How to Examine a Water Heater

Any buyer will want to know if the equipment in a house is working. As an investor who may be renting the home, you will need to have a working water heater according to Texas law. When you are looking at a property to purchase, the water and power may have been turned off, so how do you tell if a water heater will suffice?

Most water heaters are tank models, and you will not be able to determine function until it is functioning, but there are some clues for you to consider. How many times a year do you flush out your own tank water heater? The water that we have in this area contains minerals which will build up in the tank, which affects its performance. The sediment builds up at the base making it harder to heat the water. If the unit looks older, you probably have this build up. It does not mean that the unit will not function, but it could imply that the unit will not function well. If the unit is heated by gas, you will want to look at the burner chamber. This will be at the base of the unit, and there will generally be two covers that need to be removed. If the chamber looks very rusted, or if it looks damaged to you, you may have a performance issue. For electric units, you will not be able to see the heater elements, unless you remove them. There will be two covers for the controls for each element. One will be a third of the way up, and the other will be two thirds of the way up. Look to see if the wiring looks good at these controls, and look for any burn marks.

Next we can examine the tubing coming into the unit. For gas units, look to see that the tube is marked for gas use. Look for a shut-off valve for the gas. Check the condition of these parts. There will be two pipes for water: cold water in that should have a shut off valve on it; and a hot water pipe out. For these pipes, you will want to look at any location that has a joint. It is at these locations that you will see signs of water leaks. The last tube to examine will be from the TPR valve. TPR stands for temperature pressure relief valve. If the heater’s pressure builds to where it can explode, this valve will release the steam/hot water. It should have a CPVC tube attached to it, that exits the water to the exterior (close to the ground). This tube should not have any loops. It should allow the water to drain by gravity. One last pipe will not be on the unit itself. It will be on the pan under the water heater, and this tube should drain water to the exterior too. The pan is important when the heater is in the house proper or attic. You do not want water leaking from this unit damaging your property.

If the unit is in the home, it should be on a stand, at least eighteen inches high. If the unit is in the garage, the unit should also be on this stand, and it should be protected from being hit by the car pulling into the garage.

For gas units, there will be a duct that takes the fumes from the burner out of the house. Look to see that this vent is secured, and that it does take the fumes out.

These are the basic things to check, but you will never really know, until everything is turned on to know how it works.

Picture is a gas water heater with the duct and pipes on top, and the burner compartment.

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck TREC# 9073