water heater

[J-L Belard]

I had to replace my old electric 50-gallon water heater which died Friday before Christmas. I was amazed at the weight of this thing. I thought it was made of simple tank with resistances and insulation. Could somebody tell me why it is so heavy. Is the tank itself made of steel? Thanks for your input and happy new year

J-Louis

[Oren]

Water?

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

[Speedy Jim]

Tank (inner tank) is fairly heavy steel shell because it has to withstand bursting pressures.

The thing may also have a significant weight in accumulated minerals.

Jim

[Steve Barker LT]

yes, it is steel, and it could very well be half full of calcium buildup also. I pulled a 5 gallon bucket of deposits out of the drain of mine once. It failed shortly later.

[J-L Belard]

Thanks Steve ans Speedy who understood I was talking about a drained tank. Made of steel and half full of minerals, it does make sense that the darn thing is heavy. Happy new year

[scott21230]

You are supposed to flush your water heater on a regular basis to prevent the buildup of this material.

[hallerb]

often like around here flushing accomplishes nothing but perhaps causing a leak. Regional variations in water often result in nothing coming out, except a drippy drain valve:(

[J-L Belard]

Thanks very much J-L