 | ||||
| ||||
| | ||||
| ||||
| Moderated by: Admin |
|
||||||||||||||
| Low hot water flow and strange water heater connections | Rate Topic |
| Author | Post |
|---|
| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 05:50 pm |
|
1st Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
Hi All, I've inherited a property from my parents which has a Rheem Fury model 21V30-7N water heater (heater is about 20 years old). A picture is attached. The tenant has never had hot water. When you turn on the hot sink tap, the water slows to a trickle within 1 second. Cold water flows fine. The pipes are galvanized and are 60 years old. However, when I turn on the hot sink tap, the flex line on the top of the water heater on the right-hand side (labeled COLD) gets hot. The left-hand flex line is cool. So I'm thinking that the heater is plumbed backwards. Also, from reading on this forum, I've learned about heat-check nipples. I'm wondering if this would prevent water from flowing out the COLD port (or in my case, very restricted flow, because SOME hot water is being fed to the sink.) Also, as you can see in the attached picture, there is a TPR valve attached to the “third” opening on the top of the water heater. So I'm trying to determine where the anode rod is. Has anyone ever seen a TPR valve connected to a "combo" type anode rod? And wouldn't a combo anode rod always be in the hot-water port? Any help/opinions would be appreciated, Attachment: Water heater small.JPG (Downloaded 30 times)
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 02:43 am |
|
2nd Post |
|
elenano GCF-GL 
|
That's naughty of you to ask me directly AND here! Well, I answered most of it directly. For the rest: Heat trap nipples could affect flow, but this heater might not have them; they're a relatively recent development. Besides, they usually stop flow altogether. Nope, it's probably the galvanized. Randy Schuyler
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 04:30 am |
|
3rd Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
Sorry Randy - I thought that other people would see the question as well. Thanks for the reply. Ron
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 04:33 pm |
|
4th Post |
|
elenano GCF-GL
|
Well, you have a point: other people WILL see your question. Perhaps it's I who should apologize. Randy Schuyler
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 06:44 pm |
|
5th Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
No problem. I for one am happy that you've taken the time to establish this forum. The information on it has been very helpful to me. Ron 
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 06:46 am |
|
6th Post |
|
eleent Member
|
Hello: You likely know the anode is 180 degrees from the relief valve, behind the vent hookup. As for flow, Do you get good water flow from the heater's drain valve? Does it keep flowing? If so, the restriction is in the hot outlet or further downstream. Do let us know  yours, Larry ps. That relief valve drain line is supposed to flow downhill. Last edited on Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 06:47 am by eleent |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 04:41 pm |
|
7th Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
eleent wrote: Hello: You likely know the anode is 180 degrees from the relief valve, behind the vent hookup. As for flow, Do you get good water flow from the heater's drain valve? Does it keep flowing? If so, the restriction is in the hot outlet or further downstream. Do let us know Thanks for the observations. I'm not sure if there is a port for the anode at the back-side of the heater - I will definitely check. I'm also going to check the drain valve and the output directly from the hot outlet (which is currently the one labeled "cold" <grin> .And the comment about the relief valve drain makes sense. I did not do the plumbing of this heater. I will try to correct that when I re-plumb. It's a bit problematic because the "exhaust" pipe that the relief valve is connected is a copper pipe which exits through a concrete-block wall behind the heater. It's going over the top of the heater because of space constraints. Thanks again. Ron
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Mar 8th, 2010 11:29 pm |
|
8th Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
I just wanted to update this topic with more details on the diagnosis: 1. User "eleent" was correct. The anode port is on the back-side of the water heater and so is not visible in the picture I attached. Thanks! 2. I pulled both the cold-water and hot-water supply lines, and discoved that no (or very little) cold water was being fed to the water heater. The supply pipe from the cold-water main supply is behind the water heater (you can't see it in the picture). It is a vertical pipe that is "stubbed" into the main cold-water pipe, which is in concrete under the floor. I'm 99% certain that it is THIS pipe that is clogged with corrosion. However, the sink and toilet DO get cold water from the same cold-water main pipe further down the run, so I'm hopeful that I will be able to replace just the pipe above the ground and get adequate cold water supply to the water heater. Only then will I be able to know for sure that the hot-water supply to the sinks is OK or not. Thanks for all the comments. Ron
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Mar 22nd, 2010 04:28 am |
|
9th Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
OK, the saga continues... I ran a new cold-water supply line and connected it to the water heater. The new line has plenty of water supply/pressure. When I turned the cold water on, I opened the drain valve on the water heater and only about 1 quart of water drained out. I also could not hear water flowing into the water heater. The water heater has a label on it stating it has a metal dip tube. Is it possible that the dip tube is clogged so much that water can't get into the heater? I tried to remove the nipple (assuming the dip tube was attached), but I couldn't break it free from the rust around it. I was by myself, had a relatively small pipe wrench and was just twisting the water heater. Second question - I also tried to remove the anode rod - had a 20-inch torque wrench on the nut but it wouldn't budge. I'm intending on replacing it no matter what. Can I safely use an impact wrench (like for changing tires) to break it free? Ron
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Mar 22nd, 2010 05:00 am |
|
10th Post |
|
elenano GCF-GL
|
Yes you can use an impact wrench. People do it all the time. As to the metal dip tube, I don't believe it. That's just a garden-variety Rheem and it will have a plastic dip tube. But I'm curious: could you post a picture of the label, or copy its wording here? There could be sediment clogging the drain valve, especially if it's the original-equipment piece of plastic junk that comes with most water heaters. Go to Know-How and read up on replacing drain valves. If you're dumping the heater anyway, it may not be worth your trouble, but you'll want to replace the drain valve on the replacement anyway. Thanks for the update. Randy Schuyler
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Mar 22nd, 2010 05:10 am |
|
11th Post |
|
rsaritzky Member
|
The label says something to this effect (I'm quoting it from memory, but will post a picture of the label when I can). "When sweating connections, be sure to sweat the connection first then attach it to the nipple - this water heater has a METAL dip tube made of (some metal)...." The drain valve seems to be working. As i said, I got a little bit of water (maybe a quart or two) at a good flow rate. But the telling thing was that I could not hear or feel any water coming in through the new supply line - I turned on the shutoff valve, heard the 18-inch connnector pipe pressurise, then the noise stopped (as if the water heater were full.) I then opened the drain valve and got a quart of water. I did not check the output from the hot outlet, but I was not getting any water at the sink when turned to the "Hot" position, and no flow sounds were audible either. I will in fact make that final check before I toss the water heater out. Ron
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Current time is 01:25 am | |
| waterheaterrescue.com > Forums > The Tank > Low hot water flow and strange water heater connections | Top |
