Quick basic advice on a dripping gas 40-gal hot-water heater

Hi Hallerb, That brings up a good question. All the literature I read said to set the temperature to 120 degrees unless you needed it for dishes in which case they suggested 140 degrees (or was it 130 degrees).

Anyway, with the water heater thermostat set at 120 degrees, I could just take a shower on the fully hot setting while at 140 degrees on the thermostat, I had to mix the water with cold water in the shower setting to be comfortable.

Does everyone mix?

Or does everyone set their shower to the hottest they can stand and that way they go full hot in the shower without mixing with cold water?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo
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Hi James, I'm going to try to remove that kick plate later this week. I unclogged the shower yesterday; it was filled with sand grains:

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I unclogged the kitchen sink with a scissors today.
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Notice the sand grains on my cutting board. They were all over the place!

This new sand does not look like the "scale" that was in the galvanized pipes!

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Where did all this sand come from?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

I looked underneath today. There is a hose going to the garbage disposal and another hose going to the faucet. There is a wire going to an electrical outlet. I'll look more later this week as I had to visit my grandchildren tonight and didn't get back home till late.

Here is what the dishwasher looks like:

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When I take the kick plate off, I'll snap a picture and show you what that "solonoid" looks like.

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

PM?

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

Hey that looks identical to the one I just yanked out of my place, the motor died and the rest was in pretty sad shape, but the new one is very similar and works great. At any rate I'm familiar with the innards. When you remove the kick plate, you'll find adjustable screw feet and you should be able to lower it down enough to get it to fit under the counter lip. The solenoid valve will be right up front on the left side, mine is blue.

Reply to
James Sweet

preventative maintenance

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

"Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coordinator" wrote in message

Hot makes the DW work better. Mine is 145 -150. The shower has an anti-scald valve so you can crank it full and not see the full hot as it will mix. No kids at home that can be scalded at a faucet.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I set my heater to just above comfy for showering. now the max temp will vary. after a day of sitting the water will be cooler than if drawn 10 minutes after my wife showered.

so i mix a little cold with mostly hot.

my reward, little chance of scald, cost to heat water less, tank life much longer. really hot is tough on tanks.

dont set it any hotter than necessary.

some people buy a undersized tank, set temp to max, and mix a lot.

thats not the ideal way and costs more too

Reply to
hallerb

Preventative Maintenance. or Project Management, depending on context. Either one applies in my case :)

nate

Reply to
N8N

n

I think current recommendations have shifted back to setting the HWH at 130-140F for reasons of killing legionella and other nasty bugs, but with tempering valves at all showers and faucets. There's two adults in my house and no kids or elderly so I just leave it set at

130ish and enjoy the nice hot showers. We do have a "no using the can while someone is in the shower" rule, for several reasons, one of which is scalding... if I ever have kids and/or do serious renovations of any area of the house I might add tempering valves as appropriate but I don't feel any pressing need to at this time.

nate

Reply to
N8N

So far, on my side of the story, the water heater, full of tepid water, fell over, and the drain valve popped off spewing water about. I won't soon forget that! The garage still stinks of smelly carpet!

The replacement of the water heater seems to have clogged all the faucets (easy to clean), showerheads (even easier to clean), tub (still clogged), and maybe even the dishwasher (work in progress).

I'm not sure *where* the sand came from but it's clearly in all the faucets so I guess we kicked it loose somehow in the water heater removal and replacement process.

Anyway, now it's time to "remove" the dishwasher, if I can. Does it look like it can be removed from these pictures taken today?

Counter Top:

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Latch:
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Bottom Right:
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Bottom Left:
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Do you think this dishwasher can be removed without breaking the counter tile?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

Hi Only Just,

Another great confidence booster!

Given that wonderful suggestion, I snapped some more pics, just now, of under the sink where the dishwasher water seems to be coming from instead of looking under the "kickplate" where the dangerous-looking wires are.

It looks like a wire and two hoses come out of the dishwasher:

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The white hose seems to go to the garbage disposal
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The steel hose seems to come from the (badly corroded) hot water input:
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Something, I'm not sure why there are three hoses, goes into the sink:
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Does something here look like what you are describing might be clogged?
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Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

Hi Hallerb, I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. I'm so confused with this discussion as to where to post.

I hope others can keep up as I read *everything* everyone says and try to answser the questions so I can help myself and others can follow after we're done so the advice is never wasted.

I took a bunch of pics of the dishwasher today and put them here:

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(Flicker apparently allows only 3 sets so I have to mix the dishwasher clog with the tub clog which is, in a way, the same problem as it happened after the water heater replacement).

I did do research on clogged dishwashers but it's hard to find anything specific to the GE Nautilus.

This article says "unscrew the water inlet hose" to remove sediment:

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This one says "debris" could be caught in the "spray arm":
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This one again points to the "filter" and "solonoid":
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This one suggests it might be the "float" that's clogged:
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I think what I'll do later today (I have the grandkids again) is take apart the inlet line and the solonoid line if I can.

If I see sand in there, I'll know it's the problem! Any other suggestions?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

Hi James,

You gave me the courage to tackle this maybe-clogged dishwasher:

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Here's a pic, taken just now, with the "kick plate" removed:
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Are you suggesting I can remove that blue "solonoid" on the left side with the brass pipe in it and that might be what's probably clogged?

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

:) Whoooshhh!

Reply to
cavedweller

I might first think about using a good shop vac and start sucking at the feed from the water heater or main entrance. open all taps, and of course close main valve. I think the line would have to reseparated at the tank. The dishwasher fill would have to be activated to open valve.

??

greg

Reply to
GregS

Do one tap at a time, or valve.

greg

Reply to
GregS

Hi GregS, Unfortunately, we do not have a "shop vac". My vacuum cleaner isn't likely to do the job either ...

I will try tonight to remove the inlet water line if I can find where it goes and to remove the solonoid to see if either have a screen.

If it's not that, then I'll look at the "float" and the "nozzle" wherever they are, but first I'll try to see if it's the blue solonoid or the hidden inlet screen if there is any.

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl, Grady Volunteer Coo

clog can be anywhere and is likely multiple locations.......

good luck and replace you galvanized ASAP the rough interior surface of galvanized pipe leads to gunk accumulating and breaking lose causing clogs of all types.

soleanoid valves are easy to replace but expensive

Reply to
hallerb

In the unlikely event that it needs it, she can have the solenoid from my junk dishwasher, I haven't had a chance to haul it to the dump yet. I see free dishwashers on craigslist all the time, most are made by just a few different brands and have many parts in common.

Reply to
James Sweet

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