Just discovered dent in new water heater &^%$#

[vtxdude]

The last heater I installed had 2" of insulation between the outer cover and the tank.

Judging by the the crease on your outer liner, there is no way your glass lined tank would have been harmed.

If you have exhaust fumes, that's a separate issue.
Is the new tank taller, changing the grade on the chimney?

Terry it could be...it is a Kenmore Power Miser 9 ...plumbers are here now replacing 3 inch flue with 4 inch...I hope that helps..he said it would. I wish some of you guys were closer to NH, I know it would get done right!

[Cass]

The tank is no where near those dents...you are worrying about nothing...the only thing on the other side of the bottom dent is air...there isn't even insulation there near the bottom dent it is to low...

[Terry]

The tank is no where near those dents...

Oh yeah, there is that too.
Gas water heaters have a burn chamber below.
The actual tank is above the burn chamber.

[Basement_Lurker]

Wow, I guess I am extremely lucky and in the minority opinion here. I have yet to receive a tank that is dented in like that from my supplier.

Good luck with your continuing installation vtxdude, keep hammering those guys till you get something that you are comfortable with! The tank is fine, and the dent is somewhere where you'll never see it, but make sure the installation is done to your satisfaction, because in the end you have to live with it!

It's because of nonsense like you are dealing with that I became a plumber in the first place. I ended up fixing other people's work and learned to solder joints myself, and I liked it so much that I bailed out of my chemistry degree half way through and got into plumbing...and well...the money may have influenced me a little as well...

[Ian Gills]

I'd become a plumber too given half the chance.

But it doesn't really count as a job.

I get all my plumbing done at the weekends which leaves the rest of the week for a proper, productive occupation.

As an electrician, perhaps, or an employee for the Federal Government. You know, real work.

[Terry]

Wow, I guess I am extremely lucky and in the minority opinion here. I have yet to receive a tank that is dented in like that from my supplier.

Well, I don't see them dented in the box most of the time.

Normally they are good out of the box, and I use two people to install with.

If you slow down a bit, and use two guys you should be fine.

It's just that the dent in the picture above, doesn't really matter.
I'm not going tell someone that the crease is going to matter when it doesn't.

That's one reason why I won't go down on my price either.
I charge what I do, knowing it's a two man job.

[Ron6519]

If this happened to me, I'd kill myself. Really, I'm not kidding.
Oh my God, the humanity!!!
Ron

[hj]

quote from Ian: As an electrician, perhaps, or an employee for the Federal Government. You know, real work.

Electircians only know how to run small pipes through big spaces. As I often say, they must take special classes in how to run a 1/2" conduit through Chase Field, and take up every bit of usable space. Is there any way to use the words "government employee" and "real work" in the same sentence.

[SebastianCanada]

So, when should you be concerned about a dent?

I just got a new water heater installed. The plumbing contractor who did it was very conscientious, but also a bit rough when removing the old tank, but very careful when installing the new one. My one concern RE the new tank is that the contractor was a little evasive about the supplier. However, I did check with the manufacturing company, and there is nothing sketchy about the water heater -- it has a valid, recognized serial number.

The dent is at the top, near the hookup the release of hot water. The dent is very very shallow, but kind of broad, though not near the hook up. It looks more like a pressure dent than a trauma dent -- as if something heavy were resting on the tank for too long. This is why I am pretty sure it happened in storage or transportation.

The dent is so shallow that you only see it if light is directed a certain way, which is why it took me about a week to notice.

Considering that the tank works perfectly after a week, and the dent is so shallow, should I worry??? Oh, also, I am getting a slight weird task from my water, something a little like castor oil. Could this be a sign, or am I imagining things?

Sorry, do not mean to hijack the thread. This is related to the original question, but don't want to steer the thread too far off the original topic.

[Terry]

A water heater consists of a pressure vessel wrapped in foam or fiberglass insulation, and then finally a metal wrapper to prevent damage to the insulation.

Your metal wrapper has a dent and may have slightly compressed the insulation there.
It's nothing I would worry about. A few years back I bought one that had been dented pretty badly just to save a buck since I was giving the water heater to a friend. It wasn't an operational thing.
But it's pretty easy to give a heater a slight bump while installing. They do weigh a bit.

[jadnashua]

The flux from soldering can linger in the water for a few days, depending on the volume of water you run through them...normally, it's more of an annoyance than any health issue.