| Q. | Why are they needed? |
| A. | When water is heated it expands.
. |
| Q. | Where dose the expanded water go? |
| A. | Without an expansion tank, in the system,
it causes the safety relief valve to open. Resulting in hot water
spillage and a waste of water and energy.
. |
| Q. | Dose it reduce calls about faulty relief valves? |
| A. | Yes -- most times the T&P valve is only
doing it's job. Water weeping through T&P can cause lime buildup
in valves, which can cause them not to operate.
. |
| Q. | What has happened to make the domestic water system operate like a closed piping system? |
| A. | Pressure reducing valves to reduce high city
pressure. Backflow preventers to prevent contaminated water from
backing into city water mains. Most well water pumps now have built-in
backflow preventers. Many codes now require backflow preventers.
. |
| Q. | Dose expansion tanks prevent water hammer? |
| A. | Yes -- water hammer is caused by the bounce back or shock of highly pressurized water when a fixture or appliance valve is closed quickly, like a dishwasher. The expansion tank takes the shock. |