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Hot Water Heater Replacement Tank or Tank Less
My Oil Hot water heater has lots of calcium deposits in the the tank because we have a acid neutralizer in the system for acid water. I guess the warm water causes the calcium to solidify in the hot water heater. So small pieces come off and clog up my faucet aerators.
I was thinking of putting a hot water sediment filter in after the water leaves the hot water heater. Is there any brand that is better than another? Any does and don't s.
I was going to put in shut off valves before and after the filter, the pipe runs across the 16" on center joists where I want to put it so I thought I could skip the support bracket. Looks like they use compression fittings on cold water filters to attach it, same for hot?
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Hot Water Heater Replacement Tank or Tank Less
Yes there is a sacrificial tube that is supposed to be pulled periodically. Mine has never been pulled and a plumber told me at this point it was unwise to do so as I might bust up the tank since its been there for 10 years.
The stuff that clogs the aerators is white and breaks up like lime, which is what my acid neutralizer puts in the water. There is also a bit of silt like stuff, which I can get rid of when I flush the tank every 6 months. After I flush I do get more of the calcium chips in the aerators for awhile.
Hate to replace the water heater thats got to be expensive!
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Hot Water Heater Replacement Tank or Tank Less
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Dennis, it may be the dip tube inside the tank that is breaking down.....
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Rats!
A year and a half ago I had a leak on the hot water heater at the cold water intake. I had a plumber out and I believe he replaced the dip tube as it was basically broken off. My wife had been complaining about not having enough hot water. We have plenty of hot water since he fixed the leak and replaced the dip tube.
Here is what to look for if your water heater was made between 1993 to 1997 (mine was installed in 1997) :
All hot water heater manufacturers (A.O Smith, State Rheem etc.) were affected, because plastic ages quickly in a heated environment. In this case, it crumbled into a soft white semi-gelatinous mass, and the deteriorated product floated to the top of the tank and out to the faucet. Now that the mystery substance has been determined, residents should consider if the following conditions are present in their own homes:
* Is the hot water tank relatively new, seven years or less?
* Is the substance appearing in the faucet light in color (egg shell)?
* Is it uniform in color?
* Does it float?
* Does it melt/burn if heated over a flame?
* Do you seem to have less hot water (shorter showers)?
* Is the screen in the HOT water supply to the wash machine plugged while the COLD is not?
So I guess I will test out the next batch of chips I get from the aerators to determine if it is plastic or calcium!
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... Once a month when I am cleaning the electronic air cleaner elements I open the tap and let the water run into the laundry tub......
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I have been flushing the tank every 6 months for the last 10 years (except the first 2 years when I didn't know about it since I always had tankless system before that  ). My regime is more complicated because I have to drain it out to the lawn with a 75 foot garden house, and I have to get rid of the 50 gallons of hot water before I do that.
I dread it because I then have to fiddle with almost every tap in the house as the air that gets trapped and the aerators get clogged and yes I remove the aerators before I vent the lines but they still seem to clog within a few days 
That laundry tub in the basement sure sounds good, I was smart enough to have the septic pipes put in the slab when the house was built (gravity no septic pump  )
OK I am down to the basement !
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Hot Water Heater Replacement Tank or Tank Less
I don't have a tub in the basement, I have a well tank and drain or I can reach an outdoor water faucet with a hose. The bigger problem is this would require two female ends on the hose, does anyone make an adapter? Like the enema idea
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Dennis, the simplest way to do it is to cut off the male end and replace it with a replacement female end, about $3 at any home center....
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I didn't want to sacrifice a hose, so I bought the two specialty brass pieces $8 here in NJ. So I worked on this since noon today, up and down to the basement, and just cleaned all the aerators and turned on the "Oil" fired water heater.
Giving her Murf''s enema losed it up just a small amount, I had flushed it several times from the top prior to the enema. This would be great for those who have such a big build up that the drain is clogged, mine was not.
I have quite a few pieces of what I previously thought was lime, it floats suggesting that it is broken up pieces of the old plastic pipe, now I will see if it melts to confirm that it is plastic.
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Dennis I too have high pH with my well water (pH of 4.8 as 7 is neutral), I use Sodium Carbonate (soda ash)......
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Our PH is only mildly acidic something in the 6.5 range, the nuetralizer tank takes Calcite, the tank gets filled once a year, there are no adjustments, it gets back flushed a couple of times a week on a timer.
If I have to replace my oil fired 50 gallon water heater, I want to think about a non oil based unit with the high cost of oil, and possibly tankless.
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...* Is the substance appearing in the faucet light in color (egg shell)?* Is it uniform in color?* Does it float?* Does it melt/burn if heated over a flame?* .... So I guess I will test out the next batch of chips I get from the aerators to determine if it is plastic or calcium!
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Ok I put the white stuff from my strainers in a teapspoon and heated it, it melts and it smells like plastic. I guess after spending 7 hours on flushing this yesterday it is pretty impossible to get that stuff out. Now I know what it is. Is it a health hazard ? Can't be good for you. Since it is caught in the strainers it is contaminating the drinking water
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Hot Water Heater Replacement Tank or Tank Less
Now that I know that it is plastic in the tank and not calcium I called Therm-Flow the manufacturer of the hot water heater. They said they have not gotten many calls since 2000 when the the class action suit was brought.
The support person said that flushing would not get rid of the particles but that I could skim them out of the tank. Here is the process:
1) Drain the tank to below the pressure relief pipe
2) Remove the pressure relief valve and pipe
3) replace the pressure relief valve with a nipple
4) slowly open the fresh water valve allowing the flowing PVC pieces to skim off into a bucket
Since there may be still be large pieces of the dip pipe decaying in the tank you may need to repeat this process periodically.
He also said since the tank is 10 years old it might be just as well to replace it if I am concerned about the PVC contamination.
I asked him if there were any problems with tank less systems and well water, and he indicated that tank less systems could get clogged fairly quickly compared to a tank system.
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.Second point, if the drop tube is what is decayed, then your cold water MAY not be pushed to the bottom of the tank to be heated....
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I already had the dip tub replaced 2 years ago and I have tons of steaming hot water, I just did not know what it was then and that the decayed dip tube was still in the tank in pieces and bits.
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"steaming hot water"Could your temp setting be so high it is part of the problem? kt
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No, what I meant was other than the particles it is working completely normal.
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01-23-2008, 19:26 
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