New Water Heater equals Air in Lines?

[rdoc]

Some Background:

So... a little while back I replaced the electric water heater. We get a lot of minerals and sulfur gas in our well and it was finally too much for the bottom element. It was a straight-forward job of unscrewing the hot and cold lines from the insulated nipples, slide the old one out, new nipples, crank down the flex lines and reattach the 220. Only real difference this one has is the digital temp deal on the side... set at 130F. I know some won't like that temperature but there are no children or elderly but I have immune issues left over from Lyme disease and it's not worth not having your water at biologically safe temperatures, especially with a well.

The Problem:

Ever since the installation I have had air in the hot lines. This is present in both the feeds to the front and back of the house and affects all the spigots. It never gets worse but it never gets better... any time you run a faucet it is fine until the hot water makes it to the tap and then it gurgles and spits every few minutes.

I can't see any way for air to get in the lines at the heater level (they split right above the unit) but that's where it has to come from or it would not affect both ends of the house. I wondered if the holding tank was water logging any faster than usual, but it is not (old fashioned but not old galvanized tank style). We get the sulfur gas like many wells out here that turns everything red and brown but one would not think this would occur from that on the exact day the new heater is installed. It certainly is annoying.

What could be causing this?

Thanks.

posted to home.repair and rural in hopes of hitting pertinent experience.

[rdoc]

BTW... there is no air issues with the cold water pipes.

[Paul Drahn]

Have you lifted the arm on the safety valve to let any residual air escape? Just pop it a bit until just water comes out.

Paul

[micky]

fIs it possible the sulfur is reacting with something in the HWH and making gas. Some material in the new HWH that wasn't in the old one?

As tp air entering, if there were a leak, it seems a lot more likely water would be exiting. (Of course I have city water which is under pressure. I don't know how well water systerms are set up.) Especially when you're not usig the hot water, but if there is a chance air is getting sucked in, maybe you can at the joints you fiddled with for the installation, wrap a soaking wet towl around the joint and maybe that will keep air from getting in, for the length of a test. This is just a guess. I've had spitting but only after water was drained from pipes.

[NapalmHeart]

You might want to try pulling the anode rod.

[trader4]

Unstated is how long this has been going on. Has water been drawn from all the hot water faucets to get air out of all the lines? If all else has been ruled out, then I would agree it might be the anode rod reacting and generating gas and that would be worth ruling out. Assuming of course that the rod can be pulled. If it's a basement and no clearance, then that's a problem.

[rdoc]

Actually, I have not... even though I used to try them out periodically. I read somewhere not to test them so as to not make them pop prematurely. Maybe I'll turn it off and run it down to lukewarm and open it to see but one would think that after a month or so and all the air that's hit the spigots that it would be purged. Of course, after this long I'm open to anything, just about.

[rdoc]

I'm wondering about the sulfur as well, but don't know anything about the makeup of the tank.

[rdoc]

What would that accomplish? With well water, it can be especially important to have that there and in good shape. These minerals can wreak havoc on elements. It doesn't *appear* that anything is being hurt by this situation... pulling the anode might guarantee that something gets hurt, wouldn't it?

[trader4]

He's suggesting pulling the anode to see if it's the source of the problem. Since you have sulfur and a lot of minerals, it's possible that the water is reacting with the anode, causing gas. If it is the anode, there are ones made of other metals, Al?, that don't react as much. They are typically used to solve problems of the water smelling bad.

How long has this been going on now? At all hot water faucets?

[rdoc]

He's suggesting pulling the anode to see if it's the source of the problem. Since you have sulfur and a lot of minerals, it's possible that the water is reacting with the anode, causing gas. If it is the anode, there are ones made of other metals, Al?, that don't react as much. They are typically used to solve problems of the water smelling bad.

How long has this been going on now? At all hot water faucets?

Heh... Interesting. Thanks. Like I said... all faucets at both ends of the house and I've waited it out for a couple of months hoping to see some other reason present itself. It only starts after the hot water replaces the cold at the taps.

This is a Whirlpool ES50R123-45D and it is 48 inches high and up on three bricks. It would be very close as for clearing at the floorboards above. It might depend on whether it can be navigated through some pipes and such above. I had to replace one of these a long time ago at an in-law's house but I really don't remember much about it, now. Seems to me that theirs being rotted off was no big deal getting out but angling the new one in gave us trouble... I even want to say we cut an inch or two off but I might be mixing memories with something else as we always are into something around this farm. Come to think of it... they have low ceilings down their place.

How long is a the anode and can I buy one at the big box hardware or do I special order one? My water goes through spells where it smells worse than other spells, but now that you mention it these last couple of months have been really bad.

Thanks again.

[willshak]

rdoc wrote the following on 3/5/2013 9:19 PM (ET):

or:

[chaniarts]

they make foldable anodes for low clearance situations

[nestork]

Yes, they're called "segmented" anode rods, but if you just say that you want one that'll bend, fold or flex cuz of the lack of overhead clearance, then everyone will know what you mean.

[image:

If it were me, I would NOT pop the P&T relief valve on the water heater just to see if any gas comes out. These things can be notorious for not closing fully afterwards, resulting in a continuous drip from the relief valve down pipe.

[trader4]

That whole thing is based on the premise that there is air trapped in the pipes somewhere. That seems unlikely to me, since he says it's been going on for months. At some point, if air is coming out, it would exhaust itself and several months seems like a very long time. Also, since it's coming out of ALL the hot water taps, it would have to be trapped in a common part of the pipes, close to the WH. That it's coming from either the tank or the pipes close to the tank are further verified by the fact that he says the air only shows up when hot water arrives at the faucet. All that suggests to me that it is in fact being generated inside the tank.

[rdoc]

He's suggesting pulling the anode to see if it's the source of the problem. Since you have sulfur and a lot of minerals, it's possible that the water is reacting with the anode, causing gas. If it is the anode, there are ones made of other metals, Al?, that don't react as much. They are typically used to solve problems of the water smelling bad.

How long has this been going on now? At all hot water faucets?

Whirlpool seems to agree with this. I am to order the AK90 anode that is made of Aluminum, Zinc and Tin. It is 42" and will likely clear. I looked at the tank and the 'anode' sticker is between several holes/plugs. A diagram I found doesn't show those other holes so I pulled the one that looks closest to that diagram and there is foam under it. Can/Should I just cut that foam away or is this a sign that I'm looking at the wrong place. The previous tank had a hex that sat slightly higher than the rest of the tank, so this may be something I need to research.

[rdoc]

The one they are suggesting is only 42" so it should be good. I think I agree about the relief valve. Any air should have been gone long ago and any in there now muxjh be being generated. As I said in another post, I read a piece a while back that suggested that was actually a very bad idea that could result in a pop-off at conditions below usual standards.

[trader4]

I guess there are two sides to that issue. One is that if you do open the TPR, it may then leak. I agree with that. But on the other hand, if you never open it, is it possible that it's frozen and won't open if it has to? If it does leak, a new one is $10. But then there is the issue of whether you can get the old one unscrewed, etc...... I have to admit, I'm not in the habit of fooling with mine.

[Harry K]

Yep. Can't be anywhere else and the possibility of air being 'sucked into a joint' is zero.

Harry K

[NapalmHeart]

It can be covered by foam, but a little more research won't hurt.

Here are a couple of links that look at this from a different perspective.