Routine Draining of HW tank

[Banjo Bud]

I drain off a gallon or so every few months from the bottom spigot. In the past, the water has always cleared up after only 1/2 gallon or so. But today, I have drained off about 5 gallons and it is still coming out murky. Is it time for a new tank? Electric tank. 40 gallon. 12 years old. Anode rod 4 months old. Down tube seems fine since there are no demand problems. Thanks guys.

 

[Reach4]

Murky white? Yellow?

https://terrylove.com/forums/index....liquid-discharge-from-hot-water-heater.71194/

dark/black? Any increase in H2S smell in hot water? Could be iron sulfide (FeS) . Could be sediment stirred up from well work. Do you have a sediment filter before the WH?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

Periodically where I live, the water utility will open up the fire hydrants to get a rush of water that helps clean out the pipes. For awhile afterwards, the water coming into the home is murky. If that happened between your last flush, there might be some excess sediment in the bottom of your WH.

If it looks rusty, it's time.

 

[Banjo Bud]

Jadnashua, I have a well. Reach, No smell. It’s a light brown color. Kind of straw colored. I have a sediment filter. In fact I have a full water treatment system. Softener, PH tank, sediment filter (30 micron), chlorine filter (which I don’t need). I dunno. I’m thinking 12 years is a good life for a 6 year warranty tank. But hate to replace it if I don’t need to. It’s not leaking. I keep up on things it needs. And with a full blown water treatment system, maybe it’s got several more years in it. When do I pull the plug? When it starts leaking, then it’s an emergency. I hate that.

 

[Jadnashua]

I'd check my filters to see if they weren't clogged or torn inside. When your softener does a recharge, can you look at the water coming out to see if it's clear?

Depending on the water levels, sometimes, you may be pumping some silt up from your well.

Soft water and changing your anode before it decays to nothing can help a WH last longer. Some places like apartments and condos require them to be changed at about the typical warranty interval, just to help prevent damage to adjacent units. In a home, you have a bit more flexibility. A failure USUALLY starts out with a small leak, but not always. But, if it's not somewhere that you can see it, you may not notice until it became major. Often, but not always, you have a few days between observing a leak and a major failure, but again, you can't count on it. If the WH is where it will just be an inconvenience, and not damage things, you might just wait for it to leak. Otherwise, you might want to budget and plan to replace it. It could last another 12-years, it could fail tomorrow, and the new one may not last 12-years, either. It's somewhat the luck of the draw.

 

[Banjo Bud]

I think what I’ll do is hook a hose to it and drain lots of water. Maybe it’ll clear up.

 

[Banjo Bud]

Ok. I hooked a hose up and after I drained off 5 more gallons, it was clear. So what does that mean? I’m taking it as good. Or at least fair for now.

 

[Reach4]

When do I pull the plug? When it starts leaking, then it’s an emergency. I hate that.

I would. That does not make it right. My thinking is that a leak usually starts small. On the other hand, I could miss a small leak for a month, I guess.

 

[Jadnashua]

It depends on your fault tolerance level when to replace the WH. If a leak would destroy finished space, it's best to replace it. If not, you can probably wait. When you install a new one, consider a drain pan, assuming there's some place to run the outlet to. Even if there's no outlet for the pan, at least it will contain a small leak and maybe make it more evident, giving you a little time to deal with it. There are at least a few devices that can shut the thing off (some, both the water and function) if it detects a leak. Depends on how severe the leak is, that may stop the water from flowing out a small hole (finger over the end of a straw), but not a large one. Shutting the water off does relieve the pressure, so at worst, you're limited to the volume of water in the tank and the outlet piping.