A dip tube is a long, non-metallic pipe that introduces cold water near the bottom of a water heater to maintain an efficient convection cycle. A degraded or broken dip tube can cause lukewarm water and higher heating bills. Pickup tubes should also be made of heat-resistant plastic to avoid damaging the heater’s sacrificial anode. Replacing a dip tube is a straightforward DIY task.
A pickup pipe is the cold water inlet pipe on a water heater. A dip tube is specifically made to be long enough to introduce cold water into a water heater near the bottom of the vessel and close to the heat source. The length of the tubing is critical to maintaining the correct convection cycle within the heater. If the hose shortens due to a break, the heater may no longer produce an acceptable amount of hot water or only dispense lukewarm water. These tubes are also made only of non-metallic materials such as heat resistant plastic so they will not interfere with or damage the heater’s sacrificial anode.
Water heaters rely on the principles of convection to efficiently produce an acceptable temperature and volume of outlet water. An efficient convection cycle in a water heater sees the incoming cold water concentrated around the heat source at the bottom of the tank. As the water heats up, it travels to the top of the tank where it exits the hot water outlet when you open one of the hot water faucets. The heater thermostat is usually located low on the tank in the coldest water area, and as the water warms towards the bottom of the tank, it reduces the heat or shuts off the heating elements altogether.
This positional relationship between cold water and hot water is essential for the heater to function properly and is based on the addition of cold water to the bottom of the tank. If cold water were, for example, introduced near the top of the tank, the convection cycle would be cancelled. This would have several negative effects, the most immediately noticeable being lukewarm water or a very short stream of hot water from the taps. Your heating bills would also go up because the incoming cold water would simply destroy all of the heater’s work, forcing it to run longer to keep the water warm.
All of these factors mean that the correct length of inlet pipe is essential for an efficient water heating system. Any signs of the previously mentioned symptoms may indicate a degraded or broken dip tube. Small pieces of plastic in appliance filters, faucet aerators, and shower heads can also indicate a degraded soaker tube. Fortunately, replacing a float is not a major expense and is, for the most part, a fairly straightforward exercise for the DIY brigade. Many variations of the dip tube have a flared top end which means that a new tube can simply be inserted into the heater fitting and the inlet nipple clamped onto it.
Pickup tubes are made of heat resistant plastic to prevent damage to the heater sacrificial anode and should always be replaced with tubes of similar construction. The sacrificial anode is a metal rod inserted into the tank which serves as a preferred target for corrosion, thus saving the tank from excessive rust. The use of metal, especially copper, in the pickup can damage the anode or cancel its effectiveness, thus causing possible rust leaks in the tank.
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