Replies

1. 
   johnnyd | Oct 21, 2003 04:39pm | #1

   Probably lime or scale build-up.  Do you soften your water?

   They say WHs should be drained once a year to help keep sediment build-up down.

1. 
   Wet_Head | Oct 22, 2003 06:20am | #8

   flushing is a better term than draining.  does a lot more good.  just a friendly tip.

    

1. 
   johnnyd | Oct 22, 2003 03:22pm | #9

   So you would actually back-flush by closing the hot water outlet valve and then running pressure through the tank and out the drain valve?

   Good reason to put valves in when installing the HWH.

   Another question....I've got WIRSBO PEX running from the manifolds into the slab of my garage/workshop. 

   Should I cover this PEX with pipe insulation to protect it from UV, since I don't plan to enclose this space?

1. 
   fortdh | Oct 22, 2003 07:23pm | #10

   Although it is a good idea to have gate or ball valves on the lines, you do not need them to back flush the tank. Simply turn off house faucets, connect a hose to the lower tank valve, and open the valve. The incoming cold water will fluse right through the bottom area of the tank.

   It is also better to have a good gate or ball valve on the tank to allow a strong flush, and less likely to trap debris in the low cost valve tanks usually have. Have ####spare brass hose cap with washer just in case you can't get a good seal when closing the original valve.

   RE pex and uv. Don't know how exposed the pex is to uv, but foam pipe insulation will help protect it from a lot of accidents in a working area. I would do it, and secure with some nylon pull ties.

   PaulEnergy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

1. 
   johnnyd | Oct 22, 2003 07:27pm | #11

   Good idea, thanks.

2. 
   Wet_Head | Oct 30, 2003 07:39am | #15

   yeah, except you don't need to close the hot water valve. 

2. 
   rjw | Oct 21, 2003 05:23pm | #2

   Not air - as noted it's sediment buildup on the bottom.  You should flush 'em regularly (yearly or more often.)

   If you are hearing the popping, it [i]might[/i] be to late or more difficult to clean - you might have to drain it, remove the hose bib and try to get stuff out with a wire or something.

   I recently read an article by one of the =manufacturers that 1/2 of sediment will reduce efficiency 75%.  It might well be worthwhile to just replace it.  At today's energy prices, a new water heater will probably pay for itself in a year or two as against an older unit with that level of inefficiency

   _______________________

   Albert Einstein said it best:

   “Problems,” he said, “cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.”

   Your mileage may vary ....

1. 
   fortdh | Oct 21, 2003 07:27pm | #3

   My son's house has had those little tiny steam explosions under the sediment from day one in his new house (three years old now). We have drained it a few times, but can't get much trash out. I am puzzled as to why it did the popping from the begining. Being in the attic, (not his design), he doesn't relish the idea of removing it. AS you said, it has to cost in efficiency...PaulEnergy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

1. 
   rjw | Oct 21, 2003 07:48pm | #4

   Hmm, strange.  Gas or electric?.  I don't see a lot of electric water heaters in my area, but I have the impression thaty are more likely to get that popping sound from build up on the elements themselves, but I don't recall running into that on newer heaters.

   Could it posibly be a used heater was installed?  Look at the serial number, most will have the year of manufacture as eith the first 2 or second set of two numbers in the #.  (If it's Bradford White, look at the first letter in the ser #:  P = 1997; S = 1998; T = 1999; W = 2000)

   Or, if it's a gas water heater, look for the ANSI year - it should be 1-3 years before the year of manufacture (on a house builit in 2000) I'd expect to see an ANSI date of 1998 +/1 1.

   or .... Hmmmm.

   _______________________

   Albert Einstein said it best:

   “Problems,” he said, “cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.”

   Your mileage may vary ....

2. 
   NormKerr | Oct 21, 2003 07:52pm | #5

   wow, whoever put a water heater in an attic must have been high or something. I sure hope there's a good drain pan, with drainage, under it for when it fails and leaks (they all do, eventually). lf there is no way to provide drainage then he should make it a ritual to check on it every six months or something (it is not always easy to see when one is gonna leak, but they usually start getting tell-tale rust "around the edges" around then.

   The poping noise is caused by oxygen coming out of the cold water under heating due to sediment build up. I would think that a new heater doing that may have come from the factory with a surface defect in the glass coating or dirt that got in there during construction or something else like super, super hard water building up lime right away.

   Draining the water heater does not ALWAYS work to eliminate the sound. Definitely, keeping the inside of the tank free from sediment/lime buildup is the way to help get the maximum life out of it.

   What I always do, is remove the factory drain (usually crap anyway) and replace it with a 3/4" ball valve. When I flush out my tank I want WATER to come out, with the fullest force possible, to clean/scour the insides as much as possible. If your tank came with a simple, straight dip tube (the thing that directs the cold inlet water to the bottom of the tank), you want to replace it with a curved one that directs the cold incoming water into a swirling motion around the bottom of the tank, to aid the scouring effect.

   Norm

1. 
   sledgie | Oct 22, 2003 02:48am | #6

   The heater is about 7 years old and didn't have soft water until last year, so it probably is full of crud.  We'll see if draining will help.  Thanks for the advice.

2. 
   fortdh | Oct 22, 2003 03:18am | #7

   Bob and Norm,

   There are two heaters in his attic, both gas.Hundreds of new two story homes in Dallas area being built that way. He didn't have a choice. House already built. There is a pan with drain under them, so drips outside would be an early warning.

   The heaters looked new, but I will pass on the code date info.

   He checks them often, and knows to change the anodes every 6 years.

   It is a dumb system and very common in whole subdivisions, as the heaters are side by side, and either houses suffer cool kitchen hot water, or cool master bath hot water, depending on layout.(everthing serviced through slab, so once entered the water looses its heat)

   We ran a direct line across the attic to as close as possible to the kitchen as we could get. Entered the kitchen at a ceiling corner, and then exposed until we could enter the wall to drop to the wet wall behind the sink. I then got to install crown moulding to my daughter-in-law's delight in kitchen and breakfast room, to hide the water line. A lot of work, but they now have hot water at both ends of the house.( and the only heated crown molding I know of)

   I will be down there in Dec., and we'll take another look at flushing. Tks to you both.

   PaulEnergy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

1. 
   whoover | Oct 23, 2003 08:38pm | #12

   It is not enough to have a drip pan with a drain.  The most common problem is that the drain becomes a home for critters and dirt and becomes clogged over the 5-10 years it takes for the water heater to fail.  Regular maintainance should include flushing the pan drain!

2. 
   fortdh | Oct 25, 2003 02:41am | #13

   I agree 100% . I have also cautioned son to keep pan clear of his cellulose insulation, as its the first to be floated to the drain in the pan. The attic is a lousy place to store 100 gal of hot water, but it's pretty common in Texas. He has two water heaters, two gas furnaces and four flues in the attic! The surface area of the supply and return ductwork is almost equal to the attic sq footage. It's been a challenge, but we have made a lot of progress.

   PaulEnergy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

3. 
   edwardh1 | Oct 29, 2003 09:21pm | #14

   water heater in attic is bad.

   Gas fired heater fed by propane is worse since propane is heavier than air compared with piped gas.

   But in South carolina no problem. You can do it. My son in law's house has 2 nd water heater in the attic.