The North is in the cold days, so the demand for using water heaters (or water heaters) is very high. However, many people, because of subjectivity or habit, do not turn off the bottle before taking a bath. This invisibly puts one’s life in danger because it is not uncommon for the hot and cold flask to suddenly explode.
Recently, on a Facebook group with more than 1.7 million subscribers, there was a warning about the problem of hot and cold water heater. The post quickly attracted a huge amount of interaction with more than 4000 comments and nearly 600 shares after only 6 hours. The content of the article is as follows:
WARNING: FIRE EXPLOSION OF WATER WATER VEHICLES RISK OF LIFE, SPECIAL IN WINTER
This season, people who like to take a hot bath like me must have turned on the hot water heater all day. I quite respect those who can still bathe in cold water this season. Especially for those who don’t even bathe when winter comes…
Recently, Ms. Hoa warned her brothers that, while taking a shower and turning on the hot and cold water, she can meet the elderly at any time. Fortunately, the bottle exploded while Ms. Hoa had not set foot in the bathroom.
In the cold season, the demand for hot water increases. Remember to check the heater periodically and remember to turn it off before taking a bath…
| Uncle Hew
📸Nguyen Thanh Hoa
What is alarming is that a lot of the comments below say that they themselves have a habit of not turning off the hot water heater when taking a shower. The reasons are very diverse: whether it is worrying about running out of hot water halfway, fear of forgetting to turn it back on so that the person who showers later has no water, or proudly bragging that decades of life have never turned off the water heater as a reason. apparent…
There are even sellers who take advantage of product advertising, advising people to install smart switches, anti-shock circuit breakers (ELCBs)… but the main thing to do is rarely mentioned.
Here, let’s find out why the water heater can explode and how to minimize this problem.
Working principle of hot water heater
The water heater has the same structure as an electric kettle, but it is larger in size and is equipped with a number of automatic operation and protection mechanisms.
Structure of the hot and cold tank
The water heater consists of the main parts: the burner, the relay + sensor, the tank and the safety valves. Inside:
Water tanks are usually made of thick metal to be able to withstand the high pressure caused by heated water.
The relay + sensor cluster has an on/off function to disconnect or boil the water and adjust the water temperature according to the preset level.
Safety valve of water heater (black)
The safety parts of the water heater include: one-way valve and pressure relief valve.
In case the thermal relay fails, causing the water heater to operate continuously, causing too much pressure in the tank, the safety valve will automatically release steam and water to prevent the tank from exploding.
The heater in the gym exploded
The cause of the hot water heater exploding
After understanding the principle and structure of the water heater, we understand that the cause of the hot water heater exploding can come from the following parts: temperature sensors, thermal relays, safety valves and even the tank itself.
Normally when the temperature in the tank reaches the threshold of 70-80 degrees Celsius, the thermal relay will automatically cut off power to the burner. However, when the sensor and temperature control assembly is damaged, the water will continue to boil (above 80 degrees Celsius) and produce a lot of steam, causing the pressure to increase. If the safety valve is tightly closed (due to long-term accumulation of dirt), the water tank will explode after a short time when the internal pressure exceeds the bearing limit of the tank intestine.
The magnesium rod is corroded in a hot and cold tank that has not been cleaned and maintained for a long time
In addition, there is a magnesium bar in the water heater with the function of reducing the corrosion rate of the tank. When this magnesium bar is completely corroded but not replaced in time, the inside of the water heater will react with the chemicals in the water and corrode, causing the pressure resistance to decrease, even leakage or perforation. .
Cleaning the water heater after nearly a decade and the scenes of “oops and rancid”
Conclude
Thus, equipping an anti-shock aptomat or smart switch, timer, remote control … only works to prevent electric leakage, electric shock, but does not help prevent the hot and cold bottle explosion due to overvoltage.
Hot and cold tank maintenance
What we need to do is periodically check, clean, maintain and rinse the water heater to promptly detect problems or replace worn out parts. Only then can we reduce the risk of hot and cold water explosion and ensure life safety.
Wishing you all good health!
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