I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has gotten
extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe insulation on
the cold water supply line into the water heater. She had some trouble
getting some of the insulation to stay and was bumping the ball valve which
controls the water flow to the water heater.

Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure on all
the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot water faucets in
the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full pressure to be restored.
I went outside and turned the ball valve on and off several times. Then I
checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine. I have
checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as I can tell.

It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure seems to
be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the ball
valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the pressure regulate
itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

CJ wrote:

I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has gotten
extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe insulation on
the cold water supply line into the water heater. She had some trouble
getting some of the insulation to stay and was bumping the ball valve which
controls the water flow to the water heater.

Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure on all
the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot water faucets in
the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full pressure to be restored.
I went outside and turned the ball valve on and off several times. Then I
checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine. I have
checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as I can tell.

It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure seems to
be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the ball
valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the pressure regulate
itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.



Maybe there was a bit of ice in the cold water feed?

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The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
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"CJT" wrote in message
...
CJ wrote:

I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has
gotten extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe
insulation on the cold water supply line into the water heater. She had
some trouble getting some of the insulation to stay and was bumping the
ball valve which controls the water flow to the water heater.

Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure on
all the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot water
faucets in the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full pressure to
be restored.
I went outside and turned the ball valve on and off several times. Then I
checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine. I have
checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as I can tell.

It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure seems
to be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the ball
valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the pressure
regulate itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.



Maybe there was a bit of ice in the cold water feed?

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

The cold water pressure has remained constant the whole time. How would a
bit of ice get in the cold water feed? Sorry to seem so stupid, but I have
lived in the desert for 5 years and moved to the mountains late this spring.

Do I have to run the water to keep it from freezing or can I drip both the
hot and cold water to prevent freezing.

CJ wrote:

"CJT" wrote in message
...

CJ wrote:


I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has
gotten extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe
insulation on the cold water supply line into the water heater. She had
some trouble getting some of the insulation to stay and was bumping the
ball valve which controls the water flow to the water heater.

Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure on
all the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot water
faucets in the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full pressure to
be restored.
I went outside and turned the ball valve on and off several times. Then I
checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine. I have
checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as I can tell.

It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure seems
to be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the ball
valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the pressure
regulate itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.




Maybe there was a bit of ice in the cold water feed?

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .


The cold water pressure has remained constant the whole time. How would a
bit of ice get in the cold water feed? Sorry to seem so stupid, but I have
lived in the desert for 5 years and moved to the mountains late this spring.

You said it was very cold, and the insulation was in need of repair --
that suggested freezing of the line. It wouldn't have to freeze solid
if a small bit of ice formed and then broke loose, temporarily clogging
the valve -- just a thought.

Do I have to run the water to keep it from freezing or can I drip both the
hot and cold water to prevent freezing.


Every situation is different, but down here in Texas where the
insulation on water lines is generally poor, we drip the faucets
(hot and cold) on especially cold nights.

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The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 21:17:49 -0700, "CJ" wrote:

I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has gotten
extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe insulation on
the cold water supply line into the water heater.

The indoor cold water pipe into the WH? someone will correct me
tomorrow if I'm wrong, but istm that that would just keep the water as
cold as it was when it came into the basement. Why not let it warm
up a little once it is in the house, so it's prewarmed a bit for the
WH. Unless you are trying to save on fuel, and want the cold water as
cold as possible.



She had some trouble
getting some of the insulation to stay and was bumping the ball valve which
controls the water flow to the water heater.

Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure on all
the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot water faucets in
the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full pressure to be restored.

Was t he pressure low for 45 seconds or was it spitting out water,
with bursts of air in the middle. If the first, I guess CJT is right
about the ice.

P&M reply to the newsgroup.

I went outside and turned the ball valve on and off several times. Then I
checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine. I have
checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as I can tell.

It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure seems to
be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the ball
valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the pressure regulate
itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.




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me know if you have posted also.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 21:37:19 -0700, "CJ" wrote:



Maybe there was a bit of ice in the cold water feed?

--

The cold water pressure has remained constant the whole time. How would a
bit of ice get in the cold water feed?

The ice doesn't "get in". There is water in there, and when it gets
cold enough, it turns to ice.

Sorry to seem so stupid, but I have
lived in the desert for 5 years and moved to the mountains late this spring.

Do I have to run the water to keep it from freezing or can I drip both the
hot and cold water to prevent freezing.

Wouldn't hurt, at least tonight until you have this all figured out.

My incoming water is underground and never freezes. Once in the house
it won't freeze unless the house gets too cold.

I've only let it drip once, when I was going to Texas in the winter,
and I was almost out of oil, and fighting with my oil company.

I was leaving the next day, so I went to anotehr company, gave them my
credit card and told them to fill me up. They said they would. But,
on principle, that doens't prove they will. So I left it dripping.

When I got back the place was warm enough, but I ran out of oil a week
later. They had never come, and never called. The credit card was
good, and they lost a sale. I did the right thing by not assuming
they would come as agreed and by letting the faucet(s?) drip.

I meant to call and complain but didn't get around to it.

P&M reply to newsgroup


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Was t he pressure low for 45 seconds or was it spitting out water,
with bursts of air in the middle. If the first, I guess CJT is right
about the ice.

It was spitting out water with burstsof air in the middle but the pressure
was low at first and then start normalizing.

CJ wrote:
I have a 2003 Rheem Natural Gas Water heater. The weather here has
gotten extremely cold and my mother and I installed some foam pipe
insulation on the cold water supply line into the water heater.

I believe this is the cause of the problem. If you insulated the supply
line to the heater inside the home, it may have allowed the line to freeze.

Inside, I am assuming is above freezing. That will warm the pipe. The
heat will travel through the pipe towards any cold spots (likely outside
close to the home) and warm them. Insulating the pipe is preventing that
warming which may have kept that pipe from freezing in the past.

I would guess it only partly froze and allowing the water to flow would
have brought in some water above freezing and thawed the partial ice block.
You may even want to add heat tape to the pipe on the inside after removing
that insulation. Insulation on the outlet side of the heater should be
fine.

She
had some trouble getting some of the insulation to stay and was
bumping the ball valve which controls the water flow to the water
heater.
Immediately after we finished this, I checked the hot water pressure
on all the faucets and it was a trickle. After opening all the hot
water faucets in the house, it took less than 45 seconds for full
pressure to be restored. I went outside and turned the ball valve on and
off several times.
Then I checked the hot water pressure again and all seems to be fine.
I have checked underneath the house and it is dry no leaks so far as
I can tell.
It has been a few hours since this happened, but the water pressure
seems to be o.k.

Should I stay alert to this situation or could we have knocked the
ball valve partially closed and it took a few minutes for the
pressure regulate itself.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 00:29:11 -0700, "CJ" wrote:

Was t he pressure low for 45 seconds or was it spitting out water,
with bursts of air in the middle. If the first, I guess CJT is right
about the ice.

It was spitting out water with burstsof air in the middle

Well that means something, but I have no experience with this and
don't know what it means.

but the pressure
was low at first and then start normalizing.



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