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Old 10-28-2005, 02:25 PM   #1
Roman4
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Foreign Substance in Water Heater

Since acquiring our Montana in January, 2005, we have periodically had to remove small particles of debris from several of the water faucets. I felt like this problem would go away with time, but it has not. When draining the water heater while winterizing, I recently found a lot of the same debris, in much larger particles, in the water heater tank. A photo is attached:

[The grass particles and the quarter did not come out of the water heater]

The particles are an off-white color and are easily broken with the fingers.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Does the water heater have some sort of lining that might be disintegrating? What should I make of this?

 
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Old 10-28-2005, 03:10 PM   #2
snowbunny
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Looks to me like calcium carbonate that comes from minerals in hard water. I have found that in several hot water tanks over the years. It's not dangerous but can be a problem if you let so much accumulate that it interferes with the heating element.
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Old 10-28-2005, 03:19 PM   #3
gbroot
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It looks like dried hard water deposits that we get here in Tucson if we don't use a water softener. If you can crumble it and it looks like chalk, then that's probably the source of the flakes. I have had stuff that looks something like that after leaving the drain plug out of my heater for a month and then flushing it before use, and chunks like you show flush out.
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Old 10-30-2005, 07:04 PM   #4
ronnilu
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From the looks of your photo & description this appears to be what is a common situation with RV water heaters. We have had travel trailers & 5th wheels all our lives and have had this deposit buildup in all our water heaters. It is apparently some kind of mineral deposit that is generated thru the electrolysis involved inside the water heater. If you don't have an annode rod in your water heater the situation is more prevalent. We drain and flush our water heater each time we come home from a trip, leaving the annode out and a paper towel stuck in the drain hole to keep out the crawlies. I find those same deposits, sometimes more than others, depending on how long our trip was, each time I drain and flush. There is a special tool available that attaches onto the end of your hose and it has a hook in the end that shoots water back toward you. This is made just for flushing out the water heater. I believe it's available at CW but I'm not positive. I don't have one, just fill the W/heater and drain it 3-4 times and that seems to flush those crunchies out. Oh, you can get an annode at most any RV parts department - just be sure to look and see what brand W/heater you have - suburban or atwood. Their annodes are not interchangeable.
Hope this is helpful.
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Old 10-31-2005, 01:06 AM   #5
ols1932
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Yes, you should flush out your hot water heater periodically. I do min once a year at the same time that I change the anode. The anode helps protect your hot water heater tank from becoming corroded and eaten through by the minerals in the water. As Mike& Ronni stated, there is a tool you can buy from CW that costs about $10 that goes on the end of your hose and you insert into the hot water heater through the hole where the anode is (after you remove the anode). You'd be surprised how much "junk" comes out.
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Old 10-31-2005, 04:44 AM   #6
DHenry
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Looks just like the stuff that came out of my water heater when I changed my anode rod. The others have explained how to flush it very well. Just be sure to relieve the pressure from your water heater before taking the anode out.
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Old 10-31-2005, 05:21 AM   #7
RVWheels
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Roman4,

I would agree with dhenry. It looks like an anode rod residue. I'd suggest you depressurize your hot water heater and check your anode rod. It is probably in need of replacement. They do make a nice little "hook" type device to put on the end of a water hose that you then insert into the water heater and it helps remove any residue at the bottom of the tank.

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Old 10-31-2005, 06:24 AM   #8
315RLS
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I found a good amount of sediment when draining and winterizing ours last week. This wasn't the case the first year I winterized. I hadn't replaced the anoid rod this past year so will probably do so and give another flush in the spring next before using.
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Old 10-31-2005, 09:06 AM   #9
Roman4
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First, I'm sorry about the too-large photo; I think I have successfully resized it.

Beyond that, thank you for the replies. I am gathering the impression that this substance is common and that I shouldn't worry about it. As long as the water heater itself is not disintegrating I suppose everything is OK.

The thing that puzzles me, though, is that the Montana is only 10 months old, and small particles of this stuff started showing up in the faucet screens within a few weeks. I am surprised by the size and quantity of it (the photo only shows a portion of what came out when I flushed the heater tank). I did use the plastic thing that attaches to a water hose for flushing and rinsing; it produces a fairly high-pressure stream of water that you can direct around inside the tank although I was not particularly careful about being sure that every square inch of tank was washed down. The anode rod has been in place for the entire 10 months that the Montana has been in service; it clearly had been doing its job but it was not completely consumed or anything. I do have a new anode rod which I will put in when we re-fill the heater.

I suppose it is possible that the water from only one or two of the 35 or 40 campgrounds that we have visited this year produced this result, but I don't know how one would know.

I obviously need more experience in order to determine how often to flush the water heater. In our stationary residence I only do it every couple of years or so, and never see any particles larger than maybe a thirty-second of an inch or less. I had presumed that a once-per-year schedule would be fine for the Montana but I now think that it should probably be done perhaps monthly, at least until I develop a better feel for what is happening in there.

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Old 11-04-2005, 01:15 AM   #10
old turbo
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The best thing to do to help with this water heater build up is to do what I have been told by some old timers,older than me. Sonny before you hook up your water ,turn the faucet on and let it run for a while to clear the crap out of the campground pipes. I try to add this to my set up to do list but sometimes I forget. This might help with this problem.
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Old 11-04-2005, 05:14 AM   #11
Parrothead
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If you use a water filter you won't have as much of this stuff. We were in one CG for a little over a year and had it done twice and there was lots and lots of stuff both times. Others told us it was common with that city.
Happy trails.....................
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