For many turning on a water heater might seem like a daunting and often time overwhelming task. Don’t worry, as we have come up with some few steps for making the job easier for you.
Turning On a Gas Hot Water Heater
These are the steps you should follow carefully to turn on a gas water heater-
- Close any open faucets or valves.
- Turn on the cold water supply.
- If the gas was completely off, re-lite the pilot light.
- If the gas valve was turned to ‘Pilot’, turn it to ‘On’
Step One – Close Open Faucets
In case you are working on a hot water tank, you surely had to open a faucet to allow airflow in the tank. Your action should prevent the happening of an airlock. Since, you want to turn the water on again, you should close the faucet by now.
Step Two – Turn On the Cold Water Supply
It would not be a sensible thing to turn the gas on and light the pilot before letting the tank to get refilled. So, you should be turning on the cold water as the heating element shouldn’t be turned back on with a tank which might be partially filled. The tank will refill itself, in case any water was lost while working on the tank.
Step Three – Light the Pilot Light
Start by setting the temperature control to its lowest setting. Now, set the on-off control to pilot setting option. Press the hot water heater pilot button down and keep holding it.
Make sure to press the spark generator until you hear it click, when you look through the slight glass. When you see spark from the generator, the pilot light should light. Keep holding the pilot button down 20-30 seconds after the pilot is lit.
In case the pilot didn’t light, there might be air in the line. Keep pressing the generator button down until the pilot lights. You shouldn’t forget to hold the pilot button down after the pilot gets light. The thermocouple should have enough time to get hot before the button is released.
Now, set the on/off knob to the on position and turn the temperature control to the desired setting. By now, you should be hearing the burner fire up and see flame through the site glass.
The air vents of these water heaters should remain clean so that the water heater pilot light and burner can operate properly.
Step Four – Turn the Gas Valve to On
If you have been successful in turning on the gas valve to “Pilot”, then you don’t need to light the pilot light. You should easily be able to turn the gas valve to “ON’.
If you carefully implement the above mentioned steps, then you should be good to go for turning on you gas water heater!
Turning On an Electric Hot Water Heater
The steps for starting up an electric hot water heater are as follows-
- Close any open faucets or valves.
- Turn on the cold water supply.
- Remove the lock out tag from the breaker box.
- Turn on the circuit breaker for the hot water heater.
Step One – Close Open Faucets
It has the same initial step as the gas water heater. In case you are working on a hot water tank, you surely had to open a faucet to allow airflow in the tank. Your action should prevent the happening of an airlock. Since, you want to turn the water on again, you should close the faucet by now.
Step Two – Turn On the Cold Water Supply
It would not be a sensible thing to turn the gas on and light the pilot before letting the tank to get refilled. So, you should be turning on the cold water as the heating element shouldn’t be turned back on with a tank which might be partially filled. The tank will refill itself, in case any water was lost while working on the tank.
Step Three – Remove the Lock out Safety Tag
Safety tag is the piece of tape that you should have put over the breaker warning so that nobody turn that breaker on. Now, you should remove that lock out safety tag to prevent possible shocks and in some cases, death as well.
Step Four – Turn On the Water Heater Breaker
In most cases, electric water heaters don’t have indicator light on for informing you that the unit is on. Some sounds shall be heard by you which indicates that heating elements are engaged and are starting to get heated. Water should start heating by now and within 30-60 minutes you should be having your desired hot water. Keep checking your faucets carefully to ensure water is becoming hot.
Also Learn About Water Heater Turning Off
final word
Following the above steps carefully should result in your water heater being tuned on. But if you are still feel uncomfortable or anxious of any mishap happening then you should consult an expert or professional to do it and explain the mechanism to you while he does that job. So, that you can learn to do it on your won.