Hot water systems have become very common nowadays; you would hardly find any of houses without them. They are available in different forms, based on your requirement you can choose the one. Well, merely having one of them in your house won’t solve the purpose, for them to operate efficiently in the long run, it becomes important that you must go for their proper servicing. It ensures the detection of any problem areas and its rectification along with regular upkeep so that it keeps on running efficiently in the long run.
Tips to Ensuring Efficient Functioning of the Hot Water System:
Adding a lot of insulation brings down the loss of heat by a close 45 percent and can help in saving at 9 percent off the costs related to water heating. The tank contains sediments. Flushing this from the tank improves the overall efficiency. Also, you should ensure that a viable rod called an anode should be hanging inside the tank. This will prevent the tanker from rusting on the inside. This shows that a rod that is used-up is far more economical when compared to replacing the existing heater with a new one. The following steps can be done yourself, however, it is advisable only to follow this if you are confident enough and know the details of maintaining the hot water system.
Some of the Additional Useful Tips That One Can Follow Are:
The Easing Lever
One of the ways is by working on the easing lever which can be spotted on top of the temperature-pressure relief valve. You must cautiously raise or lower this valve. You need to be careful here because the water from the drain is usually hot and hence care should be taken to stay clear from the drain’s point of discharge while working on the lever of the valve.
If the valve is fitted properly, it usually means that you should raise the lever very slowly. After that, the temperature is checked with the help of a thermometer. If the temperature is beyond 50 degrees Celsius, you should contact an expert to come and take a look at the hot water systems at your place.
Pipe Insulation
If you are planning to for insulation of the pipe, then you must have the 3/8-inch foam kind of pipe insulation that is very close to the diameter of the pipes. Then the foam should be moved over the cold and hot-water pipes as far as possible. This step is very important because it prevents condensation of the cold-water pipe during summer. Once the foam is passed over, the tape should be peeled and squeezed for the insulation to be closed. If the pipe is at 6 inches or lower away from the flue, it is best to cover the pipe with a 1-inch-thick pipe wrap made up of unfaced fiberglass.
Heater Insulation
The insulating blanket should be the first cut in order to make them fit properly around the pipes, the temperature control that is jutting from the tank, and the TPR value. The side of the tank should be wrapped, and the seals usually cut through the foil tape. The tops of the heater should never be covered. The electric heater should be capped with an insulation circulation that is oversized and the side of the tank should be secured.
Drain the tank and get rid of any sediments
Another way of maintaining the hot water system is by draining out all the water from the tank, dissolving the sediment and then opening the cold-water supply valve, do this till the time you see clean water coming from the hose. After this block the drain and refill the tank.
All these tips for maintaining hot water systems might look complicated and technical. However, if you understand them, they are very simple and can be easily implemented. As we have mentioned above, if you are not thorough with the cleaning process, you can go ahead and contact a professional for hot water system maintenance. They will ensure complete cleaning and maintenance of the hot water system.
