Water Heater Sediment Cleaning

[nps]

The anode is easily replaced from the top of the unit - it's the big bolt-looking item usually sitting between the inlet and outlet lines. No need to drain the tank, just take pressure off of it, unthread, and replace using pipe dope on the threads. Also make sure you measure the overhead clearance when getting a replacement - longer is better and lasts longer providing you can get it back into the tank. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[TowPro]

Hohn, If your dream house needs a water softener, plan on an additional line that taps before the water softener and goes to the ice maker/water dispenser on the refrigerator. I added a water softener last year and they add a nasty taste to the water.



Sure the built in filter in the Refer cleans most of it out (but you can still taste it). Problem was I was changing filters every month at @$24. 00 each.

Plus sodium ain't the best thing for the old blood pressure



My hardness is only 10 (low enough to not need a softener) but I added it because I wanted real soft water. Kind of reminds me of taking a shower at the outerbanks of NC (real soft water down there)

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Cripes - the water is so hard out here that if you spill some on the counter... there will be a stain left behind when it dries.



I do miss that about New England - nobody needed water softeners where I used to live since all the water came from reservoirs instead of wells like out here.



Matt

 

[rbattelle]

A water softener will fix that. Elements fail quickly in hard water because calcium deposits create hotspots.

Unfortunately, tanks fail quicker in softened water because of the increased sodium content. It's one of those "choose your evil" things. I acutally cranked my softener WAY down when I learned that, because I'd prefer the heater fail from sediment than from a sudden rupture!



Bill, that Marathon unit seems pretty sweet! I love it! And <$1000 for a 105 gallon unit! Just plain awesome!



Hohn - the system you describe certainly has many advantages. Unfortunately, cost is not one of them. And remember that although it's true you'd only have to run 1 water line to each faucet, you'd also have to run 1 gas line to every faucet. That's a lot of potentially explosive gas lines! I do think the best advantage to your system is the elimination of the single-point-of-failure that is the current system. But I'd argue it'd be cheaper to run 2 centrally-located on-demand heaters, each plumbed to 1/2 the house. That would eliminate the single-point-of-failure, but still keep costs under control.



-Ryan

 

[The patriot]

The salt used in a softener dont go into your drinking water.

It's used to cleanse the zeolite or beads.

 

[rbattelle]

The salt used in a softener dont go into your drinking water.

It's used to cleanse the zeolite or beads.

But the sodium ions are being introduced into the water as a substitute for magnesium and calcium ions.



-Ryan

 

[bmoeller]

Ryan, did you put any type of lubricant on the o-ring? If you installed it dry, they can tear.

 

[rbattelle]

Ryan, did you put any type of lubricant on the o-ring? If you installed it dry, they can tear.

Against my best judgement, I installed it dry. The instructions said nothing at all about properly lubricating it (package instructions and every instruction I could find online), and I was unsure how hot the element body might get. Since I didn't have any high-temp lube around, I put it on dry.



I think the leak I had actually helped out, though, in the sense that the water lubricated the o-ring when I cranked down on it. Connection is completely dry now.



On of my "lessons learned" from this job is to apply silicone grease prior to assembly - the element body doesn't get very hot at all.



-Ryan

 

[Hohn]

Man, I'm losing my mind-- not posting very clearly.

I forgot to mention that in my "dream" water system, the "water conditioner" is NOT a water "softener. "

The whole idea behind my incoming water treatment is to take stuff out of the water, not put it in. Thus, the need for filtration, not softening. Expensive, yes. Practical, not really. Nice to have YOU KNOW IT!

Also, the decentralized heating would be ELECTRIC, not gas. While I'd prefer gas for a centralized system, I'd want electric in this arrangement for a number of reasons:
-- the elimination of a spaghetti worth of gas lines (as Ryan pointed out)
-- You can make electricity a lot of ways, and I'm guessing that oil and gas prices will continue to climb to scary levels.


Overall, my concept is sort of like having your own little water treatment facility.

 

[The patriot]

But the sodium ions are being introduced into the water as a substitute for magnesium and calcium ions.



-Ryan

Well it cant be a significant amount if this process is used in steam plants.

 

[Little Bill]

Unfortunately, tanks fail quicker in softened water because of the increased sodium content. It's one of those "choose your evil" things. I acutally cranked my softener WAY down when I learned that, because I'd prefer the heater fail from sediment than from a sudden rupture!



Don't tell that to my 30 year old water heater. He's happy with his soft water.



Link to non-corrosivity of soft water from the Water Quality Association -

http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?ID=366

 

[daveshoe]

Change the anode

I recently saw a this old house episode that did just what you describe,but 'ol rich definately recommends changing the sacrificial annode. If you see any rust at all,once the annode is gone,the rust will really progress quickly--perhaps even more quickly once the unit is cleaned out.

Annodes are available that are jointed to eliminate headroom problems...

The annode is on the top of the heater. Good luck.

 

[rbattelle]

Ion exchange water softening neither causes nor controls corrosion.

I had no idea. That's very good to know!! Thanks for the link, Little Bill. It's funny that my water heater manual specifically states the contrary.



Hohn - I didn't know they made electric on-demand heaters. Now your plan makes more sense.



-Ryan

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I recently saw a this old house episode that did just what you describe...

I saw that episode as well. He cut apart an electric water heater and all the other guys made fun of him for taking a Sawzall to it for a cutaway demonstration. Personally, I love cutaway demos - both pre/post mortem. I remember that the heater they cut apart had some pretty thin looking sheetmetal for the tank.



Plastic almost seems like the way to go, but the areas where the plastic has to be joined to metal are potential problems. It would be a different story if the heater was plumbed with PVC and had plastic heating elements and all plastic fittings.



Matt

 

[EricBu12]

Ryan,



We use a whole house water filter just off the inlet to the house..... it is a 5 to 15 micron filter and it takes out all the rust, sediment and junk before anything including the water softener.



Home Depot has a nice one with close off valves for sevicing the filter..... do this and you won't need to flush the heater as much... plus the water for everything else is that much better



Eric

 

[ironbutt]

Bill; You will not be sorry for getting the Marathon heater. The unit is the best Electric water heater on the market. Check Grainger for a better price. The 3800 watt heating elements last much longer than the standard 4500 watt units. (a little slower on recovery time, but calcification is slowed down due to lower heat range. )

Also the insulation is so good that the unit saves money in stand by heat loss. The utility that I retired from used to lease them. Good luck with it. "Ironbutt"

 

[rbattelle]

Whilst on the subject of water heaters...

I know I can't be the only person on Earth who believes in taking your time and doing things right. If I were, I'd be the only TDR member.



So tonight I decided to replace the anode rod in my water heater, since among the sediment I removed many pieces of anode rod. Piece of cake, right? It would be, if the OEM rod weren't electrochemically welded to the damn tank! That's right, apparently no type of thread lubricant was applied when the rod was installed. Since the tank is steel and the anode rod threads are steel, over the past 7 years they have decided to weld themselves into one large mass.



After trying to unscrew it with more torque than my truck lug nuts require, with the entire heater bending and flexing under the stress of the rachet, I decided to cut my losses and let the piece of junk sit there and rot into oblivion with its original rod in place.



Thank you very much, American Water Heater company.



-Ryan

 

[EricBu12]

Ryan,



Try this stuff... . i had a lock on a receiver hitch that got corroded up with raod salt and a few minutes with this stuff broke it loose to open up...



http://www.autobarn.net/16blpeca.html

 

[rbattelle]

I keep a stock of PB Blaster, and I even considered using it. But I am so angry at this point that I just want to walk away and let the thing rot itself out. Over my short career working on rusted-out automobiles I've found that once a fastener welds itself in place there is not a penetrating lubricant on Earth that will do you any good. Especially on a 3/4 NPT fastener!



The heater is in full service. I've decided to leave it that way.



-Ryan

 

[rbattelle]

#@$%! #@$%!



Remember the movie "A Christmas Story"? Remember how the dad was always fighting with the furnace? That's how I feel about this pile of scrap metal they call a water heater.



Everything seemed to be fine until earlier this week I started getting SUPER HOT water in the shower despite having the thermostats set to 120. Checked water temperature Friday morning - 140 degrees. Must be a blown thermostat causing one or both elements to remain on continuously. [WHY WHY WHY do they make them so they fail in the ON position!?!?!?!?!? ]



By the time I got to replacing it Friday night the lower element (brand new, 2 weeks old) had BURNED OUT. #@$%! Picture of it is below. TWO WEEKS!



Drain tank, extract (mangled) element, install new element, new lower thermostat, clean out 10 pounds more sediment, fill with water. Element leaks at the o-ring, of course. Tighten element. At this point it just "sweats" lightly over a period of many hours.



I HATE this thing. I've decided to do what Justin suggested and go to a tankless electric. When I do, I'd love to pound the old one into a cube with a sledge and mail it back to the company that made it. Yeah, that'll show 'em! :-laf