Is Hot Water Heater Recycling Equipment Always Necessary?


Hot Water Heater Recycling Equipment is used to reduce hot water heaters into their components in order to recycle, refurbish, or destroy the parts. Hot water heaters are made from a combination of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, which must be broken down and sorted for proper disposal.

For homeowners, the first parts of removing a hot water heater for recycling or disposal takes place without special hot water heater recycling equipment. The steps the homeowner would take are to first turn off the power to the heater. Next, the wires should be disconnected (and labeled to facilitate connection to a new unit). That should be followed by turning off the water and letting the tank cool. After the tank has cooled, the next step is to connect a hose to the tank (there should be a drain valve), and put the other end of the hose in a work basin or other area that will not be ruined by an influx of water that may be chemically contaminated. After checking that the connection is secure, open the drain valve and drain the tank. Once the tank is drained, disconnect the heater from the hot and cold water pipes. This can usually be accomplished by simply unscrewing the connector hoses, but if the pipes are attached directly, you might have to cut and cap the lines. Once that is done, you (hopefully with a helper) can move the old heater to a spot where a recycling contractor can safely pick it up.

Once the contractor has picked up the old heater, hot water heater recycling equipment comes into play. This equipment will break down the old heater into component parts such as various types of scrap metals so that it can be resold or disposed of properly. For instance, separators and granulators can remove sediment and particles from the lining of the tank, and form it into briquettes or into granules for resale to manufacturers. Fiberglass used in liners or exterior walls can be shredded and reconstituted, or turned into particles that can be added to virgin materials to cut down on the amount of fiberglass left in landfills.

After all the non-metal bits have been removed, the final piece of hot water heater recycling equipment used would be the crusher that is used to compact the metal remains so that they can be sold to

As noted above, hot water heater recycling equipment only comes into play after the machine has been disconnected and removed from the home or office building it served. This means that the beginning steps in the process can be carried out by anyone with basic mechanical knowledge.