Is An Expansion Tank Required For A Water Heater In California

Its purpose is to deal with thermal expansion of water as it heats up in the water heater.

Is an expansion tank required for a water heater in california. What is required is a means for controlling increased pressure caused by thermal expansion where required and that s only necessary under certain conditions. Some even lacked the knowledge of what a water heater expansion tank is and it is my goal today to tell you all about the two things i am going to talk about today. What type of water heater do you have. If you have a tankless water heater you don t have to worry about an expansion tank because you don t have a primary tank to begin with.

In a closed plumbing system a standard tank water heater can stress your plumbing pipes and fixtures through the normal thermal expansion that happens when water is heated. Signs that you need a water heater expansion tank. An expansion tank is installed on the water supply pipe to the water heater. Expansion tanks are required if your system fails a water pressure psi test.

Thermal expansion always occurs in water heaters. Most warranties for plumbing fixtures and water heaters become null and void when the products are subjected to excessive pressure. These restrictions are meant to reduce the risk of co poisoning. A sediment trap is required per cpc section 1212 9.

Some may tell you that an expansion tank is required at every water heater but that isn t in the irc. This can be a problem in any closed system where water is heated. A properly sized and installed expansion tank protects the water heater and other water system components from excessive water pressure within the range of the regulator setting and the relief valve setting. Now before we go in deeper though i would like to tell you about all the things needed in a water heater so that water heater can operate efficiently and without any hicks.

When replacing a storage tank water heater with a tankless water heater the gas line connected to the water heater and the pipe size of each section to the water heater shall be sized to meet the increased btu demand rating. Location in the case of gas or propane heaters the location for your heater may be restricted. This may seem like an easy question but it is also one that many people do not actively think about. If water pressure gets high enough it can damage valves in plumbing fixtures joints in supply pipes and even the water heater.

Manufacturer s recommendations shall be followed. Where requirements for expansion tanks show up in local codes they ve been added in. Expansion tanks aka thermal expansion tanks are essentially safety devices to help you minimize the risk of damage to your hot water tank they are an add on to your existing hot water heater and are often installed on the water supply pipe to the water heater normally this is on the wall next to or very close by your hot water tank.