I bought a house a couple months ago and have been fighting water heater issues since day one. First it was the thermal overload. I figured that out and adjusted the thermostats. Then the breaker was tripping. Once we moved in and started using hot water more, the breaker started tripping less for whatever reason. Lately, it started tripping very frequently, and water stayed hot for way less time. So I decided it was time to truly investigate. I assumed it was a dead lower heating element.

I opened the breaker, closed the fill valve, and opened the drain. Once water stopped draining, I removed the wiring from the top element and removed it. Water came out.

WTF, this should be drained… I shoved it back in to plug the hole and investigated the drain. I got my oil pan out and straightened a wire hanger and shoved it in there, ready to catch whatever came out.

I was not prepared for this. So much goddamn scale. I don’t think this water heater has ever been flushed. I’m still hard at work, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been working for hours to get this shit out. There was scale and brine sludge up to the lower element, which had corroded it apart. That’s like a foot of this shit.

New elements are in and wired up (I found a pack of two elements and two thermostats for only like $35) and I’m continuously filling and draining while alternating between using the wire hanger and a small pipe cleaner to fuck the drain hole.

I’ve never looked forward to a hot shower more than I do right now.

Edit:

My wife cooked a delicious steak, potatoes, and asparagus dinner, paired with a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. I took 400mg ibuprofen for my back and then enjoyed an aged, cold Mad Elf Ale in a hot shower. The breaker has not tripped. I’ll call this a success. I didn’t fully flush all the crap out because I ran out of time, but I’ll plan on doing a monthly flush until the chunks stop coming, and then I’m thinking a semiannual PM to flush it unless somebody recommends otherwise? I’m gonna also buy a new magnesium anode rod and replace the existing one within the year because it doesn’t look like this one has ever been replaced. Magnesium because I’m on a water softener and I plan to have all of the hardness out of the heater soon enough, so hardness shouldn’t be an issue.

  • MrVilliam@lemm.eeOPEnglish
    5·
    1 day ago

    I appreciate the info!

    I opened hot taps on the floor above to break vacuum. My wife had questions about the sounds she was hearing and I compared it to putting your thumb on the top of a straw to hold liquid in the straw; I just took the figurative thumb off the top of the figurative straw to drain it.

    I don’t have a shop vac (yet). I’m a new homeowner and have bought plenty of new things lately and wasn’t in the mood to go to the store in the middle of what I was dealing with, so I just stirred up and drained the bits I saw through the element hole. I didn’t know just how much it was until I’d already been at it for a long while anyway lol.

    The house is only about 7 years old, and I’m assuming the water heater is too. There’s a water softener attached, but I bet it’s a new addition they put in in response to the hardness they were growing in the water heater.

    I had googled thermostat settings and was mostly seeing about 125° as the recommended temp, and the thermostats I bought were factory set to 120 and the manual recommended against raising it. Now I know I can bump mine up a touch if I feel like it!

    I’m a power plant operator with a background in water chemistry. I was uniquely prepared to understand this situation, but not as well equipped as you would’ve been lol.

    • el_eh_chase@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      3·
      1 day ago

      Sounds like you had a good idea of what you were doing. I suppose I was making too many assumptions after reading your initial post! As long as you got the job done.

      With a 7 year old heater and that much sediment/deposit it’s definitely water quality. Where I am water heaters can run for 15 years on city water without a flush. I know there are many types of water treatment options for different scenarios, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Luckily, it sounds like that’s your area of expertise.

      The 140°F setting is coming from memory so it’s possible that I’m off or that it isn’t a universal setting. I would tend to stick with the manufacturer’s recommendations. I know it’s possible to buy higher temperature rated thermostats then the ones we use though.

      I don’t know how equipped I would’ve been, I’m still just a helper lol.

      Congats and good luck with the new home too!

      EDIT: Just checked the spec sheet of the water heater brand I install. The Canadian models are set to 140°F, but the American ones are set to 125°F. I wonder why there are different standards?

      • The_v@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 day ago

        140F is fast scalding temperature, aka it can cause 1st degree burns especially to infants, toddlers or elderly on contact.

        125F is still hot but does not cause burns on contact.

        If you have small children or elderly who are going to be using the water, use the lower temp. If your household is all adults, you can go with the higher one.

        https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Scalding_Temperatures.php

        • el_eh_chase@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          1·
          15 hours ago

          Yeah I’ve come across a number of homes where people have turned the temperature down for children and the elderly. The proper thing to do is add a mixing valve that adds some cold water to the hot once it leaves the tank. That way you can maintain the temperature at 140°F, which the source in the other reply identifies as the proper temperature to prevent Legionella.

          • The_v@lemmy.world
            2·
            13 hours ago

            Proper thing to do is to require an integrated mixing valve on the tank itself that cannot be easily bypassed by DIY’ers or shithead landlords looking to save a buck.

            I just added a mixing valve above my tank. My wife and teenager were having too many fights over showering time. 140F provides a lot longer showers.

            However if I sell or rent out the place in the U.S. I have to set the tank to 120F based upon the current laws.

            • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              12 hours ago

              From that link, most of what refers to 120 is at the tap. Most hot water tanks either have a mixing valve so the water leaving is 120 but you store it at 140 in the tank, or there is a separate mixing valve elsewhere. If you read further down, there are direct references to storing at 140 and dispensing at 120. There’s also a complete section on legionaires elsewhere on that site that discusses it.