A flurry of posts today...but this one is by far the most important!
So today I installed a water pressure relief tank. I did not have one before and kept the water heater temperature at 120F. I just increased it to 140F after installing the pressure relief tank.
After the hybrid heater (GE Geospring) heat pump ran for a while, I removed the filter from a faucet and ran the hot water to purge any pollution resulting from today's work.
The attached photo is what is coming out when I run the hot water! YIKES!!! I have run about 10 gallons of water through and the situation does not appear to be improving.
The black pollution appear to be flakes, not round or rockish. When I touch them, they smear (first photo of finger). I can clean the smear off my finger with a paper towel, but it actually leaves a stain that is resistant to being cleaned off (second photo of finger). There is no smell. In addition to the flakes, the water is turned grey.
A few bits of info which may help:
1) The cold water does not have any pollution.
2) The water heater is about 5 years old.
3) The water lines are all new PEX, except for about 10 feet to and from the water heater that go into a concrete slab. Those lines are 1960s galvanized steel.
4) I drained the water heater about 1.5 years ago and did not notice any black flakes come out of it. However, the drainage was very slow and I assumed that there was a clog in the small factory drain spout.
5) About a year ago the city was doing some work to the neighborhood water system and one time I noticed a large amount of blackish water come out of the bathtub spout. I assumed this was a one-time issue with the water supply, but it seems that the pollution may have been on my side of the meter and the city work may have fooled me.
6) I have never had the water temperature higher than 120F since I installed the water heater, until today (set at 140F but it is still running so the temperature is lower than that).
7) I always run the water heater in "heat pump" mode which means that the electric elements never energize; all the water is heated with the heat pump only.
I really appreciate any help! My hot water is unusable for now
So today I installed a water pressure relief tank. I did not have one before and kept the water heater temperature at 120F. I just increased it to 140F after installing the pressure relief tank.
After the hybrid heater (GE Geospring) heat pump ran for a while, I removed the filter from a faucet and ran the hot water to purge any pollution resulting from today's work.
The attached photo is what is coming out when I run the hot water! YIKES!!! I have run about 10 gallons of water through and the situation does not appear to be improving.
The black pollution appear to be flakes, not round or rockish. When I touch them, they smear (first photo of finger). I can clean the smear off my finger with a paper towel, but it actually leaves a stain that is resistant to being cleaned off (second photo of finger). There is no smell. In addition to the flakes, the water is turned grey.
A few bits of info which may help:
1) The cold water does not have any pollution.
2) The water heater is about 5 years old.
3) The water lines are all new PEX, except for about 10 feet to and from the water heater that go into a concrete slab. Those lines are 1960s galvanized steel.
4) I drained the water heater about 1.5 years ago and did not notice any black flakes come out of it. However, the drainage was very slow and I assumed that there was a clog in the small factory drain spout.
5) About a year ago the city was doing some work to the neighborhood water system and one time I noticed a large amount of blackish water come out of the bathtub spout. I assumed this was a one-time issue with the water supply, but it seems that the pollution may have been on my side of the meter and the city work may have fooled me.
6) I have never had the water temperature higher than 120F since I installed the water heater, until today (set at 140F but it is still running so the temperature is lower than that).
7) I always run the water heater in "heat pump" mode which means that the electric elements never energize; all the water is heated with the heat pump only.
I really appreciate any help! My hot water is unusable for now
