RUDD GAS HOTWATER HEATER

j cima

At my place of work we have a Rudd hot water heater approx. 9 years old. The heater is gas fired no standing pilot flame. It has a motorized damper on top which seems to have gone bad either the motor or one of the two contact switches. After manually opening the damper I jumped out the upper section so as to have hot water, my question is what is the purpose of this damper, is it a safety feature or is it for increased economy? As a point of referance the heater it replaced was the same model but did not have this damper. Also all the part suppliers I have contacted say it is required.
thanks john

Pat_4

Rudd Water Heater

Efficiency. Required to prevent stand by loss and allow Rudd to say this water heater has a higher efficiency then model it replaced. For a temporary fix your solution will work fine. I would replace the damper because it will save you energy dollars in the long run.

Heatermon

I agree, however....

I wonder if the savings are always enough to cover the cost. If the heater is installed in an inside area where the ambiant temp is say 70 degrees and the hot water temp is say 120 - how long will it take to pay for itself. The only answer I can come up with is "Alot longer than if it was in an ambiant area of 40 degrees and a hot water temperature of 180. We've been battling these things out here (So. Calif.) for over 20 years now, and I have yet to see a damper that can outlast the water heater tank. We see life between 1 and 10 years - usually about 3 years. Brand doesn't seem to matter, the metal flap and motor are constantly exposed to high flue gas temperatures and will eventually warp and/or break. That is why for the last few years we are seeing all the manufacturers installing "by-pass" switches so when they do fail, you can easily switch them to always open and not wire in jumpers, like we've done since these dampers came out. I hate say it, because it saves energy, but keeping these things working is not required by law. Just having them "in the box" when sold is the only requirement manufacturers are required to follow (well, that and a 1 year warranty on their ability to work properly). Our expeirience has shown about a 5% to 10% increase in gas usage when by-passed (about 10 bucks a month for a 200,000 b.t.u. unit at 130 degrees) Most of our customers, when presented with the facts, just have us wire in a by-pass (or now, just flip the switch to "service") and let them stay open and costing them money. It seems they can justify giving money to the utilities (you gotta pay the gas bill - whatever it may be) rather than paying for a repair (I just saved the company from spending $500). Oh well, maybe the manufacturers will one day get one that outlasts the tank.

Heatermon

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