Hot Water Heater Issues

Why not just replace it with a tankless water heater? Like:

http://www.rinnai.us/tankless-water-heater/

The installer should make good on this problem and it should not be the homeowner's duty to replace a 1 year old water heater at the homeowner's expense.

This sounds like the installation company's problem, not yours.

Call up the installer and demand they replace the water heater with a new one from a different manufacture at their expense.

If you know an attorney you might want to contact them so that you fully understand your rights under Florida law.

You should check the installers license and make sure that they do not have other claims pending against them. If they are reputable they should do whatever is required to rectify the problem to your satisfaction.

I would make it a point that you do not want the heater replaced with another GE model as it appears to be clear that it is a lemon.

You might also do some research on the heater model to see if there are issues with it like the ones you are having now.

As a last resort, GE may be a resource if you complain to them loud enough. Personally, I dislike GE appliances.

Like the above posters: is it under manufacturer's or retailer's warranty?

If it were in the UK, then Sales of Goods legislation protects the consumer by the consumer stating that the equipment is 'not fit for purpose' and demanding a refund. Local Trading Standards offices will want to know about this one.

Is there similar legislation there?

Before any action should be taken it would be best to know what is causing the problem here....Having air in the line means the supply line has been opened...It's quite possible that the water utility has had a main failure, that the main line was opened, the repair done leaving air in the line...If this happened a boil water alert would have gone out and should be easy to trace....If you are on a well the problem could be here....I would definitely get a second opinion from another company that services water heaters as well...I would also have an experienced electrician check the electrical supply...An electrician who installs water heaters would kill two birds with one stone...

It is a good suggestion!

Hard water is allways problematic by clogging the system,and worse-corrosion on the flanges!!

Please check damage of flanges while replacing the electrical heater !! Duly worn flanges will leak quite soon after installation....

In any case changing the water heat tank - is expensive procedure...but necessary if corroded flanges cannot be repaired !!

Saves me a lot of effort not writing what someone else already did ! GA !

Several others hint around this:

I and several neighbors all share a community well. It does not have above ground storage, such as a small tower or tank, that most of these systems have. The water pressure is maintained through an expansion and pump tank system. Water pressure drops during peak periods such as summer when yard and garden watering is taking place. (That can be a hint to which system you may have.)

During power outages (utilities) the pressure eventually declines to a point and the water in the main lines to the homes backs down. This creates a vacuum in the system and draws the water out of...you guessed it...our hot water heater. When the power comes back on the tank can be nearly empty. Then we have air in our lines, extremely hot water and all of the particulate which has gathered, scaled and sloughed off due to drying out during the power outage coming out of our faucets.

The pump system for your area may be similar. If there is any kind of energy saving devices which turn off the main pump, booster pumps, etc. or if someone accidentally wired the light switch in your pump house to the pump outlet and every now and then turns it out...well, you get the idea.

You can have a one way gate installed for less than a hundred dollars to prevent water from flowing "out" of the "in" line, so to speak. You can also have electric (or loss thereof) gates that do this more reliably.

Hi Cuba Pete

You and your neighbors need to make sure all the garden watering valves are fitted with vacuum breakers, preventing water from the lawns etc from being drawn back into your supply system and contaminating it. You should also have a check valve installed in the water heater cold feed line to prevent scalding water from entering the cold water system in case of thermostat failure. And of course the water heater relief valve should be dual thermal and pressure type......yes I know the relief valve will be leaking all the time due to cold water expanding when heated, but we used to get around that by filing or drilling a SMALL hole in the check valve to allow a small flow back into the main line.

I will definitely take all of that onboard. I bought the house a little over a year ago and have procrastinated the issue. I can't enforce the rules on my neighbors, and I don't think they would appreciate the "new guy" reporting them to local authority. I don't need that grief. I am, however, planning on taking care of myself in this situation.

Install evacuated tube solar thermal collectors and you will never pay for hot water again. See www.SunConureSolar.com .

This is very good idea. :-)

In fact, if you're very handy around the house and know how to do plumbing (and sweating copper pipe joints), then you can buy solar thermal evacuated tubes for a very good price on Ebay. I did, and am presently in the process of fabricating the heat tubes and manifolds. Said tubes were surplus NASA and USDOE, and cost me approximately $22.50 on average (bought 3 lots of them, so the avg. cost).

Copper pipe prices on the other hand are so cheap!

Best answer yet on trying to find the cause. My thoughts exactly. In fact we had the same problem as a kid in W. PA, until a Calgon water softener was installed.

Hi Rambo, I had the exact same symptoms with my water heater when I lived in Florida (east coast) What I found was a couple of different things, first my pump was sucking air through the well casing. The air was causing the sulpher in the water to oxidize and resulted in black particles and smell. The second issue I had was calcium buildup. The calcium would build up and settle to the bottom of the tank which would cause the lower element to become encased and eventually over heating and burn out.

In Florida an air relief valve is not required by code at least where I lived at. If in fact you on on well water, one test you can perform is to attach a hose as close to the pump as possible, place your thumb over the end of the hose as to block it, open the valve. If there is air in the water you will hear it for sure as the water will sputter.

Also you may want to have the water tested, especially the PH level.

I love this great blog, thanks everyone.

I have a question, does one need a sacrificial anode in some water heaters? Does that poison the water, therefore not allowed?

I liked the filter and softener idea from someone, that sounds perfect.

It sounds as though the element is almost dissolving in the water.....

I always removed the anode during installation because shortly after installing the water would smell like crap.

GA and yes. Most HWT come with a sacrificial magnesium anode. In really hard water conditions the suggested anode may be aluminum or switched over for zinc. Some anodes can be doubled in the same HWT or built with larger sizing. They are in the units to protect the interior walls of the HWT. This is the second HWT in a very short space of time so is most likely a magnesium anode. One strategy the installer may want to try is to install a double anode tank to extend the life. He may want to even try to replace the one now installed with a better upgraded model to deal with the water. The anode is worth looking at because they are fairly cheap and easy to replace. Replacing the HWT without understanding the problem is only repeating the problem.

The OP mentioned he is a renter so I suspect he/she may not have ready access to water quality. A magnesium anode breaking down will also result in the black deposits. Waters with a high conductivity ( good electrolyte) are the best candidates for problems. Those with SRB are also good candidates when gas is present.

GA for good infos, many thanks.

So I guess either replace the anodes regularly or get a water softener.....

Thanks and you are welcome. The softener really does not matter in this type of problem. The TDS remains the same in hard or softened water and thus the deposits still occur in the HWT. You cannot apply Langlier's Index to softened water as it will always indicate aggressive water. So perhaps maintaining fresh anodes would be a better strategy.

In regard to "Tankless Hot Water Heaters", you should first visit this review website (and others) prior to purchasing one:

http://www.hvac-for-beginners.com/ta...r-ratings.html

Hope that helps!

[Personally, I've been looking into the EcoSmart Tankless Hot Water Heater (electric, 24 kW or 27 kW, whole-house flow delivery) because of the stated efficiency, review comments (quality), manufacturer's lifetime warranty, and fair price......since we have 7.56 kW of Solar PV on the roof and the fact that we really only use large amounts of hot water during the daytime, so the power demand will be somewhat negated......that, and my future installation of solar thermal evacuated tube collectors (will raise the inlet temps significantly to the heater, thereby reducing the cold water heating requirements) I have no qualms about the increased electric power demand. Anything IMO is better than being at the mercy of the fuel oil distributor with costs now around $3.45/gallon, which could skyrocket anytime!!! I've already talked to my HVAC/electrical Contractor friend about these plans and he thinks it's a great idea.....in fact, he's already done the same at his home! :-)]

.....let it shine baby!!!!!

If your HWT is smelly, do not remove the anode as that will only serve to speed its demise. It will also likely void your warranty (most warranties are 5 years or more). The odours are without a doubt the result of SRB. So control of the odours will depend on control of the SRB. If you have changed the anode for zinc/aluminum and still have odours, here is a simple recipe to get rid of SRB in the HWT.

1. Purchase some peroxide 3% found in most drug stores. A 12 oz container for 40 or 60 gallon tanks.

2. Close off the cold water supply to the HWT and then open the bottom drain on the HWT. You will want to use a small hose or good size pan. Water will not flow from this drain until you open another hot water tap.

3. Put the peroxide in a large open plastic/glass container ( like a margarine container or soup bowl).

4. Open a hot water tap higher than the HWT and closest to it. A tap higher than your drain will also work but just slower. You will notice a suction sound at this tap if the drain is open at the bottom of the HWT. Put your hand over the tap and you should be able to feel a suction. Hold the container with the peroxide over the tap, tipping as needed, so the solution is actually covering the screened portion of the tap. The solution should then siphon into the HWT. Allow all the solution to siphon from the container and then let the siphon run for an extra minute or so. The extra run time will clear the peroxide from the line to the HWT.

5. Close the hot water tap and then the drain on the HWT. Open the cold water supply.

6. Allow the HWT to sit quiet in the HWT for 20 minutes. Then open the tap used to create the siphon. Expect a little splutter and perhaps some black or blackish water from this tap. Once it is clear after a few minutes of running use the water as normal.

7. Repeat as needed. Cheap effective and often lasts several months.

8. If the odours return within a few days, you are a candidate for the down well peroxide injection system. You water likely has a serious infestation of SRB.

OK First of all I really appreciate everyones input and responses.Yesterday I had an electrican test the power to the heater and he said everything was fine. Today we replaced the new water heater from August (GE SE50M12AAH) with a new GE SE50M12TAH. The thinking behind this move is that we got a lemon. We are going to monitor this one closely to see if it exhibits any of the same symptoms as the one the service company installed in August. We also took water samples from the old water heater for laboratory testing next week for chemicals and bacteria. Today The install went as planned I had a plumber come out and check my work, when I was done. Questions This is a 50 Gallon electric water heater. Filling it completely with cold water, how long should it take to completely heat all 50 gallons to 120 degrees which the dual thermostats are set to? If the tenant, takes a shower with dual shower heads turned on, approximately how long can he shower before he uses up the hot water in the 50 gallon tank, given the fact that the tenant likes his showers hot? 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes? I just need an approximation. Thanks to all and I will keep you posted on what happens with the new water heater.

A 50 gallon water heater should be more than enough for your tenant. He should have hot water in 12 hours or less.

Is your water city water or well water?

Thank You for your response: IT is on a well with an RO system. After installing the water heater yesterday, I left the house to return to Tampa 1.5 drive about an hour into my return trip home the tenant calls me and says he only got about 3 - 5 minutes before his shower went cold.

What did he expect after only one hour of heating around a quarter ton of water?

Besides, 3 minutes is more than enough time to have a shower. Tell him to man-up.

It just takes him longer to wash EVERYTHING properly!!!

Great freaking comment! Man UP!

How cold can Florida water be? Honestly...

It can get plenty cold in Florida. I'm here a thousand miles south of Florida, and don't like the idea of cold showers. It's one thing if your water is pumped up to a drum on the roof to heat up in the sun, and another thing if it has been in a big tank.

Well water can be tough around here. If you continue to have problems then you need to address your water quality from the well. However, whatever water is in the hot water supply will be in the cold water supply.

That means you should be able to easily spot sediment problems, rust, hydrogen sulfide, trapped air in facets, toilets, and other water taps.

We have bad well water, but it has not presented any issues with our water heater.

RO raises many questions. Is there adequate storage of RO water and do you draw from stored water? Is there a mixing of raw water with RO water? If the demands for hot water are only 2 gpm (common in households), that represents a very large RO unit needed if you are not drawing from storage. RO will filter down to the molecular size and that means, if it is operating properly, it will remove anything bigger than a water molecule. Do you buffer the RO water in any way? RO water is very aggressive and will destroy a lot of plumbing, maybe the black particles are the result.

By the way welcome to CR4. As you can likely surmise, if you provide better initial info we can provide better answers. Also many discussions will move in directions you may not have guessed and that is part of the interest. Anyway, welcome.

Thanks Kevinm for the greetings and salutations. The RO system is unique in that it has a 1300 gallon storage tank. The well pumps the water to the industrial RO unit which then passes it through the calcite tank then into the holding tank that has a submersible pump which is connected to a 40/60 pressure switch. Connected to the pressure switch is a Chlorine pump that injects chlorine into the holding tank each time the submersible house pump runs. Finally before entering the house the water is passed through a charcoal tank to remove excess chlorine. We monitor monthly our TDS readings which have ranged from 90 to 150 ppm depending on the time of year. Our PH has been steady at 7.0.

The parameters are in the ideal range and you seem to have enough RO water at least storage capacity. Maybe the lemon theory is correct. However, it is unusual to see two HWTs fail in the same location. If it is possible to remove the anode on occasion for inspection, try it and see if the anode is deteriorating quicker than normal. You may even want to use the aluminum/zinc anode as a replacement. I still suspect something wrong in the water quality and perhaps when you get results we can revisit the water quality. Ask the lab to calculate Langlier's Index (LI) on the RO water. Do the calculation for ambient temperatures and for 120 F. Google the LI for information. Sorry watching a good football game.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Langlier's Index. I will post the results when I get them.

Why only 120F?

If you make the water hotter, then, with cold water dilution, the tenant can shower much longer. If the local codes do not permit this for safety reasons then a tempering valve between the tank outlet and the hot water reticulation system would also increase the effective capacity. Hotter water also kills the bugs in the tank.

I can't provide you with any hot shower endurance figures as there are too many variables. That 50 gallon/200 litre tank is more than ample for normal domestic consumption. If you tell us what the power rating and cold water temperatures are we can calculate the heating time.

Two thermostats....what's that for? Two elements or something? Shouldn't one be set hotter than the other? Just thinking aloud.

Increasing the heat has two drawbacks:

1. You loose efficiency and it costs more to heat your water. Hot water spends most of its time in the tank cooling down, so it needs to be reheated regularly to maintain temperature. Turning down the thermostat uses less electricity (or gas) to maintain the heat.

2. High temperature water poses a serious risk of scalding! A water temperature of 140° will scald a small child with 3rd degree burns within 1 second of immersion.

Most people are unaware that water heaters should be set to no more than 120°.

Agreed. 1. Yes the higher temperature gradient is less efficient but I was figuring on the tank having half decent insulation. If you wanted to make it really efficient then you could just have a cold shower and eliminate the gradient altogether. Every decision is a compromise. I took having lots of hot water as the priority. Try training a tenant to have shorter showers with more efficiently stored undiluted hot water....Yeh that'll work...

In Australia (that's my natural reference) domestic hot water is stored at around 70C and even with very common off peak hot water heating it stays hot all day without boosting. The off peak tariff is cheaper per kWh, the nett result even with obviously more heat loss is still a lower power bill. Even the smaller quick recovery (not off peak bulk storage) tanks store at 70C.

An instantaneous heater would give on demand nominal temperature hot water and be efficient (excluding transmission losses) too.

If you heated with solar then high temperature storage is really needed to achieve better effective capacity. 2. Yes, scolding is a risk and a tempering valve would deal with that if mixing at the faucet was too great a risk to carry. Children don't normally run their own baths...There are lots of other ways that an unsupervised child/tenant can kill and maim themselves.

Plenty more information on hot water from an antipodean perspective here.

The OP appears to have a handle on his immediate problem. Seems that his supplier wants him to be satisfied with their product. That's good. Looking forward to hearing how all that works out.

We have about 40 deaths per year from tap water scalding.

There are another 4,000 tap water scalding injuries reported per year.

While I am not saying we need legislation to fix this, we should be cognitive of the danger and obviously 4,000+ are not.

GA for that advice. The time for heating depends on the difference in temperatures required. Surface water in the north can be 4 degrees C and in the far north it can even be at 1 degree C (frazil ice) . Most (50 and 60 gallon) HWTs come with 2 elements with thermostats set the same. The cold water enters the bottom of the tank and rises to the top. If they were different all the work would be done by a single element 90% of the time. So keep the thermostats balanced the same. These HWT can be purchased with 4500 watt or 3000 watt elements. Usually these are enough to keep up with all household demands including from my experience raising 3 teenagers. I do have 4500 watt elements.

I think in Florida the temperature is likely much higher than in Canada. A 4500 watts will impart about 15350 BTU per hour and the calculation to heat should be easy. My guess is less than 20 minutes. I usually have a discussion based around shutting off the HWT when I go away and what would be the length of away time to be rewarding. By the way the reason I did not go to instant water was because of the cold water in the winter. I calculated I would have needed at least 2 units to keep up with nominal flow and the price break was too far distant to opt in that direction.

Commercial applications require 185 degrees F for sanitary purposes. These units are all problematic. However, a supplement in dishwashing soap called sodium percarbonate can serve to act as a disinfectant and allow a lower temperature. I am not sure all health inspectors would agree or rather are informed enough to agree or disagree. Sodium percarbonate is relatively cheap and available from chemical suppliers. FYI

The installation manual says that for households with little children the thermostat should be set to 120 F for their protection. The new water heater replaced another fairly new water heater (August 2011) that kept burning up the heating elements. The water heater came with two heating elements and two thermostats. I thought both had to be set to the same temperature as this was the way it came from the factory.

It should take about 2 hours to heat the 50 gallons to 120 degrees, your tennant can probably shower for at least a half hour before it goes cold.

A low flow shower head might help.

There are different types available.

I encountered some years ago in Oz at motel/roadhouses out on The Nullarbor. They were dreadful things that offered a shower that would wet you about as much as a heavy dew if you just slept outside. There are better ones.

I like it to rain hard in the rain box. I have quick showers though and I don't run the water while I'm lathering up (I know, excessive info). Constant water flow just wastes soap and heats the drains up mostly. If your tenant wants longer showers he may have to make some sacrifices or pay for his own inline instantaneous hot water heater.

Where I live now there are no water shortages and ambient temperature water is warm enough.

I haven't always lived here....

How hard is it to find tenants there?

You asked how hard is it to find tenants in this economy. Finding tenants that pass the vetting process in this economy is extremely difficult. Finding tenants that understand that this home is where my wife and I are planning to retire and need to maintain it as spelled out in the lease agreement is almost impossible. These are the second tenants we have had, they are way better than the first pair which, all I can say were horrible.

I have a Taco mixing valve on my solar hot water heater. I don't know how to adjust it. Googling just shows sales data, not use instructions.

The relief valves state 125 psi, not sure of temp, thought it was 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The relief valve on the roof releases sometimes. Hot water has nowhere to go when the control is satisfied with the tank temp. I have an air eliminator on the roof at the highest point in the plumbing.

I would not mind storing water above 120 degrees f if I could be absolutely sure the tempering valve would not fail and bypass scalding water. My brother got scalded as an infant, it happened in an instant with my mother right there. He still has the scar.

If the op has an ro system, his water is going to be good quality. Bacteria cannot pass through an ro system, it operates at half a micron filtering, smaller than bacteria. A virus might get by.

Running dry will take out the elements, as mentioned. A check valve will prevent that.

Well just heard back from the tenants, after they adjusted the thermostat on the new water heater from 120 to 135. He went to the gym and came home and took a 10 minute HOT shower and said everything is working fine. So now I am back to monitor mode to see if the new hot water heater starts to burn up elements in about 50 days. I will keep all of you posted. Thanks for your support and responses!

Rambo,

The speed of the corrosion that you describe sounds like electrolysis. You should check the sacrificial anode for a proper ground path. Your mention of the shielded wire being installed makes me suspicious that your anode may not have a good ground through the plumbing, and is using the electrical ground. See if you have mixed pipe types - plastic, copper, iron. There may be a dielectric union preventing a good ground path in a mixed system.

Dave

I don't understand the function of the dielectric union. Our system has plastic pipe to the hot water heater from the pump, and copper lines to the solar package and copper lines to the hot taps in the condos.

The copper pipes are over twenty years old, and are corroded on the outside in some places.

Maybe the plastic pipe is insulating the heater from ground, so all the electrolytic action will be via the water, corroding any metals immersed in the water.....

Mike,

The dielectric union insulates dissimilar metal pipes from each other. If Iron and copper pipes are connected directly they will cause electrolysis and corrode. There is usually a strong metallic taste in the water when this is happening.

Dave

My understanding of electrolysis is dissimilar metals separated, and current flows through an electrolyte (in this case fresh water). As the current flows, the less noble metal, in this case steel, corrodes. The sacrificial anode is less noble than the steel, so it goes away, drawing the current flow to itself, saving the steel tank.

A solid connection, in my opinion, would reduce the current flow because the electric potential could equalize. The dielectric union breaks this connection, establishing a current flow through the water, eating the anode.

I am studying an electrolyzer on another site, to make hydrogen. If the anode and cathode are shorted, it won't work, and the current gets consumed as heat.

Please explain where I'm off as far as the hot water dielectric unions are concerned. To me they are newcomers to the plumbing of hot water heaters, which have been hooked up copper pipes to steel heater for a very long time.

Grounding the tank, and the pipes make sense. In a boat this is called 'bonding' and reduces electrolysis.

I just looked at my hot water heater. The iron pipes coming out of the tank are coupled to the copper pipes through dielectric unions. Any ground would have to be through the wiring. If the ground wire wasn't connected, the heating elements would probably be the next ground.

Well it has been one week since we replaced the hot water heater. Heard from the tenant that "its the best its ever been". Which I believe translates into him being able to take really HOT 20 miniute showers.

The water test guy is going by today to collect samples and take them to the lab. When I have the lab results I will post accordingly.

Hello everyone: As promised here is the one month update. Spoke to tenant and quote "The hot water has never been better. I can take 25 minute showers with no problems". The water tests all passed and are as follows: Nitrate = Was analyzed but not detected. Arsenic = Was analyzed but not detected. Lead = Was analyzed but not detected. Total Coliform = Was analyzed but not detected. Fecal = Was analyzed but not detected. E. coli = Was analyzed but not detected. Enterococci = Was analyzed but not detected. Coliphage = Was analyzed but not detected. Update 3 in 30 days will be the litmus test as the pattern has been the hot water heater fails within 60 days. Please see previous post for all the gory details. For now it looks like the lemon theory is holding up. More to follow.....

I still believe that electrolysis plays a role, maybe in conjunction with earthing/grounding via the water. I was not the first to say it, but I agree with it!!!

We will see.....

OK Andy, assuming you are correct. How do I tell if electrolysis is the issue? The heater is 220V three wire run from panel with grounding wire attached to the heater. The piping is PVC to PVC. Given your suspicion how do I tell if it is electrolysis and more importantly what should I do to fix it? Mark K.

A thought from me is that due to not using copper or steel piping, the current can only flow via the water. The question is how to stop it (of course), but not being able to see exactly what is connected and how rather blunts my thoughts on the matter.....but a heavy earthing cable from the frame of the heater to an outside installed earth spike would be where I would start.....

But before you connect it, attach a voltmeter on AC between the cable and the frame to see if any voltage is shown. You could test with a normal piece of cable and the voltmeter first........do remember that the water at this point in time is a parallel connection path......eg. its shorting the voltage out so the measured voltage will be far lower than it actually is.....

Maybe running a cable from the mains box ground to the same spike too.

I would examine the size of the sacrificial anodes after say 2 months and maybe beef them up....

Just a thought.......or two.....

The trick is finding the path of the current and breaking it......I am no expert, just an interested person......best of luck.

On re-reading my own post, I am reminded of the code here in many parts of Europe that requires all metal parts of a house water system must be "bonded" to earth. Which was basically what I wrote before, but far more extensive.

When copper pipe was in use everywhere, it happened automatically.....

Hoping you get it fixed and soon......

Hello Mark K

I just noticed this:

The heater is 220V three wire run from panel with grounding wire attached to the heater.

If you mean three wire + ground and the neutral is attached to the tank, then you have your electrolytic circuit set up due to the neutral not always being neutral exactly. You should only connect the ground wire to the tank and not use the neutral at all

Far

Good Morning: Sorry for the confusion on the wiring. It is just 3 wires. Hot, Neutral and ground that come right from the main power panel to the water heater. Regards - Mark K.

Hi Andy - Thanks for the follow up. If you read post #22 as we had an electrician test the circuit. I will follow up with him to ensure that he tested for proper earth grounding.

The GA is for keeping your promise.

Lemon theory could even account for electrolysis. eg tank without its sacrificial anode, pin holes or fissures in the enamel coating (steel tank), built on Friday after a lunchtime birthday party.....

Do you think that the higher thermostat temp has attributed to the now satisfactory hot water endurance?

Your water tests were looking for toxins and pathogens. How about dissolved salts, Ph, and other corrosion promoting indicators?

I look forward to the next installment.

Hi Wal - To answer your questions, we allowed the tenant to adjust the thermostat to 135. This was about 10 degrees lower than the previous heaters. We test the PH and TDS monthly. PH has always been between 7.0 and 7.2. TDS has ranged from 100 - 200ppm on the NaCl scale.

I am not sure what you mean by TDS of 200 ppm on the NaCl scale. TDS takes into account all mineral salts. At any rate, I have tried to use the Langlier Index with regard to the corrosive or encrustation capability of the water (mg/L =ppm). I have assumed the pH of 7, a conductivity of 350 μS/cm (based on the TDS of 200 mg/L). Hardness was also assumed as 10 mg/L as CaCO3 and that was because if you are using RO, it is likely you have softened the water. At 70 degrees F the water is very aggressive, and at 135 F it is still quite aggressive. This means that the water is under saturated with respect to calcium and will attack metals to achieve saturation balance. I would check the anode on some sort of regular inspection, and suggest you switch for a zinc/aluminum model. Contact your supplier for instructions on removing the anode or obtaining a new one. You can play with the LI calculator and check it yourself.

FYI. Langlier Index is neutral when it is zero. If the index is positive it is scale forming and will be more or very scale forming as it approaches an index value of 1. A negative level is indicative of corrosive water. It is considered very corrosive when it is negative 1. I obtained a value of between -0.93 at 135 F and -1.6 at 70F. Colder water will dissolve more metals. If you get better values for hardness, alkalinity, and conductivity, the index will be more accurate than my calculations. It does appear that the water is aggressive and may be damaging to the HWT. The anode is likely short term so that is why you must be prepared to check it or/and change it.

Yesterday we went to our rental house to do our monthly maintenance and according to our tenant, the water heater and temperature is just fantastic! This marks 3 months without issues and the longest period a water heater has worked without issues since August of last year. It also is starting to look like our lemon theory is holding water. Forgive the pun. Please read the initial post for all the gory details. If we make it to the six month mark, I believe this issue can be considered closed. I will continue with monthly updates until we reach the six month mark. Regards - Mark K.

Cool...thanks for the update

This marks 5 months without issues and the longest period a water heater has worked without issues since August of last year. Next update will be six months. Regards - Mark K.

Thanks for the update mate!

Glad it's working out.

My hot water heater has been working fine since 1982 (touching wood now). Hope yours lasts just as long.

Me too!

As promised here is my 6 month update. Still no issues with the water heater. It seems the issues were not related to water quality, just a series of element failures and one lemon water heater. Man has this been a learning experience! I really, really want to thank all of you who took the time to respond with your insight and suggestions. Respectfully - Mark K.

Once you to get a hot water boiler replacing it's generally easier to get the help of any local provider that might be an expert during this form of works. Altogether you should have a water boiler that would be just as productive just like you wish and so do not ever hesitate for advancement if you know it is really best for you. Because of this almost all boiling water heating units should be serviced and routinely checked for potential seeping. It's important to have a look at the joints plus joints. Simple precautionary preservation of this nature will shield you from substantial substitution expense.