater should be connected by a properly-sized wire to continue to provide such electrical grounding in the event the water heater must be removed. Replacement of a water heater should always be done by qualified professionals; they carry bonding jumpers with them in the normal course of their jobs.

I never change thermostat settings at the time of the inspection, even when they are set too high. If they are set to the lowest level or the highest level at the time of the inspection, I’ll note both of those conditions in your property inspection report. When set too low, I can’t properly determine if hot water is getting to the various areas of the home because the “hot” water quite often is room temperature. A thermostat set too high can indicate several problems: (1) a thermostat that is failing or (2) burners that are clogged, usually by rust, causing the occupants to keep turning the thermostat up to get more hot water; (3) an undersized or inefficient water heater for the number of people living in the home and the number of appliances that use hot water (dishwasher, or washer, spa bathtub); and (4) a thermostat knob that was removed and put back on wrong. Obviously, items 1 and 2 are more serious than items 3 and 4, but an undersized or inefficient water heater might need to be replaced for the number of people in your family. Setting the thermostat too high can also result in scalding burns at the water faucets, especially for the young and the elderly. Always keep the thermostat setting at the manufacturer’s recommended setting, typically indicated on the control knob. Simply turning the thermostat to a higher setting does not provide you with more hot water. If you have a need to set it higher, you probably need a larger or more efficient water heater. Water heaters constantly operating at higher temperatures than suggested by manufacturer can be expected to have a shorter life span, and excessively hot water can cause personal injury and death from scalding and burns, particularly for elderly and children. Lower temperatures will also help conserve energy and save money by lowering utility costs. If hot water production is not satisfactory, consult with a qualified plumbing professional.

Electric circuit breakers are not turned on or off for any reason, nor do I operate any shutoff valves (click here for helpful information about why I don’t do those things). Because valves rarely get used, they often become corroded or frozen in the open position. When you go to use them, either in an emergency or to service the water heater, they might be unusable, or even break. I recommend having the shutoff valves tested annually. If the water heater in your home is more than 12 months old, and if the sellers cannot prove that the shutoff valves at the water heater have been tested within the past 12 months, I recommend having them tested before close of escrow. If you think my recommendation is inconvenient to some people, go back and watch the water heater explosion video again. That was a 12-gallon water heater under controlled conditions. Your home’s water heater is typically at least 30 gallons with about three times the explosiveness as that in the video.

Insulation blankets (see Figure 10 and Figure 11) sometimes are installed on the water heater, most of the time poorly. Modern water heaters do not need insulation blankets because they are double walled storage tanks with insulation between the inner wall and the outer wall. Older water heaters sometimes can benefit from insulation blankets, but if you have one installed, make sure that all of the manufacturer safety and operating instructions on the tank are visible or are removed and applied to the installation blanket. Note that the two homeowner installed insulation blankets in Figure 10 and Figure 11 have not been installed properly. Generally, removing the instructions can’t be done because the manufacturer doesn’t want you to. There are pretty firmly attached. However, you can take a good picture of them, print the pictures out, and attached them to the insulation blanket. Just make sure the pictures are readable.

For many older water heaters, the insulation on the exhaust flue where it penetrates the wall or ceiling quite often is a material that contains asbestos (see Figure 12). Most experts agree that such materials can remain in place as long as you are aware of them and do not disturb them. However, in areas subject to high temperatures, such as the water heater and furnace flue, I recommend simply having the flue replaced with a modern flue. Why gamble with your health?

When the water heater is located in the garage, safety requirements dictate that the water heater should be located on a platform so that the heating elements, whether electric or gas, are at least eighteen inches above the floor of the garage. Rather than trying to determine where the heating elements are on any individual water heater, the common solution is to simply install a platform that is eighteen inches high and then locate the water heater on that platform. Doing otherwise can be particularly dangerous when the water heater has an open flame, as most of them do. Figure 13 shows a property belonged to a professional race car driver, and those three red containers and the three white containers are full of gasoline. A gasoline spill of any amount could result in an explosion in this garage. Remember, this was a professional race car driver who owned this property; they are supposed to be aware of safety at all times. Sadly, such was not the case here; he admitted that he knew nothing about his water heater and did not know that it was improperly installed or the safety implications because of the installation.

Figure 10. In insulation blanket installed on the water heater by the home owner.

Figure 11. An attempt at an insulation blanket by an energy-conscious home owner.

Figure 12. Possible asbestos insulation on the water heater exhaust flue.

If your water heater becomes noisy, it typically means that there has been an accumulation of sediment in the tank, usually from minerals in the water. A noisy water heater many times can be resolved by simply draining and refilling the water heater. Water heaters should not be drained to the storm sewers; rather, drain them to your public sewer system or use the water to water plants and vegetation around your home. Installing a water modification system will also help prevent future sediment accumulation in the tank.

Water heaters typically come with plastic drains, which typically fail upon first use; if a plastic drain is installed, be prepared to buy a metal drain at the time the water heater is first drained for maintenance. If you drain your water heater yourself, do not drain the water into your foundation crawl space, and make sure that the TPR drain pipe also does not terminate in the foundation crawl space. Moisture can cause damage to structural and mechanical components in the crawl space.

The recovery rate of a water heater indicates its efficiency. It is the number of gallons of water that can be heated to 100°F in one hour. If the manufacturer states the recovery rate, I’ll record that for you. If it is not stated, I have a set of formulas to determine what the recovery rate is. Actual recovery rates might be higher or lower that either that stated or calculated due to age, inaccuracy of the formulas as applied to individual water heaters, poor performance of the water heater due to the problems noted in the above paragraph, etc.

If you have any questions about anything, simply contact me.

                 Thank you for using The Upscale Home Inspections Service.

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