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Flushing Water Heater

This thread went exactly like I thought in 10 posts lol.

Best way to get vinegar into tank and which % are you guys using?
 
M92PV4U said:
I wouldn't fuck with the pressure relif unless you have a replacement for it.
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The well pump is on a 110 plug next too it. So I’m not too concerned. Hmmm

BigBurt said:
This thread went exactly like I thought in 10 posts lol.

Best way to get vinegar into tank and which % are you guys using?
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Your point is? :flipoff2:

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Drained it again last night. After 30 minutes, the lime is still pouring out. I think at this rate. I’m gonna go back up, drain it all again, and pour 5 gallons of vinegar in there And let it sit for a while.
 
don't bother with vinegar or whatever, just drain the scale out every few months
ain't about getting it down to bare metal, just about keeping up with the pile that accumulates on the bottom
 
[486] said:
don't bother with vinegar or whatever, just drain the scale out every few months
ain't about getting it down to bare metal, just about keeping up with the pile that accumulates on the bottom
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I would, but I’m really wanting to make sure the water is treated too, I’d bet there is a block of calcium in the bottom of this thing. :homer:
 
bad zuki said:
I would, but I’m really wanting to make sure the water is treated too, I’d bet there is a block of calcium in the bottom of this thing. :homer:
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calcium is good for you, makes your eggshells nice and strong
 
[486] said:
Both at the same time? For free?
You are too kind.
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Lol, I organized my memes in folders the other day so I can be snappy with them. No internet is kinda nice.

[486] said:
calcium is good for you, makes your eggshells nice and strong
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I would just prefer not to have bones instead of skin when getting out of the shower, that’s all.
 
bad zuki said:
I would just prefer not to have bones instead of skin when getting out of the shower, that’s all.
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are you running a softener, or feeding it water off the roof?

flushing the buildup won't matter if you don't fix the supply side problem
 
No softener. I’m thinking about at least adding an inline filter while the water is off. All the lines are soldered copper and they didn’t use any unions. :shaking:
 
[486] said:
why would you use unions with soldered copper, it doesn't need to screw together or apart
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Im too used to industrial steel pipes and having to remove stuff I guess. Home ownershit is new to me.

71PA_Highboy said:
Why would you want to heat flushing water??
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Heat helps activate the chemical reaction to break down the scale.

71PA_Highboy said:
Some of you people do weird shit.

:stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot:
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Some people live in the commie wealth of PA, but we don’t hold that against them, :flipoff2:
 
GonPostal said:
In my case, the smell only came when running hot water. Our water heater was only two years old.

To test for yourself, run the hot water only at the sink. Let run a bit so it gets hot, then smell the water as it runs. If it does smell, it's the anode. Now do the same test with only the cold water running and it shouldn't smell. Water chemistry of course plays a roll, but the smell issue typically plays out with hard water.
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I need to get my parents to do this. Well water that reaks in the showers, but pretty decent cold water. I was going to drain and flush it this spring but didn't get to it.

It's bad enough I go up the road and shower in my rental shop when I'm visiting.
 
bad zuki said:
Drained it again last night. After 30 minutes, the lime is still pouring out. I think at this rate. I’m gonna go back up, drain it all again, and pour 5 gallons of vinegar in there And let it sit for a while.
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You're going to clean your way right into a new water heater. Lol.
 
So I started having this smell problem... my solution was to:

Wake up, shit, shower, shave and get to work.

1. Turn off the power to the water heater and turn off the well pump
2. Drain the water heater 50%
3. Fill the filter housing with bleach (~8oz)
4. Mix 1 cup of bleach into 5 gal water and pour into the well
5. Power on the well pump
6. Fill the water heater.
7. Power on the water heater
8. Let heat to temp.
9. Run water to all faucets/appliances until I could smell the bleach.
10. Turn off the water heater.
11. Let water sit the rest of the day.
12. Open hose bib and let the well pump until clean / less bleach smell
13. Open the drain on the water heater and drain the tank. Water coming out was not clear so cycled water on and off until the water ran clear.
14. Open faucets/appliances until the water ran clear and no bleach smell.
15. Secured the hot water drain, filled the tank, turned the breaker back on.
16. Went back to life with no smelly water.

There was residual bleach smell in all water for about a week as the well pumped all the remaining bleach out.

Other than a lot of running around and breaker management, it wasn't hard to do, and I will know what to do next time.

YMMV
 
[486] said:
makes no cents though
one solder joint or three (and a screwed together joint)
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I wasn’t paying for the fittings. Ammonia refrigeration will eat through sch80 after a few years. If you are always replacing stuff, it’s nice to be able to remove stuff in line.
 
Took Y’all’s advice and just drained the darn thing. I drained it until the hose went dry and then pulled the lower element out and flooded the basement. :lmao:

Pulled the drain valve off and vaccumed out the rest with the Wilfaukee shop vac. Surprisingly not much rust out of the bottom.
 

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when you're buying new elements, get the low watt density ones if you can
more surface area means less scale buildup
 
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