Does Your Water Heater Need an Expansion Tank?

If you’ve recently purchased a new construction home in Dayton, Ohio, your hot water heater may need an expansion tank. Although older homes were often built with open-loop plumbing systems, most new properties are not. When hot water expands within their water heaters, it has absolutely nowhere to go. When it is trapped inside these units, the resulting pressure can cause serious problems. Following is everything you need to know about hot water heater expansion tanks, including whether or not your home requires one. What Is a Hot Water Heater Expansion Tank? As the temperature of water rises, it expands. This is referred to as thermal expansion. Given that water heaters can only contain a finite amount of water, thermal expansion makes it necessary for extra water and the related pressure to have a place to go. Open-loop plumbing systems accommodate this expansion by allowing additional liquid and pressure to flow back into their supply lines. Closed-loop plumbing systems do not. They provide a single path that water can flow into while blocking the way back out. These plumbing systems are designed to prevent water from moving in the reverse direction and from re-entering municipal water lines. An expansion tank...