ST-12 Thermal Expansion Tank

Seller NY Direct shipped fast and item arrived in two days safe and sound. New ST-12 replaced a 24 yr old ST-8 that went bad. From what I researched this brand and series is the best, made in USA and really was not much more than other brands. Amazon and NY Direct had best price anywhere after a long search. I went with the larger 4.4 gallon ST-12 vs the 2.0 gallon ST-8 it replaced. I read its ok and maybe even better to go a size up but not to go below what you have or water heater rated for. Maybe overkill but it was $12 more than the ST-8 and I had the space. Installation went well. Manual states manufacturer recommends installation with threaded pipe side up in a hanging position. Reviews all over are mixed but it seems like its the best way to mount it to get the longest most effective use out of it before needing a new one. I chose not to follow directions and just replaced it with the current configuration set up in my house with thread side down. Some reviews said they talked to manufacturer direct and wrong way, not the recommended way is fine and it will work, just may not last as long. It has to do with the rubber bladder inside and installed the recommended way keeps all the rubber wet all the time and can prolong item life span in theory. Some reviews said they had difficulty getting it to mount with the small optional plastic tubulator piece inside but I did not have any issue. I just made sure to give it an extra push till it seated inside with the end if a metal flashlight and pressing with my thumbs alone would not move it enough to seat all the way. With my digital air pressure reader it came with a charge from the factory of 51.8 pounds of air. I purchases a $10 pressure reader of Amazon and it showed my house supply lines at 48-50 pounds. I felt that was close enough so let it stay at the 51.8 factory charge and not mess with it. Make sure to screw the cap back on tight by hand as these now have a clear plastic cap that changes colors if the bladder goes bad and it leaks. Not sure what all the drama is about in reviews removing the old one full if water when installed not the recommended way. Yes it will leak water but I just wrapped a bath towel loosely around under the tank and use a pipe wrench to loosen and pair of channel locks to secure the pipe the tank connects to. Then I just spun the tank. When it gets loose just tip it over quickly and I barely lost any water. Carry over to laundry tub and tilt it on an angle and let the water drain out. Some of it stays stuck in the bladder and you cannot get it out. Probably varies for each failure where it went bad. Teflon tape to the nee tank threads. Spin by hand then use wrenches to tighten. Turn water supply back on slow so you do not slam the tank or your system. There are directions on keeping a nearby faucet open till you bring your water heater back up to full heat. You wait till your water heater burner is done burning and reached the temp you desire so full heat expansion is reached in the water lines and tank and then you can shut the nearby faucet off. Slowly open all your faucets to purge any air and then just revisit the tank a few times to check for leaks. Usually when I mess with plumbing something goes wrong or I have to deal with leaks but this was a simple and quick install with no issues. I am very cheap but felt the extra $10-40 cost over the cheapest made overseas by the lowest bidder model was not worth the savings. I plan on living in the house a long time and now I know how to check visually and with a pressure gauge if its working properly every 6-12 months. I did notice prior to install I was clearing out the aerators on all my faucets and there were little pieces if black rubber which looked the exact same as the rubber particles coming out of the tank from the rotted bladder of the bad tank when I drained it. So, it warrants at least annual inspection as recommended to make sure the bladder is working, at the correct pressure to match up with incoming supply line pressure. Cleaning out allfaucets aerators annually seems to be a good idea too. You can buy a aerator removal tool kit for under $10 at any big box store. It comes with four tools of the most common sizes. It would also seem ideal to clean the aerators once again after you change the tank out to get the old black rubber particle stuff out of your aerators or periodically replace them. I read you can drop them in regular household white vinegar to soak clean them just like you can with shower heads to clean the buildup gunk off.

Worked as it should installed

We needed to replace ours and this came when expected and was an easy install, extends the life of my water heater

We have a 50 gallon Gas Water Heater. This is our second water heater in 24 years. Last month, the City started replacing the Water Meters at the Street for each House. The new Digital Meters transmit the water usage so no Meter Reader is needed. Our street has 10 Houses, 3 of the Houses got the new Water Meters. Four days after the Water Meter was installed, our Water line from the Meter to the House burst under the Driveway. Then a Neighbor's also burst. The Neighbor that didn't loose their Water line was because they have an Expansion tank on their Water Heater. We got our Water line replaced $$$$ and I monitored the water pressure. Our normal water pressure is 73 PSI. After using hot water, it jumped to 115 PSI. So I dug up the water line just past the new Water Meter and installed a Pressure Regulator. I set it at 50 PSI. Our water pressure was still hitting 95 PSI after using hot water. I took a picture of the new Water Meter and called the manufacturer. We were informed that the new Water Meter has a built-in backflow valve so this is why our House and the Neighbor's House burst their water lines. The water lines were 36 year old PVC. The reason I wrote the long introduction is this could happen to you. Many Municipalities are switching to these new Electronic Meters. As an insurance policy, I would install and Expansion Tank. The City says any Water Line failure after the Water Meter is "not their responsibility". The Amtrol Expansion Tank is one of the best. It is lined and also has an anti-bacterial coating. The crappy Expansion Tanks at the Orange Store

I gave it a 4 star because the box it arrived in had some loose tape although nothing seemed to have fallen out of the box. This tank replaced an older version that did not have the indicator. It was about 22 years or more old and the bladder had failed so that the tank was full of water. The old tank was a little difficult to remove after we drained the water line because it was heavy with water. But installing this new one was very easy. We received on a Saturday afternoon and it was working early afternoon on Sunday.

This is a nice tank, and it has a built-in window that screws onto the air nozzle that you can simply look at to see if the bladder has ruptured. The tank should be installed with the piping connection facing up. You will need some type of bracket to support the weight of the tank plus water. Do not forget to inflate the bladder to match your house's water pressure. This size tank is probably only needed if your water heater is 75+ gallons. The 2-gallon version is suitable for most residential applications. The pressure should be checked yearly. My previous expansion tank had gone bad, and my wife always asked why our front-load washer made so much noise when water was being added. That was why. After installing the tank, the noise went away. Country of Manufacture: USA

It's just a tank with an air bladder in it, so there's not much to say. However, there were some nice features. First, this is generally a large size tank that should protect better than the 2 gallon models. And it also has a useful cover on the bottom connection that shows if there is a leak. When these bladders fail, where the water is and where the air is will mix, and water will come out of the bottom connection. A visible colored cap thing is a nice addition. Still these have to be checked annually. Once I cleaned my connection and PTFE taped everything, it went on well and no leaks. The only odd thing is the include "Turbulator". The turbulator is not a new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, it is an odd plastic piece they throw in the box. But after charging the tank to 60psi (it should be set to the HIGHEST pressure your system will experience) the turbulator would not go in. I tried pushing pretty hard and it seemed like something inside would damage, so I left it off. Looking at the video that Amtrol made, you can see what the turbulator does. It is designed to stick out into the regular flow of water, with the tank just below in a short T configuration. But many installations including mine, are not this way. They should have noted in the "manual" (actually 1 sheet of paper) that the turbulator is not necessary and in fact won't do anything at all, if the tank is installed at the end of a long piece of pipe. I also installed this tank with a metal shelf bracket underneath. This is quite heavy when full of water, so the bracket should put less stress on everything. Also it should be noted that to install, it needs to be tight, but not crazy tight. Like screw it in by hand, then one or two turns with a wrench (don't turn using the tank anymore as it will stress the weld) and that is it. If you have to hold on to the wall and put everything you got into it, pull it out, clean everything, re-tape, and try again.

Has a one year warranty & is supposed to last 5-10 years. I used this to replace my old one, still working, at the 7 year point. When we bought our new to us home the water heater overpressure valve was leaking & the home didn't have one of these. So I bought/installed one & replaced the overpressure valve & haven't has a problem since. Interesting problem, not the tank's fault. My water meter is a fancy digital one that analyzes water-flow for 24 hours & has an indicator if it thinks it shows a consistent leak somewhere. I also have a not-fancy water pressure gauge that shows the pressure has a small fluctuation & it shows the pressure varies from 58 to 62 psi & it has a tell-tale that indicates max pressure. The tell-tale currently shows 178 psi which apparently happened in the dark early morning hours. The small fluctuations combined with the their causing water to flow into & outof the tank causes the fancy digital water meter to think I have a leak. ...So I installed a shutoff valve in the tanks line & shut it off; 24 hours latter, the fancy digital water meter no longer thought I had a leak. I couldn't find a leak anywhere & was really afraid I had a leak someplace under my slab, but no it was the minor pressure variations combined with the tank. Highly Recommended!