[quote=XBoxBoy]Had the plumber out, expecting to replace the water heater. He took one look at it, and said that some of these heaters have balls in them right where the water comes in and where it goes out. That he would remove the balls and that it would be fine. And sure enough in an hour we had hot water flowing out of the hot taps as fast as cold water will flow.
I’m not really sure what he meant by balls in the water heater, I’m thinking he meant filter screens on the intake and outtake. Or possibly one way flow valve. Either way, removing these balls freed up the flow.[/quote]
They are probably heat traps that prevent convective flow of hot water out of the water heater. They usually don’t cause flow problems, and do prevent loss of heat from the water heater. I think the one in my water heater are actually teflon reed valves, not balls. The heat traps in your water heater may have been damaged over time, possibly calcium buildup.. I didn’t see them, so I can not answer this. Did your plumber bend the flex pipe into a ‘gooseneck’ shape? Kind of like an upside-down ‘P’ trap? That shape also helps prevent loss of heat through convective flow within the pipes connected to the water heater.
