Water heater dissection, pics galore

[Russel Nash]

I've always been curious about what's inside a water heater. Once you peel off the sheet metal and insulation, this is what you end up with:



I was able to get so far with a sawzall, up one side, over the top, and down the other side. The bottom has such a curve to it that my sawzall's blades were too short.

Then it was time to break out the plasma cutter.



This pic shows the extreme dome shape of the bottom:



And this pic shows the reason why, to catch all the sediment:



Here's another pic of the sediment:



The heating element:



This water heater was installed in 1996. It is a city water connection, NOT a well.

I had heard once on an episode of This Old House by their plumber Rich Trethewy that a water heater should be drained once a year to get sediment out of the tank.

Anyways.... Makes me wish I could weld stainless. I'd make my own water heater. It always seems like they break and start leaking at the worst possible time.

[Bullet Caster]

Nice photos, Russell. BC

[felix]

Rich also said to change out the cathode once a year. He said if taken care of, the unit will last 15-20 years instead of 6-12. ... felix

[Whiterabbit]

yep, change the anode, it wont rust out.

[dudits]

hhhmmmmm i may have found the body of my next forge

any chance of a thickness measurement of the steel sheet?

[Dutchman]

Dang! I was sure you were going to shoot it before you cut it apart.

What a letdown .

Dutch

[Sasquatch-1]

It always seems like they break and start leaking at the worst possible time.

I had one let go on Christmas Day about 3 years ago. Unfortunately, Christmas was on a Friday that year if I remember correctly. Took a while to get it replaced.

[6bg6ga]

You could have sold it to someone down south to make a still out of.

[6bg6ga]

Dang! I was sure you were going to shoot it before you cut it apart.

What a letdown .

Dutch

Would have made a good pressure cooker. They will have to put it on the ban list also.

[mold maker]

There's lots more fun goodies in an old gas w/heater. Maybe even a burner for that liquid refreshment still.

[sbeatty1983]

Ive seen alot of smokers made from old water heaters.

[Rojelio]

I made a charcoal retort out of one. All kind of uses for these things.

[ABluehound]

It can still make a nice BBQ grill or smoker.

[Russel Nash]

hhhmmmmm i may have found the body of my next forge

any chance of a thickness measurement of the steel sheet?

it was surprisingly thin. I will have to get back to you on the actual measurment, though.

If I ever come across another broken water heater again like that, I will have to turn it into a smoker or a BBQ grill.

I am kicking myself now that I did such a poopey job of cutting it apart. If I had actually drawn some lines on it and made straight cuts.

[Frank46]

Some of the really old hot water heaters had the tank made from an alloy of phosphor bronze. When the old one at work died. A buddy whacked off the insulation and jacket. Got some nice $$ from the junk yard. Frank

[Reg]

I think the older ones ( 40's 50's ) were made of much thicker metal. My Granddad would split them in half long ways and make chicken and calf waterers and feeders out of them. Still have a few laying around the place

[Nobade]

The gas ones are very useful for making a lead smelting setup that can run on street gas. Cheaper to run than propane if you do a lot of melting.

-Nobade

[jeepyj]

It's definitely cool to see what's inside different stuff. It helps get to wheels turning for future projects. Thanks for sharing.
Jeepyj

[leftiye]

Quote Originally Posted by Dutchman View Post
Dang! I was sure you were going to shoot it before you cut it apart.

What a letdown .

Dutch

Would have made a good pressure cooker. They will have to put it on the ban list also.

Won't fit in a backpack.

[jmorris]

They are too thin to make a decent smoker but you can cut them in two and put feed or salt mineral blocks for cows in them.

One of my favorite uses in this video.



If you use them again as a pressure vessel you need to fill them back up with water and apply twice the working pressure you intend to use. The water taking up almost all the volume is for safety.