water is yellow after draining hot water heater

So a couple weeks back I decided to drain my hot water heater. Ever since then the hot water comes out with a yellow tint. Any idea why this would happen?

Reply to
wg_2002
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I would drain it again. Let is settle after refilling. Fill slow. Probably suspended particles. Or try turning off the heat and let run full faucet for a couple hours.

Reply to
Thomas

I used your last option. Flushing worked for me.

Reply to
redzap78

URINE

Reply to
jack

OK. Thanks for the info. I will try your suggestions and see if they help. If they don't it might be time for a new hot water heater...:/

Reply to
wg_2002

To make it hotter

Reply to
Congoleum Breckenridge

Sometimes a dose of Vinegar or Rost-off (or CLR - domestic rust stain remover) will do the job by removing whatever rust stains are left on the heater walls.

Reply to
clare

I don't think it's rust. Rust in the water has a more orange color to it which I'm familiar with but this is distinctively yellow in color. I hope it is not the hot water heater going bad. It's a bad time of year for me to install a new one... Anyway, I haven't had a chance to try any of Thomas' suggestions yet but I hope to tonight.

Reply to
wg_2002

What color from all? Yellow yellow needs testing. Now. Shut it down.

Reply to
Thomas

No, it isn't. It's improper terminology. Much like everything being a 'virus' on a computer, even when it's not. Viruses replicate, trojans (which is what most malware is these days) do not. Improper terminology.

Like I said, improper terminology and lack of interest in using the correct terminology. We have specific words with specific meanings for a reason.

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Compared to water heaters, boilers, or hydronic heat systems, require complex pumps and controls. This is because boilers not only heat but also boil water, changing it into steam. While a water heater is effective for only small spaces, a boiler can heat an entire complex, pool or tub.

Because boilers operate in a closed-loop system, they are highly efficient compared to water heaters. A closed-loop system means that after the extraction of heat from steam, the steam changes into water and goes back to the boiler through the pipes where boiling takes place once again.

Another difference between these two is that water boilers can run on natural gas, heating oil, electricity or propane, while water heaters can run on solar, electricity or gas. Water boilers can also run on alternative fuels, such as wood pellets.

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A conventional water heater is essentially a storage tank containing heating elements. It generates heat by using electricity or gas power, warming water to 125 degrees and maintaining the temperature through a thermostat. When the water us needed in a shower, dishwasher or other appliance, it is siphoned from the top of the tank and piped to its destination. At the same time, new, cold water is added to the bottom of the tank, where it is heated for future use.

Boilers convert water to steam, which is used for a variety of purposes, including heating air within a forced air heating system, heating water for household uses or even steam-cleaning carpets and furniture. Considered safe, boilers are also relatively inexpensive to use, thanks to their closed loop system. They are capable of operating on green power, such as burning corn pellets or firewood. In fact, those who finance their purchase of boilers say the savings in energy costs offsets interest paid.

Reply to
Diesel

No, they don't. The majority of "boilers" merely heat hot water. Steam boilers are a smaller percentage of the total.

I don't like that terminology, I think the term should be reserved for something that makes steam, but for whatever reason that is how it is used.

Then there is the Apollo type system, where an open loop boiler/hotwater heater does both hydronic heating and domestic hot water heating.

Reply to
TimR

That's ONLY because they have an upper heat limiter installed on them and/or by design won't reach steam level temps, otherwise, they'd be making steam. They're used for 'hot water' only because they're much more efficient at doing it, and much quicker. Many commercial restaurants for example use a tankless water 'boiler' to provide hot water to the devices in the store.

Aside from that, the term 'hot water heater' is still a bit of an oxymoron if you're using it to describe the device in your house that makes water hot for you. The incoming water isn't hot, obviously. Only the outgoing water is. So, it can't very well be adding more heat to something that's already 'hot' -- None of this takes into account homes built with geothermal technologies. That's another ball of wax.

Reply to
Diesel

No, that's garbage. I've been inside a steam boiler (got to retube those periodically, you know. Well, probably you don't know.) It's not just a temperature limit switch, it's a different design.

Every hear of a high water safety? Didn't think so.

Reply to
TimR

Yes, I have, actually. You shouldn't assume things about people you don't know. A water heater in your house, short of geothermal is not a 'hot water heater' the water going into it isn't hot!

Reply to
Diesel

Yes, I have, actually. You shouldn't assume things about people you don't know. I also know that the WATER HEATER in my house is NOT A HOT WATER HEATER, the incoming water isn't already hot! It's a water heater, it heats the water (in my case 165degrees) and maintains that temperature.

When something in the house uses some, fresh, cold/mebbe luke warm depending on time of year goes into it to replace what I took out, and, it resumes heating that water to the desired temperature, if I actually took enough to make a difference to it. And that's all it does.

But hey, at the end of the day, if the OP wants to give someone a good laugh, feel free to continue calling it a 'hot water heater'. Plumbers, electricians, parts person where you bought it or are looking to buy one will enjoy the home owners wannabe expertise on the subject. If they're professional, they'll just nod their head and that customer will be the subject of conversation in route to the next service call.

If they aren't as professional, they might ask the customer if they're looking to purchase a boiler, rather than a water heater...Yes, the person knows what the customer is actually looking for, but the customer is using the wrong terminology if he's calling that water heater in his house a 'hot water heater'. If the water is already hot, you don't need it further heated, do you? Bit redundant, wouldn't you say? Unless, we're discussing boilers.

Proper terminology is important. People who don't know any better call everything that's rogue software a 'virus'; the majority of the time, especially these days, there's no actual virus on the machine, but a trojan instead. They aren't the same thing, not even close. Viruses and worms intentionally replicate their own code. Trojans do not. What people call malware these days can usually be removed by deleting the associated executables and modded registry keys. Viruses, heh, you don't just delete an executable or two and reconfigure some keys to get rid of it. It doesn't work that way.

Reply to
Diesel

On Fri 31 Mar 2017 02:26:50a, Diesel told us...

SEMANTICS, SEMANTICS, SEMANTICS!!! Good God Almighty, don't you ever stop? Don't you realize that nobody care but you?

Reply to
Wayne Boatwright

ROFL!

Reply to
Diesel

I never run the shower until it's cold.

Therefore I never drain the hot water tank. Therefore it is never really cold.

So what happens is the hot water temperature dips, the thermostat cycles, and it heats the tank back up.

Hot water tanks are usually set between 104 F and 124 F, let's say an average of 114. Water supply in my area dips as low as 45 F in winter, may be as high as 80 in summer.

I would agree that 45 F water is cold and if you drained the tank completely you would be heating cold water. But that doesn't happen; you are always heating a mixture and most of it is hot.

Reply to
TimR

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