water heater

[Turd Furgeson]

so i forgot to drain my water heater after our last run.
pulled anode rod and the water came out rust tinged.
gave it a good flush and used a 1/4" tubing to get the water off the bottom of the tank.

i do run a dual canister water filter on the hose before it goes to the camper when hooked up to park water.
my question:
where did this rust come from?
i thought the electric element and gas burner would be stainless in that type of assembly.
what am i missing here?

 

[LeftOverParts]

Don’t know if there other sources in the system but on our unit, I notice rust on the threads that the anode screws into.

There’s a RV park we go to in Pismo Beach, and the white water filter element is always reddish when we leave - not sure if it’s sediment or iron. They might use or have some galvanized iron pipe.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

well the response has been a bit overwhelming,,,thank you all!

 

[ChuckS]

Your Suburban WH tank is a steel tank with a ceramic coated liner... Since you have a dual stage water filter that should eliminate rust in the tank..

I suspect one of two issues caused the rust in your tank...
1. Cracked inner ceramic liner coating ( tank itself would not show an external water leak ) if this was the case but would allow water to get in between the liner coating and steel ... creating rust

2. As previously stated the threaded section of WH where the anode screws in Will rust if not properly maintained.... I'd clean the threads with a brass brush , install new anode with Teflon tape on the threads and then monitor the water in the tank when you drain it

** I never leave water in the WH when we return from a trip.. I remove the anode, drain, dry the anode and anode port threads and apply new tape and install anode back into WH... I also drain my low point drains on return from a trip

 

[mlh]

A little rust isn’t going to hurt anything.
Sorry more didn’t help. This is the first time I’ve seen this thread.
Lynwood

 

[BuckandTeresa]

I do see mineral buildup on the threads, sometimes a little rust. I bought several wire brushes built into a drill bit on Amazon, and they work great with a drill to clean out the threads--if you run it in reverse, it brings the debris out the threads instead of into the tank. I use plumbers' teflon paste on my threads, which helps keep water off of direct contact with the threads and helps keep rust away.
My big water heater problem showed up after leaving water in the tank for a month or two between trips--smelly water out of the faucets and a thick, clear slime in the water heater. Won't make that mistake again...

 

[Turd Furgeson]

I do see mineral buildup on the threads, sometimes a little rust. I bought several wire brushes built into a drill bit on Amazon, and they work great with a drill to clean out the threads--if you run it in reverse, it brings the debris out the threads instead of into the tank. I use plumbers' teflon paste on my threads, which helps keep water off of direct contact with the threads and helps keep rust away.
My big water heater problem showed up after leaving water in the tank for a month or two between trips--smelly water out of the faucets and a thick, clear slime in the water heater. Won't make that mistake again...

i drain all my lines after each outting,,,usually do the h20 heater too but forgot about it this time. i also sanitize my lines after a month of no use before using again. still wonder whether the electric and gas elements in the water heater are stainless steel or not.