Common Water Heater Terminology
It doesn’t hurt to be well prepared when entering an unchartered zone and familiarizing yourself with common water heater terminology. Do just that when you start off on your quest for buying a water heater for the very first time. It sounds serious, but it is not that difficult.
So you must be thinking why learning water heater terminology is important when you are not going to service it yourself? Well, over the years, I have learned that even if you are not going to fix or install a gadget yourself, you should still equip yourself with a bit of first-hand knowledge about the product.
The Advantages of Understanding Water Heater Terminology
Below are a few advantages of familiarizing with water heater terminology.
First off, let me tell you that the service providers will take you and your task much more seriously if they get a feeling that you know something about the water heater yourself, even if you don’t. You can give this impression by using the correct water heater terminology when discussing how to get it fixed or installed.
Secondly, when buying a water heater for yourself, you will notice that the shop keepers or marketing experts will use a lot of water heater terminology when they are trying to sell a product to you. You won’t be able to decide on which one to buy if you don’t know what they are talking about in the first place.
Thirdly, knowing a bit of this terminology will actually teach you a thing or two about how the product actually works. So when in the future you face a bit of a problem and it is not too big, you can handle it all by yourself.
Common Water Heater Terminology Terms:
Having discussed the importance of knowing the authentic terminology, let’s get right down to some of the common terms used in this business.
- Gallon Capacity: This term refers to how much water in gallons can be stored in the water heater. It is important to determine how much water is required in the first hour of peak demand, as in winter mornings. Usually this capacity ranges from 30-100 gallons for gas water heaters and 2-119 gallons for electric water heaters.
- Thermostat: The thermostat is the main component of the water heater. It regulates and controls the water temperature. Usually there are three settings – low, medium and high. If the temperature of the water inside drops below the setting that you have chosen then the thermostat will automatically increase the flame of the burner until the desired temperature of water is achieved.
- T&P Valve: Also known as the temperature and pressure relief valve, this part also has great importance and you must see to it that it is installed in your water heater. In case of accumulated high pressure due to overheating, the T&P valve automatically releases some hot water to stabilize the pressure and to prevent a potentially risky condition.
- Gas Burner and Pilot Flame: A pilot flame is a constantly burning little flame which is used to ignite the gas flow in the gas heater to achieve a full flame in the gas burner. Therefore the gas burner is a round disk, just as the stove burner, which is placed right under the water tank.
- Gas Flue Tube: This component is only found in gas heaters. It is a cylindrical tube like a chimney which runs through the center of the water tank. Its purpose is to release the harmful combustion gases into the outdoors. This is the reason why a gas water heater needs to be installed only in a well-ventilated area.
- Input: Knowing the input of the water heater is important as this is going to determine how much of your budget is going to go in billing. So the input is the amount of electricity or gas that is going to be used per hour to heat up the water present in the tank. The input would differ for both gas and electric heaters.
- Limited Warranty: Like any other gadget, a new water heater also comes with warranty. A limited warranty refers to the number of years, during which the manufacturer is responsible for replacing components or providing services.
This is the basic water heater terminology that one should definitely be familiar with when planning to get a water heater installed or fixed.
