The Inside Outside Guys ~ What The Dip Tube in Your Water Heater Does

The Inside Outside Guys

January 2, 2024

From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein

DETROIT, December 28, 2023 ~ There you are, in your master bath, with the hot water running out of the sink faucet, when you notice the flow is not smooth like it should be.

Water, in fact, is spraying all over the bowl.

Being a wise homeowner, you shut off the water and decide you need to clean the aerator on the faucet only to discover the screen is full of small particles of what appear to be plastic.

This simple procedure seems to cure the problem until, a short week later, the whole scenario repeats itself.

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December 23, 2023 ~ Chuck “The Inside Guy” Breidenstein and Ken “The Outside Guy” Calverly offer the knowledge and resources you need to make the home of your dreams a reality. Catch them every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon on 760 WJR.

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What’s going on?

It could be the dip tube in your water heater is disintegrating.

A few years ago, some manufacturers made this pipe out of a plastic that could become brittle and break down over time.

The resulting particles can then end up in your water lines where they get carried to faucets and build up behind screens, either blocking or distorting the flow.

The dip tube is an extension of the cold-water supply to the water heater tank. It takes the fresh water to just above the bottom of the tank where the burner is located on a gas unit.

This puts the heavier cold water at the bottom and right on the heat while the lighter hot water is pushed upward toward the top where the heated flow is drawn off for use at your sink or laundry.

This disintegrating pipe may also create other issues for you.

How about the situation where you get into a hot shower only to have the water suddenly cool as though you have exhausted the heated water supply within a minute or two?

In this instance, the replacement cold water is entering the unit near the top, where you would normally draw off the hot water, so the hot shower is abbreviated because most of the hot water remains at the bottom of the tank, and not in the place you require it.

A properly maintained dip tube can also help keep the bottom of the tank clean since slightly pressurized water enters just above the tank floor. This also requires the tube to be the correct length.

A shorter tube will allow sediment in the water to settle and remain on the bottom where it may accumulate and literally bake on the hot surface just above the burner.

This is a fairly common dynamic that lowers the heating efficiency of the unit and can contribute to a popping noise from the heater when the burner turns on as expanding air in the accumulation rises into the water.

Sediment buildup can cause higher water heating costs, lowered efficiency and lowered hot water volume.

All of these issues can generally be resolved by periodic draining of the tank, maintenance of the water supply and correct length of tube.

Replacement tubes can be found in most good hardware and big box stores and are generally a PEX type plastic. They are low cost and easily replaced with minimum skills.

Where the cold water enters the heater, there is a pipe nipple which is at the top of the dip tube. With the unit and water supply shut off, and some of the heated water drawn down in the tank, the nipple and tube can be turned out and extracted so that a new tube can be inserted.

The key is to be certain the new tube is the proper length.

Like any such task, it sounds simple until you actually attempt it for the first time.

If your water heater has been diagnosed with a faulty dip tube, simply visit the InsideOutsideGuys.com and find a trusted professional that can conduct the replacement for you.

For housing advice and more, listen to “The Inside Outside Guys” every Saturday and Sunday on 760 WJR from 10 a.m. to noon, or contact them at InsideOutsideGuys.com.