Water Heater Expansion Tank Required

These restrictions are meant to reduce the risk of co poisoning.

Water heater expansion tank required.

Where requirements for expansion tanks show up in local codes they ve been added in. Proper venting gas and propane heaters emit carbon monoxide which must be vented outside. One 50 gallon water heater for instance can be served by a 2 gallon expansion tank. New or larger expansion tanks may be needed due to pressure reducing valves check valves and backflow preventers added to the community s water system.

What size expansion tank do i need. This ultimately protects it from damage. A water pressure gauge sizing expansion tanks for water heaters can be a complex engineering challenge but residential expansion tank sizing has been simplified through the use of calculators. Your water heater tank isn t designed to expand and contract to accommodate for thermal expansion and will eventually burst.

Location in the case of gas or propane heaters the location for your heater may be restricted. The excess water volume instead of causing too much pressure on the plumbing rushes into the expansion tank and lowers the pressure in the water heater to safer levels. Expansion tanks are required if your system fails a water pressure psi test. Some may tell you that an expansion tank is required at every water heater but that isn t in the irc.

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. As water heats inside the water heater and exceeds the capacity of the tank the overflow rushes into the expansion tank. An expansion tank can help your water heater last longer and it may even be required in some circumstances. What is required is a means for controlling increased pressure caused by thermal expansion where required and that s only necessary under certain conditions.

You can usually get an expansion tank for under 50. That s where an expansion tank comes into play. If you have a closed system then you ll likely be required to install an expansion tank. The expansion tank serves as a backup system to prevent overworking your plumbing.

If you have more than one heater on the same or connected system you can either have an expansion tank for each heater or a single larger expansion tank. If the house has a closed plumbing supply meaning there is a check valve or backflow preventer that prohibits the release of water pressure building back into the water main. Water expands as it heats up and without an expansion tank attached to the water heater a closed plumbing system can experience damage from this thermal expansion.