My client is looking to buy a 10 yr old home in NJ with city water. The 50 gal gas hot water heater is original. Water supply lines are copper. When the hot water is turned on, what appears to be rusty water comes out. Cold water is clear. Could there be anything in the hot water heater to cause this rusty water? Thanks for any input.
Rick
Replies
suspect that the tank is history....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Probably a good call. Thanks IMERC.
I don't know much about how HW tanks are constructed, but I thought that they were all glass lined, and if they weren't leaking, they were working. Is something in the tank broken/worn out/leaking causing the rusty water?
or the tank was dropped or hit at some time and fractured the glass lining..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
If the glass lining was fractured, wouldn't it be leaking? It does not appear to be leaking.
The glass lining is just a glas lining, the way paint on a ships hull is only paint to keep the hull from rusting.Crack the glass and water gets to the steel. It takes several years then before it rusts thru, but meantime, you get some iron oxide in your water for flavour
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
If rust in the water was proof of a failing water heater, ours (now 31 years old) would have failed 25 years ago.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
I did not say that rust proved it was failing. I only explained a mechenism that explains how he could have rust with a glas liner
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"If rust in the water was proof of a failing water heater, ours (now 31 years old) would have failed 25 years ago."
Are you saying that you have rusty hot water? If so, what is causing your rusty hot water?
Iron in the water. It tends to precipitate in the water heater.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Thanks Piffin.
I always thought it was some big glass tank. So its glass lined over steel like a cast iron sink has porcelan attached to it?
now you have the picture.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
no...
the lining protects the steel from the water...
it could take years before the tank starts to really show rust it the glass is cracked...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
And pretty much every glass-lined tank eventually cracks from heat stress.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
yup....
forgot that....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Another point is that the anode rod is there to save your butt when you get small cracks. If the anode rod has been removed (or broken off) then the tank will rust through much faster.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
How long has the house been sitting unoccupied? Rust/silt will collect in pipes and may come out in spurts when the water is turned on, especially if there's air in the pipes. Could indicate a failing water heater, but not necessarily, and wouldn't suggest any other problem in a 10-year-old house with copper pipe and on city water.
In any event, a possibly failing water heater shouldn't be a big deal-breaker, if the water heater is pretty much standard. You can add it to the list of bargaining points, but it's probably only "worth" a few hundred bucks.
Thanks Dan.
The house is and has been occupied. I think its a fractured hw tank.
Is the house currently occupied with normal water use? If so, the tank is probably shot.
OR, has the house been sitting vacant for a while?
If yes, I would at least try flushing the tank by: connecting a garden hose to the drain valve (looks like a hose bib coming out of the side of the tank); open the drain valve and let it run for a few minutes (hopefully there is a drain within "hose distance"). Careful - the water will be hot!!
Do not open any other faucets while the drain valve is open - you want all of the water to be coming out of the drain carrying the accumulated crud from the bottom of the heater tank.
If the water clears up after a few minutes - your problem may be solved, on the other hand, the problem may return in a week or so.
If rust in hot water only returns - tank is shot.
Good luck.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
EDIT: DanH types faster than me, but we are thinking the same thing!
Edited 8/1/2007 4:34 pm ET by JTC1
> Could there be anything in the hot water heater to cause this
> rusty water?
Of course. The tank is usually ceramic (glass) lined steel. Get a few cracks or chips in the glass, and the tank starts to rust. On top of that, any sediment coming in will collect in the bottom of the tank when the hot water isn't used much. Now, there isn't any way that the amount of rust in the tank is visible in the water (unless the tank is ready to go tomorrow), so what you have is sediment.
Check the manufacture date on the heater. If it's more than 15 years old, just replace it. If less than 10, then cut the power and drain the tank. Flush and drain several times if necessary until the drain water runs clear. Then fill, turn it back on, and see if the problem recurs. If it does, either repeat the flushing or replace it. Make the flushing process as violent as possible to disturb as much sediment as possible.
If it's between 10 and 15 years old, take your best shot. Might be best to just replace it, but if time is worth less than money, try flushing it out.
Thanks George.