All About Water Heaters

Overall a water heater is a pretty simple unit—it consists of some kind of tank to hold the water and a means of heating it. It's all a pretty simple affair with a thermostat on the top of the tank that keeps the water at a certain temperature. At the bottom of the tank is a spigot for draining off water or any scale buildup.

Still, like everything, else there is a variety to choose from. For safety reasons a hot water tank should also be equipped with a safety pressure release valve. Water heaters are commonly fueled by natural gas, electricity or oil.

You’ll be able to identify a natural gas water heater by the flue running around it. You can always see gas flame that is burning below the tank to heat the water. This heater works by the pilot light igniting the burner and the water being heated to the desired temperature.

Of course electric hot water heaters work on a different principle. In this kind of unit, the tank is heated by an insulated heating element immersed in water. The difference here is that many electric units have two thermostats directing two elements in the tank. To operate properly as well, an electric hot water heater should be hooked up to a 240 volt electrical service—one that only gives off 120 volts will not do. Of course homeowners should give careful consideration before buying an electric hot water heater since electric costs have been on the rise for several years now.

There are a number of things that you should be on the lookout for when selecting a hot water heater. Usually the best ones have a glass lining to prevent the water from corroding the sides of the tanks. However, this may be an option that you don't need depending on the kind of water that you use so it's always best to check with the dealer before buying any tank. Another one of the factors that you want to consider is the dealer’s and manufacturer’s warranty and/or promise to stand behind the tank.

A 10-year guarantee is the usual criterion for a good hot water tank. Although some electric and gas heaters are modeled to sit under tight spaces like countertops, most of the hot water tanks that you’ll see will be installed near the boiler or on the first floor of your house. The sizes that you can get in hot water tanks also varies. It’s not uncommon to see them ranging from 10 to 80 gallon capacities. Still, the experts suggest that the best requirement for one of these hot water tanks is the ability to deliver hot water to a faucet that has been left open on full. In a technical sense this is called the recovery rate.

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