Does water boil inside the water heater?
Sometimes i heat with propane and other times electric. I notice on electric i will be hanging out and hear what sounds like boiling water. It comes from the water heater. I turn on the water pump and...
Forum Discussion
Close....but more like 'Film Boiling
Not like film boiling at all. Film boiling occurs when a surface is so hot that it is not wetted. It is separated from the liquid by a layer, a film, of vapor. Spray water on a very hot skillet and watch the droplets dance on film boiling.
Nucleate boiling is correct. A steam bubble forms in the thin layer of hot water on the heating surface, the bubble is exposed to colder water outside the layer and collapses rapidly, making a sound. Hundreds of bubbles collapsing per second make noise similar to rain on the roof.
A heating element with more surface area of the same wattage would have a lower heat flux and be less noisy. A large 6000 watt 240 volt element operated at 120 volts would produce 1500 watts quietly, but might be hard to fit in a small tank.
Not like film boiling at all. Film boiling occurs when a surface is so hot that it is not wetted. It is separated from the liquid by a layer, a film, of vapor. Spray water on a very hot skillet and watch the droplets dance on film boiling.
Nucleate boiling is correct. A steam bubble forms in the thin layer of hot water on the heating surface, the bubble is exposed to colder water outside the layer and collapses rapidly, making a sound. Hundreds of bubbles collapsing per second make noise similar to rain on the roof.
A heating element with more surface area of the same wattage would have a lower heat flux and be less noisy. A large 6000 watt 240 volt element operated at 120 volts would produce 1500 watts quietly, but might be hard to fit in a small tank.
