[tstex]

Hello To All,

We have 2 linked 40gal water heaters. House was built in 2004-2005 and 2-story, water heaters in attic. We bought in 2008.

I turned off the pilot lights and inbound water lines and drained-out water via std water hoses. Most the sediments [Prob mainly Calcium) that came out were a light brown and the biggest was maybe a pea, but mostly BB size. Now, it's so loud when it heats water, you can hear them from the 1st floor, thru foyer to the open door in guest room where heaters are right above in attic. Is there anything I can do to get the larger pieces out? I'm all ears and if you have any questions, pls advise.

Thank you very much, tstex

 

[WhatRnsdownhill]

time for new water heaters....those are 11+ years old...what kind of flood protection do you have in the attic so if they start leaking the house doesnt flood? there is no real way to get the hardened crap out of the bottom, and most likley at this point if you do they could leak...when you put new ones in , put a water filter on the cold side in to help stop all the junk before it gets into the water heater..

 

[joecaption]

Let me ask a question, tell us exactly what you did when starting it back up, step by step.
(PS there was no reason to shut the gas and incoming water off when just flushing the tank.)

 

[tstex]

I thought I was going to need to replace them...both have good metal pans around them w a 2" lip w 3/4 inch PVC drain lines...What type of make/model do you recommend for water filter on cold side?

When turning back on, I made sure all air was bled out, tanks were full again before lighting pilot light. This was done about 1-2 yrs ago...we're still getting plenty of hot water, but efficiency is prob not optimal and noise us getting louder.

Thank you very much guys, appreciate it.

PS - When flushing tanks, if I drain it, then keep the drain line open and also crank-on the top inbound water line, that top to bottom splashing really agitates the water and get the pieces moving. I've done this to all the water heaters at my ranch: 40gal propane cased-in, in the kitchen area, & 20gal elec in garage. I do this once a yr and just replaced them both after 19 yrs.

 

[jmon]

I thought I was going to need to replace them...both have good metal pans around them w a 2" lip w 3/4 inch PVC drain lines...What type of make/model do you recommend for water filter on cold side?

When turning back on, I made sure all air was bled out, tanks were full again before lighting pilot light. This was done about 1-2 yrs ago...we're still getting plenty of hot water, but efficiency is prob not optimal and noise us getting louder.

Thank you very much guys, appreciate it.

PS - When flushing tanks, if I drain it, then keep the drain line open and also crank-on the top inbound water line, that top to bottom splashing really agitates the water and get the pieces moving. I've done this to all the water heaters at my ranch: 40gal propane cased-in, in the kitchen area, & 20gal elec in garage. I do this once a yr and just replaced them both after 19 yrs.

Sounds like you still have big pieces of sediment in there that won't come out.

What kind of drain at the bottom do you have? Sometimes it needs to be removed so the opening is bigger. Can you post a couple pictures? Thanks.

 

[tstex]

"Sounds like you still have big pieces of sediment in there that won't come out.

What kind of drain at the bottom do you have? Sometimes it needs to be removed so the opening is bigger. Can you post a couple pictures? Thanks.

They are your older standard type faucet bib w handle to open valve...that is the bottle neck, the constriction of the ball-valve. If I could not get them out now, surely they've grown some now...I know you can pull these and replace them, but at 11-12 yrs old, if something breaks, I'm screwed w 3 girls yelling "we want hot water?", esp since it's winter. At my country place, I can mess-up there and I'm the only one that suffers and it's usually very short term [hrs to 1-day max]

 

[WhatRnsdownhill]

any whole house water filter will work and just use a sediment filter, best to get a clear housing so you can just do a visual on when to change the filter..any brand will do fine..

 

[jmon]

They are your older standard type faucet bib w handle to open valve...that is the bottle neck, the constriction of the ball-valve. If I could not get them out now, surely they've grown some now...I know you can pull these and replace them, but at 11-12 yrs old, if something breaks, I'm screwed w 3 girls yelling "we want hot water?", esp since it's winter. At my country place, I can mess-up there and I'm the only one that suffers and it's usually very short term [hrs to 1-day max]

Yea, I hear ya. At least you're getting hot water and everything is working fine other than the noise. I would just leave them alone then. Going forward a whole house filter will help as srdh suggests.

Right now your issue is the hard build-up of sediment that you can't remove. Tank would need to be drained, drain valve removed to break up or disolved the sediment and suck it out with a small nozzel wet vac.

As you have suggested, it may do more harm then good at this point. I know it's not what you want to hear. lain:

Stay tuned, others will be along with more suggestions/advice.

 

[tstex]

"Yea, I hear ya. At least you're getting hot water and everything is working fine other than the noise. I would just leave them alone then. Going forward a whole house filter will help as srdh suggests."

The only prob is that if they break in June-Sept, that attic gets so HOT that replacement would be miserable, and we'll heat-up the house w the hot attic air flowing in the house...

On the filters, if it is like the refrigerator, then it's going to add-up quickly, if I am figuring this correctly. We use 2 filters per yr on the refrigerator, and that's only for drinking water and ice-making. I know the amt of water for showers, dishwasher and clothes washer daily has to be 100's of times more than refrig. those filters are $29-$35 bucks...how often am I going to have to replace the filters? I am figuring this out correctly? Can someone provide me w a name/make/model they would recommend for 2 interconnected 40-50gal gas water heaters?

Thank you,
tstex

 

[WhatRnsdownhill]

the filter inserts are like 5 bucks apiece...http://www.amazon.com/DuPont-WFPFC4...175&sr=8-2&keywords=whole+house+water+filters
http://www.amazon.com/Watts-WH-LD-P...175&sr=8-9&keywords=whole+house+water+filters

 

[tstex]

Thank you ShtR - this gives me a good baseline to review. My initial perception of a filtering system was diff than these - appreciate it.

 

[WhatRnsdownhill]

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