Adding an Expansion Pressure Tank
A couple of days ago, I pulled out the manual from the Rheem water heater tank I recently installed and came across the section about open vs. closed water systems. I believe we have an open water system because our previous tank didn’t have an expansion pressure tank and it worked fine for 14 years until it started to leak. The new tank I installed didn’t have an expansion tank either and it seems to be working fine. Nevertheless, I decided to add a 2-gallon expansion pressure tank after I did some more reading and a friend also recommended it.
The installation process was not too difficult, but I made a small error. After putting the expansion water tank and the pipes in place, I turned the cold water on. The pipe that connected to the cold water line on the water tank was leaking. In order to tighten it, I had to take the expansion pressure tank out. I forgot to shut off the water before unscrewing the expansion pressure tank. Water shot out before I could shut off the valve. I had to clean up all the water before reinstalling the expansion pressure tank. As a result, the installation took longer than I had expected.
Another valuable lesson learned. I hope the expansion pressure tank will give us peace of mind and I don’t have to worry about the heater water tank for at least 10 years.