Hot water lines filled with particles of some sort - please help!

[PumpMd]

It must come off the top heating element because the bottom one is totally covered and it didn't break off with all of the vibrations from cutting the tank open.

These are the other pictures from 1hr, 2hrs, and 9 1/2 hrs with what the bottom looks like. I will post by days next and I've got a water sample with test results coming back to see what all is in the Raw water on this well. This is my (2010) buried traditional system with a used 10gpm submersible pump.

 

[Valveman]

I think those deposits form from the heat. On an electric water heater they form on the heating elements and break off to fill the bottom of the heater tank. I am guessing they sometimes do not break off of the heating element after the heating element fails from being coated with an insulating layer.

On a gas heater they would form on the sides of the tank, which is why one side is smooth and the other is not.

I should do it more often but every few years I pull the water heater outside, take off the drain faucet, and flush with water while using a wire to break up the stuff at the exit hole. Leaves a big pile of crack rocks on the ground.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Atomic1]

It still doesn't explain why the OP doesn't observe this stuff when he's flushing the hot water tank. You'd expect to see a ton of this stuff during a tank flush if it originated at the tank, no?

 

[Wapa]

Still a mystery. I bought an endoscopic camera designed for looking in walls, pipes, etc. The idea was to look inside the WH and lines and see where this stuff was. 15M cable with lighted waterproof camera on the end. Really sounded awesome. We got it into the heater for about 10 seconds when the picture went really blurry. It never recovered. Naturally I sent it back for a refund. And yes, I did let the water cool down to room temp before inserting the camera. In hindsight I should have drained the thing, but it did say it was waterproof, not water resistant.

I've given up and am paying a plumber to flush the entire system - WH and lines. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Thanks,
Warren

 

[PumpMd]

I think it's coming from his plumbing lines. It would be nice to know how much pressure is on his lines. I also want to know if his neighbors are having the same issue to figure this out.

On a well system, you always start at the source of how you get your water and that would be your submersible pump in the well and work your way through the rest of the system to figure it out. But, he says it's only on the hot water side, so I think it's high pressure breaking this stuff off on his hot water lines.

 

[PumpMd]

I posted that before rereading that you have a 70gal (gas) hot water tank and valveman stated this "On a gas heater they would form on the sides of the tank, which is why one side is smooth and the other is not".

Your hot water lines can have buildup inside of them and you would see the smooth side as well. But, to break it up like that, I'm going with high pressure.

 

[Reach4]

It must come off the top heating element because the bottom one is totally covered and it didn't break off with all of the vibrations from cutting the tank open.

I think those deposits form from the heat. On an electric water heater they form on the heating elements and break off to fill the bottom of the heater tank. I am guessing they sometimes do not break off of the heating element after the heating element fails from being coated with an insulating layer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone has this that goes along with the observations:

Calcite exhibits an unusual characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases.​

 

[PumpMd]

Ending results for the White Vinegar test. I tried adding more Vinegar over the days 5-8 through 5-17.

 

[PumpMd]

Some information about heat from a submersible motor(Calcium) and buildup inside your drop pipe that keeps building up even without heat. My pictures below are what high levels of Iron can do. Craigpump's pictures in the link below, I think are high levels of salt. I've never seen high levels of calcium build up inside of drop pipe to look like my Iron buildup and why I wanted to know the TDS on that Raw well water.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/submersible-motor-snow-cone.65939/

 

[PumpMd]

Manganese pictures