Basics Steps to Insulating a Water Heater

During the winter season in Utah, water heaters are some of the most thought-about plumbing fixtures in many homes. This is the time of year when your water heater is needed most, and it’s naturally the time where you’re on the lookout for any issues with it.

At All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling, our professionals are here to help. One common water heater issue is a tank that’s warm to the touch, which means you’re experiencing heat loss that’s costing you energy and money. A simple solution to this kind of thing is insulating your water heater, which is one of the simplest DIY plumbing areas out there. Here are some basics to know.

Prior Considerations

A few basic considerations before you think about insulating your heater:

• If your water heater is already leaking, do not insulate it until all leaks have been addressed via repair or replacement.
• Insulation blankets are very cheap, and many even come in full kits with everything you need including.
• Within a year, your investment in insulation can return far more energy savings than what you spent.

Steps to Insulation

Here are the basic steps to insulating your water heater:

• Ensure there’s no power or gas going to the unit – electric heaters are turned off using the electrical panel while gas heaters are turned off at the gas valve.
• Measure the height of your water heater, and then cut the insulation blanket to exactly that height. Don’t worry about covering the top of the water heater, as this part needs to be open anyway to allow the vent to remain unobstructed.
• Tape your insulation blanket to the heater briefly so you can mark where panels, valves, burners and pipes are located. Then remove the blanket, and cut those areas out on the ground. Make openings about one inch larger than the marked areas, just to leave a little extra space.
• Finally, use tape that comes with the unit to tape the blanket permanently into place. Make sure all your cut openings line up correctly with panels, valves and pipes. As long as everything is in order, you can now turn the heater back on.

For more on insulating a water heater, or to find out about any of our other plumbing services, speak to the pros at All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling today.