No hot shower is a biggie for us, less important for tub bathers.
So you have gone 3 days without hot water, spent 20 bucks on a anode
rod, how much will the vinegar cost, you will need a LOT to really
clean the tank since the rust MIGHT b formed in the bottom but then
again MAY be near the top:(
Letus know how it goes your family must be patient:) I KNOW mine never
is:(
Some time ago Consumer Reports cut open water heater to check the insides.
As I recall, the 9 or 12 year warranty heaters contained much better
insulation that the 6 year warranty.
If you decide to replace it...
No hot shower is a biggie for us, less important for tub bathers.
So you have gone 3 days without hot water, spent 20 bucks on a anode
rod, how much will the vinegar cost, you will need a LOT to really
clean the tank since the rust MIGHT b formed in the bottom but then
again MAY be near the top:(
Letus know how it goes your family must be patient:) I KNOW mine never
is:(
With hot water heaters your much better off buyimng a longer warranty
heater with higher BTU output so you dont run out of hot water!
The price difference between a 34,000 BTU 40 gallon 6 year warranty
tank and a 50 gallon 75,000 BTU is TWICE the amount of available hot
water, better insulation, better drain valve, likely brass, longer
warranty and not a big price difference!
Glad you got it open,
Mine looks the same with the "sludge" scary to think you drink/shower in
that. but oh well.
I put hydrogen peroxide in mine every month or 2 to kill a sulfur smell that
grows from bacteria in my well.
Dave
Except, the temperature is generally too high for bacteria to
reproduce rapidly (your body gives you a fever of 105*F to fight
infection), the water is under pressure, and is usually full of
chlorine or chloramine.
I don't doubt that there are a few hardy strains of bacteria that
could thrive in such conditions (some particularly nasty
microorganisms can live in natural hot springs, for example), but it
seems pretty unlikely that they could survive the trip through public
water processing plants.
If you have a well, then all bets are off.
Look up info on the legionella pneumophila bacterium -- the bug that
causes Legionnaire's disease. I keep my water heater at >= 140 deg. F to
discourage growth. The bacterium can colonize dead legs of the water
system and pose probs especially in "aerosols" such as showers. It's not
just folks with wells who should be concerned.
Just for completeness:
As noted, after much effort, I did get the rod out. Next time, I'll get
an impact wrench. I put a new (aluminum) rod in. I flushed the tank
several times, including 2x with vinegar. One thing I found is that it
flushes much more 'powerfully' if I remove the draincock.
... And, it's running, no leaks so far. We'll see how it goes.
Thanks to all who replied.
George
Oh, yeah. Tank was empty. I poured a gal of white vinegar into the
anode rod hole (I hadn't put the new rod in), and let it sit overnight.
No water added. That's what the vendor's web site said to do.
When I let that drain, it came a little dirty ('rusty'), so I flushed
with water - as in, run about 5 gal of water into the tank, then take
the draincock off and let it gush out into a bucket. This brought out
'some' (like, a cup or two) of white lumpy stuff. I'm guessing that the
vinegar is supposed to dissolve that.
So, I stuck a wooden dowel down the anode rod hole, and kind of stirred
up the bottom. It felt like it might be plowing through some sort of
sediment. I flushed that with water a few more times, and got out more
lumpy white stuff. The water was a little cloudy, but not 'rusty'.
Then, I did another vinegar flush, as above. After I flushed that with
water, it ran clean.
Yes - to my eye, the water is running clean. And, when I let it sit,
nothing settles out of it.
G
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