What DIED?!?!

[rwsmith]

Well, 20 years for a water heater is pretty good so I wasn't too distressed about the water on my garage floor this morning. I started disconnecting the old one and while I was working, I smelled something rank. We were thinking there was a dead squirrel behind the unit.

After a while I realized that it was the water coming out of the old tank that smelled so horrible. .Good gravy, it smelled like coming up on an animal that was hit by a train.

Furthermore, I ran a hose from the drain in the bottom of the tank; and I tried everything to get the water to drain. disconnected all the plumbing, even the pressure relief, and tried to blow water INTO the drain but nothing works..

Since the water in the tank is constantly being renewed, the best I can figure is that there must have been a lot of algae growing in there.

Has anybody been struck by the Curse of the Stinky Water Heater?

 

[chief38]

I have posted here a few times regarding the proper temperatures to set a hot water heater at - don't know if you have ever seen one of the posts. The gist is that water heaters should be set at a minimum of 145ºF to kill any Legionaries Disease.

While it is not good for young kids to scald themselves, mixing valves can be installed after the hot water heater so that does not happen BUT the water in the tank is still disease free. I am not saying you have Legionaries Disease in there but it is a possibility if the temperature was set below 145ºF. Google this and you will get an insight as to what I am talking about.

When you install the new unit, 145ºF should be the minimum temperature as Legionaries Disease can not live at that temperature and above. If you have young Kids or Grandkids and are concerned with scalding - install a mixing valve after the unit.

Again, since I am not in your home, I can't say for sure the temperature setting was your problem, but it might have been.

NOTE #1: The Zinc Rod in the tank is a sacrificial one (as on a boat) and only lasts for a few years. They are meant to be pulled out and replaced after a few years so your hot water heater itself does not corrode. The Zinc Rod is sacrificial and protects the Tank guts. Almost no one ever does this - hence their short lived unit. You can google that too and see that it's usually not a big deal to replace. They are made in hinged - foldable sections so even with a low ceiling they are able to be worked with in a Basement environment most times.

NOTE #2: It is also not a bad idea to drain some water out of the tank via the bottom drain valve once every few months. The idea here is to get rid of any crud resting on the bottom of the tank. A few gallons is usually all that is required.

Hope this helps going forward,
Regards
Chief38

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Actually the reason you can't get water flow from the drain isn't algae but all the mineral crud that settles to the bottom of the tank over the years. It's a sludge. I'm surprised that after 28 years you have any room left in the tank for water!!! Down here if I can get 8 years from a tank with all the **** in my water I'm doing good. Idealy they say you should drain the tank regularly to avoid the sludge build up but who does that????

 

[kenv1950]

Must be a southern thing. I've been a plumber for 40 yrs. in the northeast and never heard of or seen algae in a water heater , lots of mineral build up though. Maybe its our good mountain water.
Either way they should be drained.

 

[DeathGrip]

Those sacrificial rods rot out and cause stink similar to rotten eggs. I've noticed more problems with the stink in the last 15 years or so. Looks to me like the old American made tanks are finally extinct. The China tanks seem to get stinky sooner, sometimes immediately. Zinc? We know how they like to use other materials than what's ordered. Think drywall.

I say this from my time doing water filtration. Down here in SoFlo our well water has high iron, calcium and tannins.


I haven't noticed the stink as much on city water unless it's been filtered at the point of entry. It's kinda hot down here and striping the chlorine from the water can create bacteria that also smells. I have to chlorinate the house about once a month to avoid bacteria.

 

[kenv1950]

I gave up on tank water heaters 20 yrs. ago.

 

[chief38]

Deathgrip,

I filter ALL the water in my home with a whole house filtration system. Once a month I open up the by-pass valves allowing chlorinated water to enter the system, tank and pipes. I usually do this when my Wife is doing multiple loads of laundry and the water gets used up from the tank by the end of the day. This in turn should kill anything allowed to establish itself due to lack of chlorine - if at all (I do keep my Super Store water tank set to 147ºF). After the next to last load is being done, I close the bypass valves and the chlorinated water is used up by the end of the cycle. While this may sound like it's complicated, the entire time it takes to turn the valves is about 10 seconds.

I've been doing this for 10 years now and I have the water tested every year os so and it seems my method is a good one since the water is A-OK according to an independent testing lab that I pay for.

 

[DeathGrip]

Deathgrip,

I filter ALL the water in my home with a whole house filtration system. Once a month I open up the by-pass valves allowing chlorinated water to enter the system, tank and pipes. I usually do this when my Wife is doing multiple loads of laundry and the water gets used up from the tank by the end of the day. This in turn should kill anything allowed to establish itself due to lack of chlorine - if at all (I do keep my Super Store water tank set to 147ºF). After the next to last load is being done, I close the bypass valves and the chlorinated water is used up by the end of the cycle. While this may sound like it's complicated, the entire time it takes to turn the valves is about 10 seconds.

I've been doing this for 10 years now and I have the water tested every year os so and it seems my method is a good one since the water is A-OK according to an independent testing lab that I pay for.

Perfect.

 

[DeathGrip]

Chief38, If I remember you have a canister system? You can remove the filters and put pool chlorine in them to super chlorinate your house. But if you're having no problems keeping up with your regular chlorination and it's doing the trick just keep up the good work.

Always when going away for a vacation chlorinate your house before you go.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Chemicals in the water cause that sulfur smell. The one at my lake house is like that after sitting unused for awhile.. So when we get there I turn the hot water on and flush the tank before turning the WH on.

 

[DeathGrip]

I know we're getting away from the original water heater problem but it's all part of the health of your house and yourselves.

Most of my systems were outside systems and about half of them were sitting in the sun. I use black tanks and schedule 40 pipe and still see algae on the inside of the discharge pipe on neglected systems.


rust olium makes a UV paint that you can put on the PVC that will keep the algae away.


Those of you that have softners, put a couple of cups of white vinegar in your brine tank every time you put salt in. That will keep the system healthy. If you have problems in the house, You need to turn on the water in the house when you have the system in draw to allow the brine solution in the house. It works as well as chlorine and you'll smell like a salad if you don't rinse the pipes well before taking a shower.

 

[ky wonder]

is your water source public or private

here in central KY we have a lot of wells that have large concentration of sulfur, it smells like rotten eggs.

I grew up with sulfur water in our home and we used it for everything except drinking, we had a wash colth on the tub spout that would catch large strings of the black sulfur, yuck!

we had a pump in a cistern where we kept fresh water in for cooking and drinking,

I never was involved with removing the old water heater and several years ago the county set up a public water system where we were getting water from the green river

so granddaddy put us on it early

but this is south central ky and we have a heavy limestone water that when left in water heaters is prone to developing heavy lime settlement in water heaters

through out the last 26 years I have serviced my water heater about every third year, I shut the water off drain the tank remove the bottom element suck out as much settlement as I can using a shop vac. and rubber hose, after sucking out the first time I pour in a couple gallons of white vinegar, and let it work for a couple of hours this softens up the heavy settlement letting me suck out more settlement, then I reinstall the element refill and run through the system until no vinegar smell is noticeable.

that kept my original water heater in use for 26 years until recently when I noticed a leak had developed in the tank it self, requiring me to replace it,

if your house is elevated above the ground level I recommend you attach a small section of hose and send it threw the floor at the water heater drain and opening it up a couple times of year to help keep the drain clear,

ps the lime taken when cleaning out the settlement is used on the wifes flower beds, and man do they love it,

 

[gwpercle]

We had an electric water heater develop that stinky water thing in our office .
Had never happened with any other heater but that one.
We would come in and open the hot water taps...once all the hot water ran out (10 gallon unit) the water didn't stink. Next day it was stinky again.
Plumber drained it and filled it with a water and Clorox Bleach mixture , let soak 24 hours. Water was ok for two days then started stinking again.
Baton Rouge has soft water...no minerals ? Last resort that worked....
New water heater but a different brand...that fixed it.
Still can't figure out why the stink was happening with that heater.
Gary

 

[DeathGrip]

We had an electric water heater develop that stinky water thing in our office .
Had never happened with any other heater but that one.
We would come in and open the hot water taps...once all the hot water ran out (10 gallon unit) the water didn't stink. Next day it was stinky again.
Plumber drained it and filled it with a water and Clorox Bleach mixture , let soak 24 hours. Water was ok for two days then started stinking again.
Baton Rouge has soft water...no minerals ? Last resort that worked....
New water heater but a different brand...that fixed it.
Still can't figure out why the stink was happening with that heater.
Gary

Different brand, different "zinc".


You can get water heaters with rods that are made for soft water.

The water's hard down here but once it goes through a softner it gets real soft. It's a trade off, You replace minerals that make your water hard with sodium that makes it soft. I know it sounds funny but you need the sodium to make the resin activate.

Most of the salt should go out with the rinse cycle. If you're prone to blood pressure problems and are on a low sodium diet, you can get potassium pellets to replace sodium. Now instead of absorbing salt through your skin you get potassium. Though I'd like to see a study as to how much is actually absorbed. I'd bet it's nominal.

 

[mrchuck]

My house is ALL ELECTRIC.
Replaced our water heater several years ago.
Lowe's plumber said only buy the cheapest as they last as long as the fancy ones. I had it delivered and installed by them. Fast and economical.

 

[rwsmith]

I'm going to go right now.....

I have posted here a few times regarding the proper temperatures to set a hot water heater at - don't know if you have ever seen one of the posts. The gist is that water heaters should be set at a minimum of 145ºF to kill any Legionaries Disease.

While it is not good for young kids to scald themselves, mixing valves can be installed after the hot water heater so that does not happen BUT the water in the tank is still disease free. I am not saying you have Legionaries Disease in there but it is a possibility if the temperature was set below 145ºF. Google this and you will get an insight as to what I am talking about.

When you install the new unit, 145ºF should be the minimum temperature as Legionaries Disease can not live at that temperature and above. If you have young Kids or Grandkids and are concerned with scalding - install a mixing valve after the unit.

Again, since I am not in your home, I can't say for sure the temperature setting was your problem, but it might have been.

NOTE #1: The Zinc Rod in the tank is a sacrificial one (as on a boat) and only lasts for a few years. They are meant to be pulled out and replaced after a few years so your hot water heater itself does not corrode. The Zinc Rod is sacrificial and protects the Tank guts. Almost no one ever does this - hence their short lived unit. You can google that too and see that it's usually not a big deal to replace. They are made in hinged - foldable sections so even with a low ceiling they are able to be worked with in a Basement environment most times.

NOTE #2: It is also not a bad idea to drain some water out of the tank via the bottom drain valve once every few months. The idea here is to get rid of any crud resting on the bottom of the tank. A few gallons is usually all that is required.

Hope this helps going forward,
Regards
Chief38

And check the temperature setting. I THOUGHT the unit was working plenty hot to wash the dishes, but it seems not. Now the zinc rod is something I haven't messed with. I'll get a spare and have it handy.

THANKS for the very informative post.

 

[rwsmith]

I'm going to go right now.....

I have posted here a few times regarding the proper temperatures to set a hot water heater at - don't know if you have ever seen one of the posts. The gist is that water heaters should be set at a minimum of 145ºF to kill any Legionaries Disease.

While it is not good for young kids to scald themselves, mixing valves can be installed after the hot water heater so that does not happen BUT the water in the tank is still disease free. I am not saying you have Legionaries Disease in there but it is a possibility if the temperature was set below 145ºF. Google this and you will get an insight as to what I am talking about.

When you install the new unit, 145ºF should be the minimum temperature as Legionaries Disease can not live at that temperature and above. If you have young Kids or Grandkids and are concerned with scalding - install a mixing valve after the unit.

Again, since I am not in your home, I can't say for sure the temperature setting was your problem, but it might have been.

NOTE #1: The Zinc Rod in the tank is a sacrificial one (as on a boat) and only lasts for a few years. They are meant to be pulled out and replaced after a few years so your hot water heater itself does not corrode. The Zinc Rod is sacrificial and protects the Tank guts. Almost no one ever does this - hence their short lived unit. You can google that too and see that it's usually not a big deal to replace. They are made in hinged - foldable sections so even with a low ceiling they are able to be worked with in a Basement environment most times.

NOTE #2: It is also not a bad idea to drain some water out of the tank via the bottom drain valve once every few months. The idea here is to get rid of any crud resting on the bottom of the tank. A few gallons is usually all that is required.

Hope this helps going forward,
Regards
Chief38

And check the temperature setting. I THOUGHT the unit was working plenty hot to wash the dishes, but it seems not. Now the zinc rod is something I haven't messed with. I'll get a spare and have it handy.

THANKS for the very informative post. I didn't know bacteria would grow in treated water in a water heater, especially the Legionnaire's stuff.

Like I said, me, my wife and son were fully expecting to see a cakked animal behind the water heater.

 

[rwsmith]

The water I got out.....

Actually the reason you can't get water flow from the drain isn't algae but all the mineral crud that settles to the bottom of the tank over the years. It's a sludge. I'm surprised that after 28 years you have any room left in the tank for water!!! Down here if I can get 8 years from a tank with all the **** in my water I'm doing good. Idealy they say you should drain the tank regularly to avoid the sludge build up but who does that????

The water I got out of the relief valve port when I took it off looked pretty bad. Brown, almost more toward dark brown. We've been through so many problems these last 15 years a lot of my routine maintenance over the last 15 years went out the window.

I've got an heat/ac unit that is almost 20 years old that will be dying any time now.

 

[rwsmith]

No, Charleston city water is good.....

is your water source public or private




here in central KY we have a lot of wells that have large concentration of sulfur, it smells like rotten eggs.

I grew up with sulfur water in our home and we used it for everything except drinking, we had a wash colth on the tub spout that would catch large strings of the black sulfur, yuck!

we had a pump in a cistern where we kept fresh water in for cooking and drinking,

I never was involved with removing the old water heater and several years ago the county set up a public water system where we were getting water from the green river

so granddaddy put us on it early

but this is south central ky and we have a heavy limestone water that when left in water heaters is prone to developing heavy lime settlement in water heaters

through out the last 26 years I have serviced my water heater about every third year, I shut the water off drain the tank remove the bottom element suck out as much settlement as I can using a shop vac. and rubber hose, after sucking out the first time I pour in a couple gallons of white vinegar, and let it work for a couple of hours this softens up the heavy settlement letting me suck out more settlement, then I reinstall the element refill and run through the system until no vinegar smell is noticeable.

that kept my original water heater in use for 26 years until recently when I noticed a leak had developed in the tank it self, requiring me to replace it,

if your house is elevated above the ground level I recommend you attach a small section of hose and send it threw the floor at the water heater drain and opening it up a couple times of year to help keep the drain clear,

ps the lime taken when cleaning out the settlement is used on the wifes flower beds, and man do they love it,

Piped in water. Charleston water is pretty good as far as piped water goes. Yeah, we have some sulfury wells around here. One time I was playing with kids at Edisto Beach and I was overheated and I stumbled up to the faucet to get a handful of water. I ALMOST threw up. I've encountered that before but it was super sulfury and a total surprise.

We have soft water so hard deposits aren't a big problem. But the piping system is OLD and we get a lot of rust and silt..

 

[DeathGrip]

Take some of that sulfur water and leave it out over night in an open container. Taste it in the morning. It should be good. The sulfur is not a solid but a gas and will release into the air.

 

[rwsmith]

I talked to tech service...

This water heater has a fancy electronic module where the top element panel would be. It's preset for 120 degrees. Who are they kidding??? The way you get a higher temperature is go behind it and over ride with the teeny knob on the element. After that I don't know what the electronic module does.

Now anode rods:

The unit is provided with an aluminum anode rod.

I'll most likely need a aluminum/zinc rod if the higher temperature doesn't keep the bacteria down.

Special order. And they start around 35 bucks