Hot water heater or?

[Old560]

Turned on the hot water in the kitchen sink and a bunch of brown water and fine metal chunks came out or at least a magnet picked them up. Cold water doesnt have anything in it. Went to take a shower and turned on the hot water so much crap came out it clogged up the showerhead. Took the showerhead off and ran the water all kinds of brown stuff came out and specs. Turned on the cold water it is clear no problems there. Im suspecting the water heater is coming apart rusting out. After running the hot water for a while it cleared up and I put the shower head back on and it worked Im suspecting it will do this tomorrow again. I think Ill try flushing out the water heater and see what comes out. The only steel pipes are the ones coming up the well and thats just under a year old, and then about 75 feet of copper all the rest of my house is pex. Pretty sure Im going to be sinking some money into a new water heater. Any thoughts on this. Any suggestions.

 

[Steve@Advance]

Probably is the water heater tank coming apart.

I would keep a close watch on it, it will be leaking next.

Gas or electric?

 

[Dave BN]

Turn your water off when you leave the house. If the tank rusts out you will have a flood. Try draining the water heater using the valve near the bottom of the water heater. I do this every year to keep mine cleaned out. I use a garden hose long enough to reach out the front door then turn the valve on. The valve should look like the one on the outside of your house where you hook up your garden hose. Sounds like you do need a new water heater though.
Dave

 

[Old560]

LPG

 

[John T]

If it's NOT any steel/galvanized piping causing that foreign material in the hot water lines, I also suspect the water heater (aka hot water heater by many folks) is breaking down. Better be shopping around for a new one and they cost more especially after all the inflation which has risen like a rocket ship starting in 2021 grrrrrrrrrrr

John T

 

[MarkB_MI]

Most water heaters these days are good for about ten years. And water heaters that last for thirty or forty years haven't been made in, uh, thirty or forty years. You can extend the life of your water heater by changing out the anode on a regular basis, but nobody does that.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Well water? Lots of iron in the water?

Water heater tanks are GLASS LINED. If the glass has failed you need a new tank, but if you have iron in your well water, what may have happened is the iron has settled out of the water and gathered in the bottom of the tank. It has gotten to a point where it is thick enough that the heat from the flame is causing it to pop loose.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Yippee. Another grammar hair-splitter.

 

[John T]

AMEN Ive seen grown men feud over what they should be called lol I figure to each their own name is fine with me

Best wishes

John T

 

[paul]

Im used to electric water heaters, the fiberglass Marathon the electric co installed for $120 seems like a good long lasting model. But, it was installed 25+ years ago, and I think it was just a tad over that price back then..... it was part of the peak savings program, they could turn it off at peak electrical demand. I think that idea has been forgotten the past decade now, but the heater is nice.

 

[showcrop]

Depending on what your primary heat is, One of the most economical ways to heat your water is with a Boilermate. If you are not familiar they heat the water by circulating water from your boiler through an additional zone.

 

[DelMN]

Probably the water heater. As mentioned below, check by opening the valve on the lower part of the heater and if crud comes out of there, it probably means that you need a new heater. Just had a new one installed for natural gas and it cost $1200 for a 50 gallon delivered installed and old one removed. It was done by a local appliance store. Called one day, installed the next.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I've got a Marathon fiberglass water heater, probably about 10 years old now.

Installed 2 for other people. So far so good!

Wish I could have found a deal like you did! These things are EXPENSIVE, about double the cost of a premium steel tank. But factor in the promise of lasting a lifetime, it is well worth the extra cost, especially if I'm too old to change it, or my survivor had to pay to have a new one installed!

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Why would you need to heat hot water?

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 05:26:03 04/20/22) AMEN Ive seen grown men feud over what they should be called lol I figure to each their own name is fine with me

Best wishes

John T

You're the grammar hair-splitter, according to classic view.

 

[redforlife]

What Dave BN says. X2

Your crud is coming from either 1. Deposits from water in your water heater
tank, or 2. Corrosion from your water heater tank being ate up.

Turn water main valve to the water heater off. Open a hot sink faucet
someplace. Open lower drain spicket on water heater tank (a garden hose will attach to this), and drain the tank. You might have to fill and drain water tank a few times, to get all the crud out, by turning water supply to the tank on and off. Note, that you will want to keep an open hot water faucet running someplace to let the air out of the tank when you are filling it back up. Compressed air in there, will likely do damage to the tank. Especially if all faucets were closed, and you then let the compressed air out at the faucet.

This may clear everything up for awhile, IF you don't have any leaks, and don't create any leaks in process. But note, that if it does get you back going again with clear water, the remaining life of your water heater is still likely questionable. You could go 1 month, 6 months, who knows. Untill you'll have a leak or cruddy water again.

But if no leaks, in my opinion, it is worth a try. Just to see if water heater tank is fine, and there is just a bunch of deposits in there.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 10:01:10 04/20/22) Why would you need to heat hot water?

really obvious and simple answer: it wasn't hot enough to suit me!

 

[Russ from MN]

You might get more responses on Tractor Tales. It sounds like your heater is failing, fast! When did you last flush it? I don't think just draining them does a very good job of flushing, I used compressed air from the cold water line, so it goes down the dip tube and agitates the sediment.

 

[Steve@Advance]

Being it's gas, my theory is there is so much sediment in the bottom, it has insulated the inner surface to the point water can't get down to the bottom and transfer the heat away, so the bottom got extremely hot, created a steam pocket that exploded internally, releasing a cloud of sediment.

It's days are numbered!

A little late, but you can try to drain it. But be ready, chances are nothing will come out, maybe a drip. But also a good chance the valve will not close when done. Best have a hose cap to screw on to stop the leak.
The valve may also be plastic and could break off when disturbed. Don't let it scald you!

 

[dhermesc]

Sounds reasonable. Some of the better hot water heaters have a ceramic lining - sounds like the burner probably cooked it until it shattered. Either way its time to replace it ASAP. You'll be cleaning the screens on your washer to - if you have them. Otherwise it will be ruined in short order too.

 

[ss55]

I've gotten longer water heater life from buying a high output tank water heater instead of the standard model. The tanks on the high output models seem to last 50 percent longer for me.

 

[Gambles]

There is an electric water heater made that has a plastic or perhaps fiberglass tank. I think Rheem either makes it or they put their name on it. I've also seen the same water heater having other names on it. ANYWAY, they put a lifetime warranty on the tank. The elements might give out, but the tank shouldn't. I'm pretty sure this water heater also doesn't need an anode rod. I haven't priced one lately, but before the big scare over the last two years, you could get them on sale for about $1000. Not sure what they are running now. Several locals have them and like them, that is, if you like or have an electric water heater.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

I guess they don't make them like they used to. My General Electric water heater was installed in 1947.I'm not aware of any maintenance done to it although there probably was when I wasn't around. None whatsoever in the 25 years I've owned it.

 

[Gambles]

No, they dont. In high school ag class, we would take an old water heater tank, torch them down the middle and make hog troughs out of them. That was a few decades ago. Theres not enough metal in a modern water heater to do that.

 

[pete 23]

Little off subject here but still about water heaters. When living off post in the Army, the little water heater in the house was in the bathroom. It literally heated the bathroom as zero insulation on the tank.

Electric bill was extremely high. Well, at work the guys were removing the insulation that covered the sky lights in the Butler building shop. I took a bunch home and wrapped the water heater. Electric bill was cut right in half BUT, the bathroom was much colder. That was in 1956.

 

[Russ from MN]

I cut one in 2 once and made a snowplow for our Farmall A, the glass lining stayed on it, made the snow roll off real well!

 

[ThadS]

Spot on.

Hot and cold are relative not absolute terms.

During the summer, the water entering my water heater is pre-heated by the geothermal so some might say I am heating hot water.