Thread: What is it

Does anyone know what this is?
Rich

No, but see that nipple with the cold rolled indented ring around it?

That is a "heat trap" and it is not allowed to be installed there.

It is required to be installed in the hot outlet and cold inlet openings - different ones for each, the inlet one allows water flow in while restricting water flow out (stopping heat convection currents), the outlet one allows water flow out while restricting water flow in (stopping heat convection currents).

I'd call it the future Water Leak.

rick

I have no idea what it is even after enlarging the pic. But I can't imagine anything attached to the interior of a male fitting that won't malfunction...especially with no signs of a physical/mechanical joint, and considering the conditions that will be faced if the TPR opens up.

And then there's the pipe below it. What ID is that, and how is it joined to the mystery device?

Best guess? The white thing is a whistle to alert you to a discharge!

I don't know how that white thing is attached, but I've figured out what it is.

It is (well, okay, 'it is supposed to be') an air gap.

That is (looks like) a plastic fitting which has a hole in the side of it.

Definitively, I can state it *is not* an "air gap" ... but that is what someone thinks it is.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

I don't know how that white thing is attached, but I've figured out what it is.

It is (well, okay, 'it is supposed to be') an air gap.

That is (looks like) a plastic fitting which has a hole in the side of it.

Definitively, I can state it *is not* an "air gap" ... but that is what someone thinks it is.

So, basically, it would function as a whistle as steam escapes?

I think the same plumber was in Florida, as I have seen his pseudo-airgap before:

Originally Posted by Richard Roshak

Does anyone know what this is?
Rich

Looks like a water heater dip tube to me.

See This

Why it is where it is is beyond me.

Originally Posted by Richard Roshak

Does anyone know what this is?
Rich

It is ... wrong!

Originally Posted by Michael Larson

Looks like a water heater dip tube to me.

Ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

They should have just done this and been done with it!

Bruce, thats only allowed if the damn thing keeps leaking.

Originally Posted by Richard Roshak

Does anyone know what this is?
Rich

I have a question about the metal part below the plastic hole. Is the metal part a pipe or is it solid? It looks alot like the anode rod that gets installed on the hot discharge side of the water heaters. Most water heater manufactures now install the anode rod onto the outlet nipple on the hot water side. It is attached by the plastic nipple with the hole in it.

Below are pictures of both styles.

Ron has it right, it's the sacrificial rod. I've run across this installation before - it threw everyone off when I first researched it. (It's suppose to be inside the tank, not on on the T/P valve)

How do you sharpen those things?