Tired of taking a cold shower because your current water heater can’t keep up?
Wake up to a flooded garage when your aging water heater started leaking?
Crossing your fingers that your 20 year-old water heater will ‘hang in there’ a few more months?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you’re in the market for a new water heater. We’re going to explain how a storage-style water heater works and why Midway Heating chooses to install Reliance water heaters.
Please note we are talking about conventional storage-style water heaters, not tankless models.
How a water heater works
Electric and natural gas water heaters work basically the same. Electric models have 2 heating elements to heat water while gas models have a gas burner at the bottom with a vent pipe that runs through the middle of the tank.
Parts of a Reliance water heater
- Glass lined steel tank for storing hot water (most hold 40 to 60 gallons)
- Environmentally friendly non-CFC foam insulation surrounding tank to keep water hot
- Dip tube allows cold water into the tank
- Piezo ignitor allows for easy 1-hand pilot ignition without matches
- Electronic gas control valve provides precise temperature control & operational status
- Heating element or gas burner (depending on if it’s electric or natural gas)
- Drain valve so tank can be emptied for moving or servicing
- Temperature and pressure (T & P) relief valve
- Anode rod(s) to help keep tank from corroding
If you’re wondering what a new water heater will cost you to run, most have an “Annual cost of operation” listed in their specs.
You should remember the amount listed is an estimate and the exact cost will depend on how much hot water your family uses in a year. More hot water means more money.
Reliance delivers a better value
Midway installs Reliance water heaters because their self-cleaning tanks last longer and save you money. To help you understand why a self-cleaning tank is so important, here’s what happens when you don’t have a self-cleaning tank.
Over time, lime and other sediments create a rock-hard layer in the bottom of the tank and builds up on the electrical components. This ‘crud’ corrodes the lining of the tank as well as the seals so it starts to rust and eventually will leak.
The buildup makes the inside of the tank smaller so it holds less hot water. Sediment coating the electric heating elements interfere with the heat transfer so it has to work harder and longer to heat water, which cost you money. The more buildup, the longer and harder it has to work so it becomes less and less efficient over time.
Self-cleaning tank = higher efficiency
Reliance has an automatic self-cleaning turbulence feature that keeps sediment moving (in the tank) so it doesn’t build up and cause the problems we just described. No buildup on the heating elements keeps your water heater working at peak efficiency and sediment doesn’t take up space in your tank so a 50 gallon tank actually holds 50 gallons of hot water.
Midway offers free estimates on installs so contact us to schedule your appointment to discuss which Reliance water heater is best for your Portland home.
