Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

3 Important Water Heater Components

Hot water is a vital part of your daily life. Without your hot water heater working for you, it would be difficult to cook, wash dishes, do laundry, or keep yourself clean. If you take good care of your heater with regular maintenance and prompt repairs, you should have few worries about losing your hot water supply.

At Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning, our technicians have worked on water heaters in Wellington, CO, for many years. Below are three key components they repair and replace. These components are part of a gas-powered storage water heater, the kind found most commonly in homes. There are also electric and tankless water heaters, which operate differently.

3 Key Parts of a Water Heater

  • Sacrificial anode rod: A water heater contains metal in contact with water…the perfect recipe for corrosion and rust. But why doesn’t a water heater rust under normal conditions? It’s because of the sacrificial anode rod inside bolted to the top of the tank which then extends down into it. The anode rod does the job of stopping corrosive action from entering the tank by “sacrificing” itself to the corrosion instead. The anode rod must eventually be replaced when it corrodes completely, or else corrosion will begin to enter the tank. With regular maintenance for your water heater, the anode rod will get replaced in time.
  • Dip tube: This is where cold water enters the tank of a water heater and moves to where it will be heated from the gas burners. Because hot water rises, the cold water drops down the dip tube toward the lower part of the tank, over the burners.
  • Exhaust flue: The exhaust flue both removes the combustion gases from the burner unit, and helps to transfer heat from the gases to the water. The flue runs up through the center of the tank and then out the top where the gases are safely vented. It is crucial that the flue vents properly and isn’t blocked. Water heaters need professional care.

If you discover you’re losing hot water, you need to have a professional look at the water heater to find out what is wrong. You can’t do heating system repairs yourself, especially with a gas-powered unit, unless you have the proper training and tools.

You should also entrust the maintenance of your water heater to an expert. A yearly visit from a technician will make sure that all the components of your heater are working correctly, the exhaust is venting safely, and no corrosion has entered the tank because of a rusted anode rod. If there are any repairs needs, the technician will find them and you will be able to schedule repairs before your hot water supply is harmed.

Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning has served Northern Colorado since 1934. Call us today and schedule a service appointment for your next heating service in Wellington, CO, and trust us to take care of all the parts of your water heater.

Twitter

Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

Search

Archive

Archive

Categories

Categories

Tags