Plumbing Fittings Interview Preparation Guide

1.) Turn off electric power or gas before doing anything. Damage will result if element comes on when tank is dry. Turn of water supplying HWT. Note that a time switch is NOT a safe place to turn off the electricity! Do it from the circuit breaker, or pull the fuse.
2.) Drain the water heater (HWT). After HWT is drained, and hose is still attached, open and close the inlet valve a few times to help flush the sediment out. Do this 'till the water comes out clear. You may have to dismantle the valve, if there are large chunks of scale coming loose.
3.) Remove the sacrificial anode, which looks like a plug in the top of the HWT. Inspect; it should be almost as long as the water heater. Replace if any portion of it is thinner than about 1/4";.
4.) With anode out, shine flashlight inside of tank to inspect for rust. If you see a lot of rust, it's probably time to replace it...before it fails. Water heaters are normally glass- or ceramic-lined to prevent corrosion; this is also what the anode's for. The heat of the water hastens corrosion, once it starts.
5.) Open up the element access panels. Disconnect one wire from each of the elements. With a volt-ohm-meter, check to see that both elements are still functional (the resistance across the terminals should be ??? ohms, but if your meter peaks out with exceptionally high ohms, it's time to replace the element).

Conventional water heaters are by far the most common type of water heater in the U.S. today. They range in size from 20 to 80 gallons (or larger) and are fueled by electricity, natural gas, propane, or oil. Called ‘storage’ units, these water heaters transfer heat from a burner or coil to water in an insulated tank. The down side to a conventional water heater is that energy is consumed even when no hot water is being used.

Tankless water heaters do not contain a storage tank like conventional water heaters. A gas burner or electric element heats the water only when there is a demand for hot water.

There are many things to consider when choosing conventional vs. tankless water heating systems. Your Blue Mountain representative can guide you through your options and get the right system for home that will give years of service and efficient performance.

Yes. In fact, the difference can be damaging to your home and your body. Maybe you have experienced damaged clothing from the laundry, excessive soap consumption, pipe scaling, faucet and fixture deterioration, skin problems, or undesirable tastes or odors from your water. If you have, then you have a water problem. Call Blue Mountain for expert advice on all kinds of water treatment systems.

No. We would recommend that you call a qualified, trained and certified plumber. Why? The water pipes inside and outside your home can be very delicate. In an older home, pipes wear thin from the inside out making them appear sound but in fact are very brittle. An unqualified and unskilled rooter company could cause extensive damage to your pipes and your home. The highly trained and certified technicians at Blue Mountain will take the time to properly diagnose the problem and utilize the right tools and techniques to solve the problem. Should there be an issue of a broken pipe or other unforeseen problems after we begin the job, our expert plumbers can immediately take action. Can the other guys? We’re not sure…and we don’t recommend that you take a chance.

The relative energy efficiency of these systems depends a lot on other factors such as the amount of heat loss from a more traditional storage tank system or the length of time hot water is stored before it is used. In practice they require a good deal more energy per volume of heated water than conventional systems and they cannot usually provide enough hot water for more than one fixture at a time. The traditional storage tank type of water heater can be quite efficient if the tank and the hot water pipes are properly insulated.

The on-demand type heaters have their uses in the appropriate situation. I have found them practical and efficient in situations where hot water is used only occasionally such as in some shop situations or where a fixture is at a considerable distance from a traditional storage tank water heater, such as in a guest house or pool house. They can also be handy if you are adding hot water to a structure that has been cold-water-only and the cost or inconvenience of adding a complete hot water piping system will be prohibitive.

Gas HWT have to be at least 18" off the floor because combustible fumes *sink* and for air intake.

You might buy a better flushing toilet for your situation. Some air assisted toilet flush well. When the low gallonage gravity toilets first came out I replaced a couple of new Kohler Wellworth Lites with the Am.Std. air assist toilet with good results. That was then and this is now. Today most brands of gravity toilets flush well (including the redesigned Kohler Wellworth models). Power assisted toilets tend to be noisy and frankly, today I definitely do not recommend power assisted toilets.
By the end of 1999 (most brands of U.S. made) gravity toilets manufactured were flushing fine. At the end of 2000 my guess is that over 85% of 1.6gpf toilets flushed well.

Is the top of the flange even (or close to even) with the finished floor? If it to low - then use two wax rings. One regular wax ring on the bottom and one (or more) with the plastic horn insert on top. ) I have seen leaks like you describe if the glued flange is not really glued in all the way. Take a look at that - if your floor and flange is flush. Sometimes you need to shim the toilet if the floor is uneven or the flange is to high.

If your water pressure is so high that it leaks past a Fluidmaster 400A or another new ballcock (aka: "toilet fill valve") - then you NEED a pressure reducing valve. Other water pipes, connectors, clothes washing machine hoses and your water heater could leak or break. Best to get a pressure regulator if your pressure to the house is more than 60 pounds (80 is code throughout most of the U.S.).

Get the best results by using the large donut gasket of the type that is square cut inside to match the shape of the nut on the bottom of the tank. Sealant will not help. Tighten the bolts down evenly to the point where the tank is snug on the bowl. Over tightening will break the bowl and/or tank.