How Do You Recharge A Boiler Expansion Tank Youtube

Tom Lohr is an avid habitation improvement enthusiast. He prefers to spend the money he saves on new tools and gardening supplies.

This is a typical expansion tank

Tom Lohr

How and Why to Forestall Over-Pressurization

Don't allow the pressure get to you—or your plumbing.

Excessive water pressure tin can stress plumbing and lead to expensive and damaging leaks. One would think that h2o pressure is abiding in your household plumbing system, merely it isn't. The pressure fluctuates and, to continue it abiding and prevent over-pressurization, yous need to have an expansion tank attached to your water supply plumbing.

The ideal abode water pressure is about sixty PSI. Unfortunately, many metropolis water systems far exceed the recommended maximum pressure of fourscore PSI. When I first checked my city-supplied system when I bought a vacant business firm, it was 125 PSI. That house had as well had a water leak in the bathroom that damaged the flooring and the ceiling below it. When I turned the water back on, one of the PEX fittings was spewing out water. It virtually likely succumbed to years of existence discipline to excessively high water pressure.

There isn't much you lot tin can practice about the water pressure level being supplied to you lot. Installing a pressure regulator is really the only solution. And if your force per unit area is high, y'all should absolutely install 1. A practiced ane (and get a good one) tin can be had for under $100. They are also easy to install, making it a great DIY project. To test your water pressure, get a inexpensive force per unit area gauge that you tin screw onto your garden hose spigots. Connect it, turn on the water, and read the pressure. You will probably be surprised.

If yous practise install a pressure regulator, that would be a skilful fourth dimension to install a force per unit area approximate in your water supply line as well—in line with your plumbing merely later the pressure regulator. It'southward also an like shooting fish in a barrel DIY project, only if you take PEX lines, information technology is super like shooting fish in a barrel. A decent PEX, push-to-connect pressure guage is cheap and volition proceed you upwardly to engagement on your organisation'southward water pressure.

But even after installing a pressure regulator, your water pressure tin can become exceedingly high and cause harm. This is because as water heats in your hot water tank, it expands. If it has nowhere to get, it places undue pressure level on your plumbing. This didn't utilise to be a trouble.

Not that long ago, your house's water was supplied from the city and turned on or off at your home by a valve. That valve was the only affair separating your household system from the city system. If the water in your system expanded, information technology simply expanded backwards into the city organisation and the pressure remained constant.

Someone got the wise thought that it was potentially unhealthy for your home's water to be backed upwardly into the city supply organisation. If your pipes were contaminated, information technology might go into the city organization and contaminate others. The odds of this happening were probably trillions to one, but yet, some clever soul decided this should be prevented.

After this decision, homes were supposed to install a backflow preventer, which is a small check valve that only allows water to flow in one direction. They are inexpensive and piece of cake to install, and yous should accept ane to adhere to plumbing code. The problem is, these backflow preventers too prevent the excess pressure in your system from existence relieved by expanding into the city system. The solution: add an expansion tank.

East to install, PEX button to connect water force per unit area gauge.

Tom Lohr

Expansion Tanks Demystified

You have probably seen an expansion tank on plumbing somewhere. It's a uncomplicated, pocket-sized tank that is usually merely above the h2o heater and is continued to the principal system via a branch line. If yous don't take one, y'all demand 1. You can install it hands, and spend effectually $70 for everything.

If you lot have a shower and use x gallons of hot water in a typical 40-gallon hot water heater tank, you demand to replace 25% of the heater'due south chapters. It flows in from the cold h2o supply on pinnacle of the tank automatically, then your h2o heater heats it upwards to the desired temperature. The problem arises from the cold water existence heated.

The volume of ten gallons of cold water being supplied to your hot water heater expands when it gets heated to the temperature gear up on your water heater. Thanks to the backflow preventer, that actress volume has nowhere to go and greatly increases the pressure on your plumbing. That pressure can lead to leaks.

An expansion tank is a pocket-size tank that is internally separated into 2 chambers. The ii chambers are separated past a condom wall. One side of the expansion tank is connected to the cold h2o supply to your h2o heater. The other side is a chamber of air that is pressurized to the aforementioned level equally your dwelling h2o organization pressure.

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A small valve, like that on a cycle tire, is on the cease of the tank to allow you to pump upward that chamber to the exact pressure in your system. Well-nigh of them come pre-pressurized at 50 PSI. When the common cold water that is being heated by your water heater expands, the increased volume from the heating flows into the expansion tank via a branch line.

The excess force per unit area pushes against the rubber wall. Once your household force per unit area exceeds the pressure of the air bedchamber side of the expansion tank, the water pressure level on the other side flexes the rubber wall, giving your system actress room. The excess pressure at present has someplace to become and your home's water pressure level remains constant.

Installing an expansion tank is well worth your time and money for the peace of mind it provides.

Step ane: Make a Programme

At this point, you will take a plan as to how you are going to run a branch line off of your hot water tank common cold h2o supply to the expansion tank. Sketch out a diagram and obtain the right fittings you lot will need to run a line from the expansion tank to a tee-plumbing equipment that yous will be inserting in your cold water supply line. Y'all might only need a tee-fitting and a plumbing equipment for the end of the tank if y'all are lucky. Commonly, at that place are one or more elbow fittings involved. Less is more than.

Trust me, this set-up makes sense.

Tom Lohr

Step ii: Choose Your Spot

If you have PEX lines in your home, this project will exist much simpler. If you lot have copper lines, it's a niggling more complicated just still very doable. You will showtime need to decide where you lot are going to mount your expansion tank. It should be mounted as shut to the water heater every bit possible, and above it by at least eighteen inches. You might have seen some connected to a copper pipe sticking straight up in the air. This works but isn't recommended. If that copper pipe ever snaps, your basement becomes a swimming puddle. Save yourself the hassle, and get a universal expansion tank mountain. They fit every tank and will go on yours secure.

Footstep 3: Acquire the Necessary Hardware

In addition to a tank and tank subclass, y'all volition demand a fitting that connects your tank to the size water lines in your home, some teflon tape to make a good connection, and at least a few fittings. I volition detail using PEX push to connect fittings. If you accept copper you lot can do 1 of 2 things: get all copper fittings and larn to affix them on (not a difficult skill to acquire), or y'all tin can yet buy PEX push to fit fittings since they will as well connect to copper pipes as well as PEX. You will have to cut a small section out of your copper pipe common cold water supply to insert a PEX tee-plumbing equipment, but that is also an easy job. If you accept galvanized steel pipes, replace them; seriously.

Pace 4: Gear up Tank and Mount Bracket

Make the task easier by first attaching the connexion plumbing equipment to the cease of the tank, using Teflon tape on the threads. The plumbing equipment yous need is ¾ female on the side that connects to your tank, and your size PEX or copper pipe on the other; unremarkably ½ inch.

Mount the expansion tank bracket. You have to mount it before you can attach the tank.

Tip: Brand sure that the air valve on the opposite end of the h2o connection is accessible and has enough room to attach a bicycle pump. If you lot ever need to alter the pressure level, you lot volition need to admission this. If your water pressure is higher or lower than fifty PSI, pump upwards the tank or release force per unit area to lucifer your system's pressure level. Become the two pressures as close as possible. Check the pressure and conform information technology before mounting the tank.

Observe how the expansion tank is secured to the joists? It works, but a defended bracket is neater and does a meliorate job.

Tom Lohr

Step 5: Plough Off the Water Supply and Mount the Tank

Plough off the water to your house. Open the lower most faucets to drain the force per unit area and h2o out of the water lines. Turn off your hot water heater. Mount the expansion tank to the tank bracket.

Pace vi: Add a Tee-Fitting

Place or agree a towel directly below where yous volition exist inserting a tee-fitting into your hot h2o tank's cold water supply line. There will be some rest h2o in the lines that will leak out. Cut the supply line at the indicate that you intend to insert the tee-plumbing fixtures. Use the tee-plumbing equipment to guess how much you will demand to cut out of the line to fit the tee. It won't be much. Depending on y'all how your PEX is run, you may be able to bend it plenty and so you volition not have to cut out a section at all, simply a cutting in the line.

Insert the tee-plumbing fixtures. Note which manner that the line between the tee-fitting and the expansion tank volition run. You want to insert the tee-fitting so that the connection to your tank will be facing in that management. Push, crimp or the two other connections on the tee-fitting.

Tee-fitting connection to tank. An elbow fitting was require to complete the connection.

Tom Lohr

Stride 7: Connect Tank to Tee

Cut a slice of PEX to run between the expansion tank and the tee-plumbing fixtures that you inserted in the hot water tank common cold water supply line. If yous have other fittings between the two, you will need to cut pieces of PEX to connect those every bit well.

Step 8: Do a Quality-Control Test

One time all of your fittings are connected and you have a complete line running between the tank and the cold water supply, information technology's time to test for leaks. The faucets you opened to drain out pressure and water should notwithstanding be open. Slowly open the valve that connects your business firm to the city water supply. Every bit shortly equally a steady stream of water is coming out of the faucets, close them. Now check all of the fittings you lot installed for leaks. If whatever are leaking, plough off the water supply to your house, drain pressure level and h2o from the lines again using the aforementioned faucets and bank check your new plumbing equipment connections. The leaking one volition need more pushing to get a ameliorate connection, or crimping if you lot use that type of PEX fitting, or brazing for copper. When you think you have fixed the connection, repeat the plow-on procedure.

Footstep 9: Restart the Hot Water

Restart your hot water tank.

Pressure Matters

This is an like shooting fish in a barrel DIY project. Your biggest challenge will be mounting the bracket and tank. In that location never seems to be enough room to make it piece of cake. If you accept, or were smart enough to install a force per unit area gauge besides, check the pressure to ensure it matches what you put in the expansion tank.

Expansion tanks never become the beloved they deserve. That fluctuating pressure in your h2o lines will work to loosen fittings and eventually, you will have a leak. Yous don't want to take to supercede a wall or ceiling, and an expansion tank can help forbid that. If you lot don't take one, now you know what y'all can practise next weekend.

This article is authentic and true to the best of the author'south knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business organization, fiscal, legal, or technical matters.

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on January 11, 2021:

We now take a tankless hot h2o heater in our home. Your articles are filled with great ideas for those exercise-it-yourselfers.

Liz Westwood from UK on January 10, 2021:

This is a very helpful and well-written article. It has certainly fabricated me call up nearly checking water pressure. Up to now the only time I do this is when there is a trouble with the heating system.

Umesh Chandra Bhatt from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on January x, 2021:

Very nice. Well explained.

Source: https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/How-to-Install-an-Expansion-Tank-in-Your-Plumbing

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