Rust in hot water

[Tfthorp]

I'm having rust in the hot water. I believe the liner in the heater has cracked. Anyone else have this and is it a big deal to change out the hot water heater?

Thanks

[Emmel]

Not knowing how old your model is, there are some different reasons for the rusty water.
If your unit is stored without draining the water heater, that alone could be reason enough.
The anode rod could also be used up and the rod could be rusty.
The water supply could be from a well giving the rust effect.
Most of our heaters are made of stainless and don't rust, so I would be looking at other reasons.
Again, not knowing the model, the water heater can be replaced either easy or hard depending on location.

[Crossthread]

Tom, Welcome to the forum. I've been in campgrounds where the water is rusty. If you have, I'd give it a really good flush. If not, I'd call the 800 number of the water heater manufacturer and see if they would know what causes it. Good luck, and let us know the cause of it if you can. Bill

[BB_TX]

Tom - You did not give any information on your rig. But if it has a Surburban water heater, then it is probably a porcelain lined steel tank. It is possible that the porcelain has cracked and allowed the steel tank to rust.
Someone else on here reported some time ago about the tank filled with blue crystals. And a cutaway view of a Surburban tank shows it to be lined with blue porcelain.
cutaway view

[Tfthorp]

Thanks all the unit is 2002. I have flushd the heater and ran vinerar through it. It s definately ot the water it only happens on the hot side. I d recll seeing blue chips in the cap on th drain last time I drained the unit. I'll try the anode first easy and cheap enough. Thanks Its cold here in Snny Isle Fl. Headed to Marathon Key on Monday for 10 days then its back north until June.

[Art-n-Marge]

Hi Tfthorp,

Reasons for rust have been mentioned above but as for removing the hot water tank if you could provide the year and model of your rig, this can help us assess how to or how hard it would be to service or remove the tank.

Also providing the make/model of the hot water heater can help us too. Removing the exterior hot water heater cover and look for a label or plate that describes the manufacturer and model of the WH.

If you notice the rust only with the hot water, then chances are your WH has been compromised as the tank starts to rust from the inside. If you have a Suburban WH and you have never replaced the "anode rode", then this could have caused the problem. The anode rod is attached to the drain plug and when installed in the water heater it draws any destructive materials so that it eventually corrodes and not the WH walls. Checking this rod by draining your tank every 6 to 12 months can help you monitor this and should be part of a maintenance schedule.

If you have an inline water filter system of some kind and maintain or replace it regularly this should prevent rust from entering your rig's plumbing.

Other than the water heater, there is not much metal plumbing in an RV's water system so the suspect will definitely be the water heater. Ugh.

ON EDIT::: I missed your response by less than 1 minute!

If you are seeing rust, changing out the anode may be too late. Even if you replaced it with a new one, the tank might still be compromised and you'll be able to tell if rust shows up again pretty quick. Then if you still see the problem, provide your tank make and model and your RV make and model and we might be able to offer some suggestions on getting it removed.

[Tfthorp]

Now that I got back to the freezing weather and my tools too the anode rod was gone only the metal rod which supports the zinc was left. So I'll save myself a ton of $$$$ not having to replace the unit. Time to start getting ready for Alaska trip in June.