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bcrazy
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Posted: Sun Nov 4th, 2007 07:33 pm |
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| Hi, I have a question for you. I have a LOT of calcium build up, I assume coming from my hot water. When I run a bath chunks of white stuff float around. My white clothes which I wash in hot water are dingy. We disconnected the hot water line from the washer and cleaned out the screen and it was gross, the water that leaked out of the hose was yellow. Anyway, do I get a new hwh or fix the old? If I resort to a new one, what would you suggest for a family of 4 in a 2200sf house, with 2.5 bthrooms? The one we have now is a 1991 Rheem, gas, 34000 btu, 40 gal., and it doesn't seem to be enough. Last edited on Sun Nov 4th, 2007 07:36 pm by bcrazy
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eleent
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Posted: Sun Nov 4th, 2007 09:39 pm |
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Hello: Let me make some guesses 
First guess is that the dip tube in your heater is falling apart. The dip tube is a plastic pipe that delivers cold water to the bottom of the tank and prevents it from mixing with hot water higher up in the tank. As a dip tube disintegrates, bits of white or tan plastic can float in the water, looking like sediment, plugging things up.
Second guess is that you have a recirculation or instant hot water line. One way these misbehave is to allow water to flow backwards through them, cooling down hot water and mixing in sediment from the bottom of the tank. It likely needs a spring check valve.
Third guess is that your house still has some steel piping in it. This can turn water yellowish or brown. Sometimes, if water sits long enough in a copper line, it can turn yellow also.
If there are plumbing issues mentioned above, your heater could be OK, just in need of some TLC. Anyway, it certainly does need an anode. Have a look in the combustion chamber for rust (as described elsewhere on this site). If you do replace it, a 50 gallon heater would be appropriate.
Yours, Larry
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bcrazy
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Posted: Sun Nov 4th, 2007 09:46 pm |
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| Thank you, I would bet it isn't plastic, it desinigrates if you take a piece and rub it, and there is so much of it for a long time now. Also, if it is steel pipes in the house would it be in the cold water also? Oh, and any suggestions on what kind to replace it with? Last edited on Sun Nov 4th, 2007 09:48 pm by bcrazy
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elenano
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Posted: Mon Nov 5th, 2007 08:17 am |
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I'd add a fourth guess to Larry's three.
From the way you describe it, I think it's aluminum anode corrosion byproduct. Stuff in your aerators could easily be disintegrating dip tube, but the fact that it makes your laundry dingy makes me think you have a water heater with an aluminum anode. Tell me the make and maybe I can confirm it.
Solving the problem may just be a matter of replacing the aluminum anode with a magnesium one.
Randy Schuyler
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bcrazy
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Posted: Mon Nov 5th, 2007 03:00 pm |
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It is a Rheem Fury, 1991, 40gal, 34,000btu, natural gas, model # 21V40-7, R-foam insulated, Rheemglas... that's what I could get off the side of it.
I did what you posted in an earlier post about putting the white pieces in vinegar, and they didn't dissolve, so I'm assuming it is the drip tube. I am now just thinking I'll get a new one and start fresh.
I just looked at a new Kenmore Powermiser 12, 40,000btu, 2"insulation, heat trap nipples, and a rotoswirl self cleaner. Do you have any idea what kind of anode it has, what would you suggest I get to "fix it up". thanks
Last edited on Mon Nov 5th, 2007 08:20 pm by bcrazy
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