Hot water heater hose question

[viper1216]

So I am replacing my current hot water heater. It was leaking and come to find out the entire bottom of it rotted out. I have the new one and just need to install. It is a 6 gallon heater. The old heater had this hose connecting to itself?? Each fitting is a T...one hose goes out presumably to the faucet and the other is the intake of fresh water. This hose goes from each fitting to fitting. Not quite sure what it's for of what it does or if I need to put it on the new one. It looks like a piece of garden hose.

 

[Mcfltfyter]

The tees look like they have a 4th side, are you sure the tees aren't valves to bypass the tank for winterizing?

 

[viper1216]

There is a little valve to turn on and off in that last side. Why would I want to bypass the tank to winterize? Wouldn't I want coolant in there as well? I think the valve does just that....instead of going through the tank it looks it just goes across the white hose. But again, not sure why I would want to do that?

 

[Mcfltfyter]

That's just how it is done. You'd have to drain the tank before you filled it with antifreeze, and it's a waste of antifreeze because air won't freeze and burst a tank. Then there is the issue of flushing all of the antifreeze out of the tank so nobody drinks it.

 

[Comogene]

The fitting on the right is a pressure relief valve. The previous owner put a "T" fitting on the inlet side (left) and connected the pressure relief valve to that so that if there to too much pressure from overheating the water, it will flow back into the heater and not into the bilge. Don't know whether it is right or wrong but in most situations, the relief valve simply flows into the bilge. In 40 years and 6 different water heaters, I have never had a relief valve open or seen a hose attached to it.

Gene

 

[Mcfltfyter]

The fitting on the right is a pressure relief valve. The previous owner put a "T" fitting on the inlet side (left) and connected the pressure relief valve to that so that if there to too much pressure from overheating the water, it will flow back into the heater and not into the bilge. Don't know whether it is right or wrong but in most situations, the relief valve simply flows into the bilge. In 40 years and 6 different water heaters, I have never had a relief valve open or seen a hose attached to it.

Gene

You had me going there for a second. That would be hilarious though, and worthy of a Darwin award for sure.