Water heater dip tube length?

[Mariner]

Hi,

Spent quite a bit of time trying to get a new dip tube today and everything I saw was just 26" long or so. I have a 175 litre or 45 imperial gallon water heater and would like to replace the dip tube - I am going to do the drain valve and TP valve as well. I think I might make one out of copper pipe and just flare one end to stop it falling into the heater. How far from the bottom of the heater should a dip tube be - say 6 "or 8". Anybody have a figure in mind?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

mariner

 

[Plumber1]

That will work......6 to 8 ".

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Gary Swart]

Before you make your own, go to a "real" plumbing shop. I recently replaced my dip tube and it was definitely longer than 26". In fact, I had to cut about 6" off to fit my standard size tank.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

dip tube

they say its is best in a gas heater to make it
about 3/4 ways down the tank....

but not too close to the thermostat to give it false readings

the cold water natrually sinks to the bottom of the tank
and spreads out evenly

 

[Mariner]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Yes I did go to Plumbing Wholesalers who sell to the public too - at different prices of course.
The town where I live is around 85,000 population so there aren't too many places to shop. Went to two "real plumbing places"and two big box stores. One wholesaler had 1 only 26"tube, the other had none. Of the two big box store one had all 26"and the other had non!

I am 40 miles from town and driving one round trip cost me $25. So I figured I have both copper pipe and copper tube - why not make my own. I will give it a try and let you guys know how it turned out.

I posted a couple of weeks ago regarding anodes. Contacted the maker (State Water Heaters out of Tennesse I believe) and they informed me that there was no anode in the heater I have - go figure. It is around 12 years old (best I can come up with) and looks ok except TP leaks a very little over time for replacement. Checked the elements and both ohmed out at 16 ohms and are working ok.

Anyways, enough gas from this windbag - thanks for your help and it is much appreciated.

mariner

 

[Verdeboy]

I live in a small town and end up buying quite a lot of stuff on the internet. I'm sure you can find your dip tube size there.

 

[Cass]

Hi,

Spent quite a bit of time trying to get a new dip tube today and everything I saw was just 26" long or so. I have a 175 litre or 45 imperial gallon water heater and would like to replace the dip tube - I am going to do the drain valve and TP valve as well. I think I might make one out of copper pipe and just flare one end to stop it falling into the heater. How far from the bottom of the heater should a dip tube be - say 6 "or 8". Anybody have a figure in mind?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

mariner

Why do you want to replace the dip tube? You gave no reason.

 

[hj]

tube

When you make the copper tube dip tube, drill a hole or cut a slot about 3" below the top of the tank, (the top of the tank inside, not the end of the dip tube), to prevent siphonage when the water is turned off to the system. The State tanks without an anode were Duron lined with a plastic liner so water was "never" supposed to contact the metal tank. UNFORTUNATELY the idea was better in theory than it was in practice and the early ones had elements that blew out when the water attacked the mounting port and dissolved the threads. They also had problems with uneven distribution of the plastic liner which left areas of the steel tank exposed to the water. Without the anode rod ANY exposed metal was subject to erosion, so the final versions used a special sized element and it had an anode block on it that helped for a period of time. That element, called 1 3/8" one does not fit any other tank, nor will a standard element fit the tank.

 

[Mariner]

When you make the copper tube dip tube, drill a hole or cut a slot about 3" below the top of the tank, (the top of the tank inside, not the end of the dip tube), to prevent siphonage when the water is turned off to the system. The State tanks without an anode were Duron lined with a plastic liner so water was "never" supposed to contact the metal tank. UNFORTUNATELY the idea was better in theory than it was in practice and the early ones had elements that blew out when the water attacked the mounting port and dissolved the threads. They also had problems with uneven distribution of the plastic liner which left areas of the steel tank exposed to the water. Without the anode rod ANY exposed metal was subject to erosion, so the final versions used a special sized element and it had an anode block on it that helped for a period of time. That element, called 1 3/8" one does not fit any other tank, nor will a standard element fit the tank.

Thanks HJ,

That is exactly what I have - wasn't sure about the tank lining though. I did manage to find out that the elements were an odd size so I just hope I can get a bit more mileage out of the thing.

I want to replace the dip tube as I seem to run out of hot water fairly quickly and I am certain the elements are both good. I have to replace the TP and want to replace the drain valve too, so this will be the time to do the dip tube as well.

Thanks to all for replying - I have a much better idea of what I am dealing with now.

mariner

 

[Salesdog]

Thanks HJ,

That is exactly what I have - wasn't sure about the tank lining though. I did manage to find out that the elements were an odd size so I just hope I can get a bit more mileage out of the thing.

I want to replace the dip tube as I seem to run out of hot water fairly quickly and I am certain the elements are both good. I have to replace the TP and want to replace the drain valve too, so this will be the time to do the dip tube as well.

Thanks to all for replying - I have a much better idea of what I am dealing with now.

mariner

How are you certain the elements are still good?
Did you test for an amperage reading?

To test the elements you need to test for amps, an ohm reading is not accurate since you can still recieve an ohm reading from a dead element.
However if you call for heat and you register an amp reading you know the element is drawing power and working normally.


You say you run out of hot water rather quickly?
What are the exact symptoms of the HWT?

For instance.
#1 If you run out of hot water quickly most likely your bottom element is not working, In this scenario only the top element is working, thus you have the top half of your tank with hot water to use. the hot water will recover at fairly average times but runs out very fast.

#2 If you have a full tank of hot water but it takes a very long time to recover. You're top element is not working, which puts all the work on the bottom element and slows the recovery time.

#3 If you get flashes of cold water then your dip tube is broken and needs to be replaced, the cold water travels from the inlet to outlet.

There are other things which could go wrong for instance the thermostat or the breaker to the HWT itself, if the breaker is not functioning properly it only allows half voltage through, so the HWT functions at 110/120 volts. The HWT will work at this voltage but have incredibly slow recovery times.

Just thought id mention this, because in your last post you state you are running out of hot water fairly quickly And in most situations the dip tube breaks at the top. causing sympton 3

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

State Duron Tanks

the last fellow is most likely right...

it might be the dip tube ,

but most likely its the off sized duron elements

that state used on their crummey heaters...

That off sized element design most likely put State out of

business and sold to A>O. Smith


I have avoided State and sears electric heaters becasue
of how difficult it is to find those elements.

 

[notaplumber2]

OK - my water heater wasn't putting out much hot water. I pulled the dip tube which was pretty much disintegrated. I replaced it with a universal tube. Now I've got tons of hot water. However, now the overflow is kicking out about a gallon or two of water every day. Did I leave the tube too long? Its almost to the bottom of the tank. Again hot water is plentiful and working fine. The latest problem is the tank is overflowing daily. Thoughts welcome

 

[Jadnashua]

By overflow, I'm guessing you mean the T&P valve (the thing with a lever on it). That is a safety device designed to release if the temperature gets too high or the pressure gets too high. They do wear out, and if you don't manually check them periodically, then open them, they can stick and not seal well. If you turned the temp way up, you may want to turn it back down some. Then, I'd buy a pressure gauge (about $10), and leave it on overnight to check the pressure (get one with a tattle-tale hand that shows peak pressure). If it goes above 150#, then the valve is doing what it is supposed to. If not, I'd replace the valve. If it does get above 150#, then you likely need either an expansion tank (if you have one, it may be shot), or a pressure-relief valve and an expansion tank.

 

[hj]

If you replaced the T&P valve and it is now leaking, that may indicate that the old one was inoperative and SHOULD have leaked. There are several possible reasons, but the length of the dip tube is not one of them.