Gas Water Heater

These days American consumers have become clever when it comes to shopping and purchasing household items. Before, shoppers will just go for the brand name with its prestige or would just grab a hold of that nicely colored product or if it looks like a gadget from a distant future that would be it. Wise consumers have evolved. Nowadays they study and learn the product first. Knowing its internal mechanism and potential setbacks will surely help a 21st century shopper especially when purchasing a good gas water heater.

Gas water heaters are a huge favorite in places where gas is a cheap and common commodity. There are basically two types of these gas water heaters – the on demand gas water heater and the conventional gas water heater.

The conventional gas water heater uses the traditional approach in water heating. It comes with a storage water tank where it keeps the water hot. It sources its water from the outside water supply which is intolerably low in temperature. A gas burner situated below is ignited and will then heat the water to a desired and acceptable temperature. This is distributed to a series of pipes that end in faucets in bath rooms and kitchen sinks. One of the most important gas water heater parts is the thermostat. It keeps a uniform water temperature in the tank and is essential for constant water heating. When the temperature of the outside water source is relatively high adjustments have to be made in the amount of heat applied to the water. This and other complex tasks on variations of temperature make the thermostat a crucial component of the gas water heater.

In all brand names of gas water heaters common parts of the storage tank are found such as the gas shutoff valve, the gas supply line, temperature pressure relief valve, cold water shutoff valve, overflow pipe, gas burner control, tanks insulation, dip tube, drain valve and the gas burner.

The counter part of the traditional gas fired water heating system is the on demand gas water heater. This product has received high scores in gas water heater ratings. Its primary edge is its relatively low energy consumption. This is made possible because the on demand gas water heater does not have storage water tanks. The problem with tank-type gas water heaters is that it eats up gas even during standby time. This is so because the water inside the tank needs to be constantly heated. On the contrary, the tankless water heater type use coil heaters. When the user opens the faucet, water passes through a special pipe that is then applied with heat through the gas fueled coil heaters. Once the faucet is closed, water flow is cut and coil heaters automatically turn off. The on demand gas water heater will use gas only when there is a need of hot water. Making it the more cost and energy efficient of the two types of gas water heaters.

The on demand gas water heater however has its share of setbacks. On demand gas water heaters are more costly to install mainly because of the piping requirements it needs to provide adequate hot water all throughout the house. All the more both tankless and tank-type gas water heaters can be potentially dangerous as leaks in gas pipes can cause accidental fire. The gas water heaters are also comparatively slow in producing hot water than the electric water heater. And hot water supply is also subject to interruption when sudden and unchecked gas supply runs out.

Gas water heaters whether tankless or tank-type will remain to be a staple in some American households. While its gas fuel tends to get a notion of accidental risks, fire statistics however show more significant involvement of electric appliances especially the electric water heaters. Even so, proper care and regular maintenance should be carried out to make sure that your gas water heaters will work well in the next 10 years.