How Does My Water Heater Tank Work?

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Like an offensive lineman who you don’t notice until they committing that big offsides penalty in the 4th quarter, you usually will only notice your hot water tank on the rare occasion something goes wrong. Sometimes it's because you ran out of hot water for your shower or worst-case scenario it floods your basement cause it rusted out and started to leak. Water Heaters are one of the hardest working appliances in our home and also maybe the most under-appreciated as well. It is not easy to be on call to provide luxurious hot water 247. Do you know the back a century or so ago, you would have to heat water on top of a wood stove to take a hot bath and that that bathwater was usually shared by the entire household?

So let's start showing a little more appreciation for the appliance that provides us hot water at our beck and call and dig into how your Hot Water Tank actually works. NOTE: This article solely focuses on tank water heaters, Tankless Water Heaters will be discussed in another article soon.

How your Water Heater Tank Provides 24/7 Hot Water

Image a pot of water on your stovetop with a thermometer inserted into the water. You turn on the burner underneath the pot of water and naturally the pot of water starts to heat. Now image that thermometer has a signal wire connected to the burner control, and when it hits 120 degF it shuts off the burner. With the burner off the pot of water starts to cool until it reaches 110 degF and then the thermometer sends a new signal to the burner control to turn the burners back on to heat the water back up to 120 degF. This cycle continues endlessly, 24 hours a day so the pot always has water between 110-120 degF in it.

Figure 1 – Preset Dial Controls

The example above is how your water heater tank works to supply you with hot water on demand. Whenever the tank cools from not being used or from you using the hot water inside the tank, the burner turns on (or electric coils from and electric heater) to heat the water back up to the preset amount. The dial control attached to the gas valve at the bottom of the tank (see Figure 1) is how to change what hot water temperature your unit is maintaining. It is recommended that you set your tank to be no greater than 12o degF cause above that temperature, human skin can burn rather quickly.

You are probably thinking right now that this seems terribly inefficient to keep heating water when it's not being used, but this is the price we pay for convenience. There are other water heating appliances that have solved this problem called tankless heaters, but we will get to those in another article.

The Basic Anatomy of a Hot Water Tank

As you can see from Figure 2, Hot Water to service your plumbing fixtures exits the unit at the top. When the hot water is used, cold water from the city water supply (or a private well) comes into the tank to always keep the tank full. This will naturally drop the water temperature in the tank and usually cause the water heater burners at the bottom of the tank to kick back on. When the burners kick on, you can see that it is not only them that heat the water but the flue in the middle of the tank that vents the hot exhaust gas for natural gas burning water heaters. Note for an electric-powered water heater, the burners/flue are replaced by heating coils, just like an electric stove or in some new circumstances an electric heat pump.

Figure 2 – Components of a Hot Water Tank

One other question you may have is when the tank is running and cold water is introduced to the tank, what prevents the cold water from not getting sucked into the hot water line. First, the dip tube pushes the cold water to the bottom of the tank for this very reason, so it does not mix with the exiting hot water. It also does this as the burners and flue are the hottest at the bottom and it will provide the best heat transfer rate. The other thing that keeps the cold and hot water mixing is physics. Everyone has heard, hot air rises, well the same is true for water. As the water is heated below, hotter water will naturally rise to the top.

As you can see from Figure 2, there are many other safety devices and components in your hot water tank that we will discuss in another article, but next up we will talk about important performance parameters that you need to know about hot water tanks, especially when you go to buy a new unit.

Humidity and Your Attic or Crawlspace (Part 2)

In the first part of this series on humidity, we went through the basics of what humidity is and how it works. In this second part, I want to talk about humidity in unconditioned spaces of your home and how not correctly managing the humidity in those spaces can leads to mold growth.

Why Should I be concerned with Humidity in My Attic?

For the sake of keeping this article short, I will mostly talk about attic space humidity, but most of the points here will count towards crawlspaces and other unfinished areas as well. So why should you be concerned with the level of humidity in your attic?

If an attic is poorly ventilated, the temperature of that attic space can reach up to 150° Fahrenheit during a hot summer day. As you may remember from my last humidity post, the warmer air gets the more capacity it has to carry and also absorb water droplets. Let's say the attic space heats up to 110° at 40% relative humidity during a warm summer day., but overnight your attic cools to 70°. At that temperature, the new relative humidity would be over 100% (which is not possible), so the excess water will start to condense in the attic space.

Maybe a better visual for what is happening is imaging a semi-damp sponge being ringed out by compressing its volume. Now, a lot of the water may re-evaporate the next day, but it's not guaranteed as some hot days are followed by cooler and shadier days with rain. When a surface is damp for a semi-prolonged duration (a day or even less than that), mold will start to form, and that is not desired.

How do I control humidity in my attic space?

I will speak only for unfinished attics (or crawlspaces) because the best way to control the humidity of any space is to condition it (have HVAC running in the attic), but that can also run up your electrical bills and is not ideal for everyone. There are two critical parts to control humidity in unconditional spaces to ensure excessive humidity does not create water and mold issues, ventilation and insulation:

Ventilation

The primary purpose of ventilation in unconditioned spaces is to replace the hot, humid air in the attic with cooler, less humid air. I think most of us learned in junior high school science that hot air rises. This is an essential concept for designing properly ventilated attic spaces. We want to utilize what is called the stack effect to ventilate properly, which means hot air rises and is vented out the top, but will subsequently pull cooler air from the bottom of the attic space.

The best way this is achieved is by having a ridge vent at the top of the attic space and soffit vents at the lower sides of the attic. You can also use an attic fan to blow the hot air out the top mechanically, but still, need to have soffit vents to pull air from down below. The one issue I see with attic fans is they tend to breakdown over time, and most people don't tend to check if they are running or not, so it defeats the purpose of having them.

Insulation

One topic we have not talked about yet is localized humidity. While you can have an attic space that reads 110° at 40% humidity, other areas might have more localized temperatures and humidities. An excellent example of this is an un-insulated HVAC duct in the attic. The duct temperature may be 65° and cause the air around it to drop in temperature. The other issue with this is the drop in air temperature can cause the local humidity to reach saturation and for condensation to start occurring.

Another potential area where lack of insulation is a concern is your attic floor, which is the boundary between your conditioned home and the attic. If you do not have insulation in the attic space and are running your HVAC, the inside of the attic floor can locally have temperatures 30° to 50° less than the attic temperature. Having the appropriate levels of insulation per ASHRAE standards is not only important for keeping your home comfortable, but also your attic space dry.

How to Protect Your Back When Doing Work on Your Home

By Ross Morgan

Back pain affects about 80% of people in their lives (1), and the unlucky 8% will live with chronic back pain (2). A friend of mine recently moved an outside 2-wheeled Grill from the backyard to his garage. He said that it felt light, but he has suffered from Thoracic vertebrae (middle back) pain for several weeks following the incident and had to seek treatment.

This doesn’t have to be your fate. There are a few steps you can take to reduce your chances of back pain and improve your quality of life. In this article, I will outline these steps and use a couple of real-world examples to bring them to life.

Four Steps for safely performing work around the home

1) Exercise routinely with a focus on core resistance exercises to keep your muscles strong and flexible. Some examples of core exercises I recommend are Planks, Side Planks, Bird Dogs, and Dead bugs.

2) Evaluate each situation carefully before starting work.

· Is there a clear path?

· Determine the weight, size, shape, and position of the object.

· Can you do it alone or need mechanical aid?

· Choose your route. Do you need to clear a path?

· Warm up before your body before lifting.

3) “Brace“ your body properly. This includes lowering your shoulder blades and tightening your lower back. This is achieved through redistribution and redirection. Here is a great link to visualize this technique. https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/how-to-brace-and-breathe-properly-for-weightlifting”(3)

4) Lift like an Olympic Weightlifter. Olympic Weightlifters cannot afford to get hurt and neither can you. They are not only strong, but also flexible, fast, and they use nearly perfect lifting technique to maximize their lifts without getting hurt. https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=hw206944 (4)

Let’s complete an example project: Fixing a leak under a sink

Evaluate the situation, following the 4-step method above.

1) Exercise

Warm-up by pulling in your belly button to stabilize your spine, lowering your shoulder blades, and breathe through your chest. Holding this position while working protects the spine. Roll your shoulders to relax your neck and then ensure your core feels tight. Slowly stretch your hamstrings before bending down.

2) Evaluate

Keep your core engaged whenever you are working, only relaxing it when you’re not physically working.

  • In many cases, there are lots of cleaners, sponges, towels, and other items in the way, which should be completely moved from the area.
  • Determine the proper tools for the job to prevent difficult contortions that can strain your back. Place the tools where you can easily access them to minimize getting up and down.
  • Generally, the floor of the cabinet under the sink is 3-5 inches off the floor, so put a pad, or other cushioned support on the floor so that your back is flat when you need to lie down under the cabinet to work on the piping and water valves. It will also protect the knees when kneeling.

3) Brace

“Brace“ your body properly.

4) Lift

Lift like an Olympic Lifter (This includes moving small items like under the sink in the above photo.

Following these 4 steps can lead to years of household chores with minimal pain and maximum results. See my Blog on (“Brace” To Prevent Home Injuries) at https://insideoutchicago.com/new-blog.

(1) Rubin Dl. Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Spine Pain. Neurol Clin. 2007; May;25(2):353-71.

(2) B. Druss, Marcus, S., Olfson, M., and Pincus, H.A. (2002). “The Most Expensive Medical Conditions in America.” Health Affairs, 21(4): 105-111. https://hpi.georgetown.edu/backpain/

(3) Wil Fleming Coach, Bloomington, Indiana, United States, Olympic Weightlifting

(4) Medical Review: William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine & Brian O’Brien, MD, FRCPC – Internal Medicine & Adam Husney, MD – Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD – Family Medicine & Joan Rigg, PT, OCS – Physical Therapy

How to De-Winterize Your Chicago Home

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In Chicago the winters can be cold and snowy, so preparing your home for winter is important! Just like you need to winterize your home to keep it protected for winter, you need to de-winterize your home for warmer weather! Here is everything you need to know to get your Chicago home ready for spring!

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Radon Levels in Illinois

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Similar to every other state in America, Illinois has radon levels. It is very common for homes to either have radon levels detected during a home inspection, or to already have a mitigation system in place. 

That being said, just how high are radon levels in Illinois, and is this something that you should be worried about? 

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