Water heater dip tube -- that little hole

[larry moe 'n curly]

The plastic dip tube in my heater was made with a 1/8" hole a few inches from the top. What's the purpose of this hole, and what direction should it face?

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

You got me confussed here. I just can't picture a Dip Tube 1/8" Plastic , mounted on the side, and pointed in any direction. Can you explain to me what it being talked about ?

TURTLE

[Don Young]

[Joseph Meehan]

I seem to remember something about that. As I recall it makes no difference where it points.

[maradcliff]

And yet another useless piece of crap called a "water saver". In reality it dont save any water, just wastes your time. It takes 2 or

3 times as long to fill the bathtub, wash machine, kitchen sink, etc. Plumbers put in 1/2", 3/4" or larger pipes so some yahoo sitting in a government office finds a way to defeat all the work the plumber did to give you, the user some decent water pressure. It's about the same as these so called "water saver" toilets. Instead of using 5 gallons to flush, they use 2 1/2 gals. But you got to flush the goddamn things 3 times to get the shit to go down the hole, and half the time use a plunger. So instead of getting a decent flush, using 5 gallons, you got to fight with the damn toilet, and in the end you use 7 1/2 gallons to finally get the shit down the hole. Of course, the government dont see it that way. They only rate the amount of water needed PER FLUSH. So what if you have to flush it 3 times. Then there are these stupid little "water savers" in shower heads, basin faucet aerators, etc. So, you use less water per second, but you have to spend 3 or more times as long in the shower.

This is about the same as if you owe someone $100. Instead of paying the $100 today, you decide to pay $5 a month for 20 months. After 20 months, you have paid the full $100, but add to that the interest, postage stamps, envelopes, blank checks, and your time. Nothing is free. You CAN NOT save water and accomplish the same goal by reducing pressure and efficiency. You CAN save water by your own efforts. Thinks like not leaving the water run while you wash dishes, not flushing everytime you drop a nose tissue in the toilet, washing full loads of laundry instead of one item, etc. But you CAN NOT save water by reducing the flow.

When I see any of those water saving devices, which in most cases are nothing more than a plastic disk with a tiny hole, I remove them, drill them out, or do whatever it takes to eliminate them.

Take that dip tube and drill that 1/8" hole with a 1/2" or larger drill bit, or better yet, replace it entirely with a piece of real pipe. While you are doing this, be sure to call your congressman and cuss at the S.O.B.

PS. As far as toilets, they are not as easy to modify. I prefer finding a decent older toilet, and rebuilding it.

Mark

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

i sure never heard of that hole being there but now I don't install hot water tanks for a living.

TURTLE

[Harry K]

gallons,

reducing

You seem to be a bit confused in your rant although I do agree with most of it.

The hole being talked about is an "anti-siphon" hole per Don. It has nothing at all to do with the volume of water delivered when you open a fixture. It is also on the -inlet- pipe, not the outlet.

Harry K

[Joseph Meehan]

...

Could you have sent this to the wrong thread????

[Joseph Meehan]

I believe the OP was referring to a standard dip tube and was talking about a 1/8" hole in the side of the dip tube near the top of the dip tube.

I think Don explained the reason it is there.

[Bob Pietrangelo]

If you drill out the top of the dip tube, which is where that 1/8" hole is, wouldn't that just recycle cold water at the top of the tank, therefore giving you a colder shower, or at least less hot water.

Bob Pietrangelo [e-mail] [e-mail]

[Joseph Meehan]

I don't recall where I had heard of it myself. I have never replaced a dip tube myself. I did have one done for free after the big plastic dip tube recall. I did not even bother to watch the guy.

[Stormin Mormon]

I believe the two of you are talking about different devices.

[Stormin Mormon]

I think he jumped to a mistaken conclusion by skipping the OP's well worded post.

[Stormin Mormon]

I used to know the answer to that one. I installed a dip tube a couple months ago. It makes no differnce which direction.

[Stormin Mormon]

The AO Smith dip tube I installed last year had such a hole.

[larry moe 'n curly]

Thanks, Don. Now I don't have to worry if I installed the tube wrong or not. :) I originally thought the hole was for stirring up the water around the thermostat to prevent a hot spot next to it that would turn it off at too low a temperature.