Something in my water: Anyone Know Water Soft./Filt. Systems?

[Gun Runner]

I don't know what it is but it is predominantly in the hot water.  It does mostly flush out after a while of running the water but it will be back next time.  Hot water heater contaminated?  This is from a well by the way.

[DJJ]

First off, I'd say stop throwing coins in your well.

You can't see "hard", so that's not what that is. It looks like simple rust, so your guess about the water heater seems logical.

Is it that way out of every faucet? Does it come back in the cold water after you flush it out, or when you run the hot again?

[Guest]

Dunno about contaminated. It probably won't hurt you. But it looks like you have rust and yuck built up in there.

[280plus]

Try flushing the heater with that bottom valve thingy. Hook a hose to it and let it run outside for a while.

How old are the pipes in the house. Sometimes they get mineral buildup over time and it breaks loose and appears in your water. The only cure then is to replace them.

[Big_R]

Looks to me like you have sediment or rust accumulating in your water heater if this happens only with hot water.  You should have a string catridge filter on the output line of your pressure tank.  If you do, check the filter.  If it's clean, you have sediment or degredation of your water heater.  Flushing it may help, but it will probably be temporary.  To flush a water heater, turn it off, connect a hose to the drain valve, and open it wide open for a few minutes.  Close the valve about 1/2 way and run until the water runs clear.

Ryan

[K Frame]

If you put a filter unit on the hot water output, make damned sure that it is rated for hot water use.

Some filter media are for fresh cold water only.

Running hot water through them will quickly turn them into a home for all sorts of nasty bugs, possibly to include Legionella.

[Harold Tuttle]

I'm getting lots of white calcium scale in my hot water...

can you filter the hot side with a plastic bodied filter?
The GE unit at Home Depot is only rated to 100 degree water...
http://www.geappliances.com/smartwater/household.htm

it looks like you need one of these:
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/filters.html

i whole house filter the input but the scale precipitates out in the heater

some of the bigger chunks have lodged in my delta shower faucet, requiring disassembly
and it maybe too late for a filter, because i suspect my hot water pipes are lined with the scale...

[Guest]

I had the same problem. Black specks. There is a rod of dissimilar metal in your hot water heater. (Zinc or Aluminum or something like that) It's there to cut down mineral build-up in your pipes. You can remove it through the top of the water heater. Better check the manual or the manufactureres website if you can first. The stuff will stop once you remove the rod and flush the tank. Keep in mind that once you remove it, you need to start saving for a new water heater. All the mineral build-up just went to your pipes, so you shouldn't run it like that for long.

[K Frame]

The rod is the sacrificial annode. It's not there to prevent mineralization, it's there to prevent galvanic corrosion of the tank.

[Gun Runner]

Thanks for the help folks.

I don't think it's rust, because it is black.  It really looks alot like black pepper but bigger.

[K Frame]

"I don't think it's rust, because it is black."

Think again. It could easily be oxidized chunks of the water heater tank that have become dislodged through scaling -- a sure sign that your tank is getting ready to fail.

How old is the water heater?

Try draining some water out of the bottom of the tank and see what it looks like.

Depending on the age of the house, you could also have galvanized steel water piping, which will also give up black particles as it decays.

[Harold Tuttle]

one fine winter evening in our "new" home we had no hot water
so i figured the elements were scaled up
i drained the tank but it only dropped about half way

the top element was so encrusted it looked like a solid block of salt
the bottom of the tank was a slurry of colloidal gunk

i had to back flush it several time to get it drained.

Now i drain it every year or so to keep the deposits at bay

[K Frame]

Almost two years ago I helped mtnbkr replace his water heater. We ran into the same gunky mess on the bottom.