I need to know about water heaters, especially those kept inside
apartment water heater closets, and their capacity to break down and
cause fires. The ideal answer will make ME an expert on water
heaters.
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The Water Heater
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How do they work, in layman?s terms?
How do they work in terms of the function of its parts? (The answer
here should include at least a description of the following parts:
Flex connector; Flex line; vent pipe; inner cover; burner compartment;
outer cover).
Can you point me to a site that has a diagramed picture of a water heater?
Are there different brands/kinds of water heaters that operate in
different ways, or, do they all operate the same? Is it fair to say
that all apartment water heaters are basically the same?
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Water Heaters and Fires
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Is it possible get a sense of the likelihood of a fire being caused by
a malfunctioning water heater, versus the likelihood of fires caused
by debris (say, plastic bags and other household items) being kept
next to a water heater?
What precautions have manufacturers of water heaters taken to prevent
the ignition of debris kept next to them?
What precautions must landlord/homeowners take to ensure that debris
kept around the water heater not ignite (outside of not keeping debris
around the water heater)?
Is water?heater design/technology such that they are designed for safe
use around debris?
If an ?outer cover? (I don?t know what this term means...does it
relate to ?burn compartment??) is missing, is it more likely to cause
a fire?
Is it possible that a malfunctioning water heater would cause somebody
standing next to it to smell gas?
(If it is true that one is not supposed to keep debris around a
properly working water heater), how is it that debris can ignite next
to a water heater, but a wooden closet in which it is kept does not
ignite?
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These are my questions. There are alot, and I know the topic is not
very exciting. Any help would be appreciated. For this question I
plan to tip. I hope I can provide clarifications and follow-up with
additional questions. |
