Charles Bursey , Sr .

BIO :

Charlie Bursey began his long career in the oil heating industry in 1963 . He has delivered coal , kerosene and oil and serviced heating and cooling equipment . He has also managed service departments , worked for a manufacturer and currently works with F . W . Webb , Warwick , R . I . He is a recipient of the Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals ’ prestigious Hugh McKee Award for making an outstanding contribution to the fuel oil industry ; having had an understanding and cooperation with his fellow man ; and having unselfishly aided the industry in education and related activities .

CONTACT : ChasBursey @ aol . com

Expansion is a concept I ’ ve often dealt with in my career . I intend to expand upon it here . Expansion comes into play when we are dealing with boilers , tubing , piping and thermal expansion tanks , to cite a few examples .

But recently , I was faced with expansion related to specific indirect and water heater service issues . The problems surfaced when a company said it had several new indirects that had leaked after being installed for one or two years , which I think we will all agree is a short period of time . After a discussion with some of the industry ’ s most knowledgeable people in the area of water heaters , we decided to offer our own thoughts as to the probable cause , based on previous experiences .

The subject of thermal expansion surfaced , and the question was , shouldn ’ t we have a thermal expansion tank on every job ? I for one did not disagree , but I did mention that it was not something being sold or installed with every heater . I said that this was rare in my experience , except where required by local code . Then something else surfaced during the conversation , which was the increased water pressures being provided by many of the municipal water divisions in many cities and towns throughout New England .

I listened carefully to one person who said that he had visited many areas that are providing water pressure as high as 120 PSI and higher . Even more reason for thermal expansion tanks .

Some of you may have never heard or had a concern about thermal expansion , and I will admit that , until recently , seldom if ever was it a topic of discussion pertaining to any water heater installation .

Thermal expansion tanks come in variable sizes and costs , depending on the size of the heater being installed and the water temperature setting . If you go to Google . Com and review the charts available on the manufacturers ’ web sites , you will notice the sizes coordinate with the size of the heater in gallons and water temperature , which can vary from 140 degrees to 160 degrees . The expansion tank sizes listed from one manufacturer are from ST-1 to a ST- 12 , with ST-12 being one of the more popular sizes installed . There are several other tank manufacturers that follow the same requirement and are just sold under different brands . Wondering where and how to install a tank ? Simply go to a manufacturer ’ s web site and there you will find instructions .

You may be saying , I never used a thermal expansion tank in the past , so why do I need one now ? All water heaters , regardless of whether they run on natural gas , propane , oil or electric , should be installed with a thermal expansion tank because as water is heated , it will expand ; the thermal expansion tank enable the system to manage the pressure . In the past excess pressure was relieved back into the water main or when a fixture was opened . However , with new codes came the requirement of new and additional safety devices like check valves , vacuum breakers , back flow preventers and pressure-regulating valves on the main . Often these new codes were required by municipalities . Keep in mind also that the thermal expansion tank can also reduce water hammer conditions and stress on existing plumbing .

The addition of a thermal expansion tank will bring an added cost to the installation . True , but if it complies with the manufacturer ’ s installation requirement and eliminates a recall , it ’ s worth the money , in my book .

Many of you installing hot water tanks may now notice that the manufacturers are specifying in their installation manuals that every installation requires a thermal expansion tank , or the warranty may be in question or voided . l FON

50 FEBRUARY 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com