OT Electric water heaters....

[Chuck Wintle]

I need some help with water heaters. There are two types that I can buy....one that feeds cold water in through the top next to the hot water outlet and the other that feeds cold water near the bottom of the tank. Is one better than the other? If so why.?

[Jim DeLaney]

In actuality, they both feed to the bottom of the tank. The cold water inlet in the top feeder has a tube inside it that goes nearly to the bottom of the tank. Theory is that the cold water is denser, and needs to start at the bottom, and rise as it's heated.

I've never seen one that actually has the input at the bottom, though. Are you sure that the bottom fitting isn't the drain outlet?

Virtually every WH I've ever seen - both gas and electric - had the inlet & outlet on top.

[Norman Hitt]

They must build 'em different in Canada, 'cause I've never seen one anywhere with the inlet at the bottom, Only the drain outlet is down there on all the hundreds I've ever seen, just like Jim said.

[Matt Warfield]

Same here. I've helped my dad and grandfather install many a water heater...like they really need my help. Quite a few of the new ones would require the installer to install the drain valve on the bottom. I suppose one could hook up the feed line there but I also suspect that would not be up to code and would certainly make removal at the end of it's life a real PITA!

[Kyle Kraft]

Whenever I install a new water heater, I remove the cheap plastic drain spigot near the bottom and replace it with a 3 x 3/4" galvanized nipple and a 3/4" ball valve. This improvement allows for much faster draining, especially if you are feeding the heater with hard water. If you have small children around you had better put a pipe plug in the valve to protect curious handle turners.