Davilo
New Member
I have a 9 year old A. O. Smith GVR 40 100 water heater that was making loud knocking/popping sounds whenever the burner was on. I was having to relight the pilot light at about once a week and the burner flame was blue with the edges of the flame rolling off and downward from the burner. The hot water from the sinks and shower were just slightly above luke warm temperature.
Over the months the popping sounds were getting progressivly louder and, assuming that the cause was mineral buildup in the bottom of the tank, I was getting ready to buy a new water heater. As I was preparing to remove the old heater I noticed a plastic air filter attached to the bottom of the heater. I removed and cleaned it (it wasn't very dirty) and vacuumed out the area below the tank via the opening where the filter goes. I also vacuumed out the area where the flue pipe comes out of the top of the water heater.
The result: The heater is no longer making the knocking/popping sounds, the burner flame is orange with no flame "dropout", the pilot light no longer has to be relit and we have hot water again.
What I learned from this is that when you have a water heater that's making popping/knocking sounds you can't automatically assume that the cause is mineral buildup. A little housecleaning may be all that's needed to restore the water heater to working condition.
Can anyone explain to me how a little dust can cause a water heater to mimic the symptoms of mineral buildup in the tank?
Over the months the popping sounds were getting progressivly louder and, assuming that the cause was mineral buildup in the bottom of the tank, I was getting ready to buy a new water heater. As I was preparing to remove the old heater I noticed a plastic air filter attached to the bottom of the heater. I removed and cleaned it (it wasn't very dirty) and vacuumed out the area below the tank via the opening where the filter goes. I also vacuumed out the area where the flue pipe comes out of the top of the water heater.
The result: The heater is no longer making the knocking/popping sounds, the burner flame is orange with no flame "dropout", the pilot light no longer has to be relit and we have hot water again.
What I learned from this is that when you have a water heater that's making popping/knocking sounds you can't automatically assume that the cause is mineral buildup. A little housecleaning may be all that's needed to restore the water heater to working condition.
Can anyone explain to me how a little dust can cause a water heater to mimic the symptoms of mineral buildup in the tank?