Mythbusters Blows Up Water Heater

To be absolutely correct , you need to say LIQUIDS, not FLUIDS, because air IS a fluid, and compressed just fine, thank you!!

But compared to gases they don't compress.

Not enough to make any difference in the experiment in the video. Unless there was somewhere to "push" the water. The hole would be essentially plugged. The plug could blow.

Hey...it's "about" the only thing I remember from my water management class back in the early 70s.

The only problem with your "flash to steam" idea is with a fairly small leak the flash is self regulating. The pressure will drop slowly (in a 200 PSI sense) When this blows the bottom out of the tank there is no regulation and it really goes.

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

OK, be that way Ms. Fluid Dynamics :-)

Come to think of it, Dr. Marcus did say that back in the 70's I recall now. Silly me.

Gee, I have a Porter Cable fluid compressor.

Ms????????? Clare as in CLARENCE

Let me put on my reading glasses....Ah!

I "now" realize that was basically what you said.

Just a useless tidbit

PVC or ABS is standard equipment on virtually all water heaters sold in Canada. You CAN change it to copper. What is more surprising is how many are installed with NO discharge piping attached to the safety blowoff valve - - - .

Does this mean TSA will be searching us all for water heaters before we board the plane?

Makes me glad I replaced that safety valve. It was very corroded when I accidentally noticed it.

Seems strange that hot water heaters aren't designed to rupture in some less destructive manner. To have the bottom blow out so that the thing flies into the air like a rocket seems like a terrible design.

That's why we use thermostats and T&P valves. Not to mention, if the pressure in a home water system ever came anywhere near 300+ psi, something elsewould let go first. Like those plastic toilet valves, or the washer hoses.