mobilehomerepair.com

I replied already but don't see it so I'll reply again. There will be no further messing on my part with that pressure valve, I feel lucky it didn't fall off in my hand like can happen with things in my mobile home. The water heater is a thirty gallon Rheem. It's been powered on for over an hour and I don't detect any warming of the water so either nothing has changed and it will take all night to heat up or I've rendered it completely un-operative with my flushing-out procedure. Either way I'm looking at a cold shower soon. At least it's not winter.

Once the faucets are running clear with no air spitting the tank is full. Rust in water from the faucets could be rust in the lines broken free from the air coming through the system.

I would have to somewhat disagree with commodore, the relief valve needs to be opened once in a while to prevent it from sticking closed. Personally I would rather have it stick open and know it, than have it stuck closed and not know it.

If you have hard water it may be time to just replace the unit and have a warranty. When we were on the well we were lucky to get 5 years out of a heater, I would take the heater out, remove the elements lay it on it's side shake it & flush it. I would get about a 5 gallon bucket of crud every year.

Greg

You may have galvanized pipe that is rusty inside causing the red spitting when blowing the air out of the lines. When the water flows evenly, this should clear up. Changing to PEx pipe would solve that problem, but may not be necessary. All old galv pipe will do the same thing and the water is usually fine for use.

Well, after going around and around trying to decide what to do, and after a cold shower late last night and thirty gallons of barely lukewarm water this morning, I've decided I better buy a new water heater. Now which one to get will drive me insane instead of what to do. I see one brand on Lowes.com that has a six year warranty so I'm thinking that might be the best choice. Thanks to everyone who helped me through this little glitch. I guess I'm doing pretty good if a broken water heater ranks high on my list of setbacks for the year so far.

Betsy, Lowes, whirlpool 30 gal. that's what I put in ours a few years ago, No problems.

Greg

THANK YOU again Greg. after reading the user reviews for the mobile home style units available at Lowes I decided to try my local Ace Hardware. They sell the Reliant brand and can order a 30 gallon MH style with six year warranty for $250. I figured whoever I hire to install it could pick it up. But the WH is 20.5 " wide and the opening to my compartment is 20.25" wide. Plenty of space once past the opening though. I know I don't have to buy a MH style but I'm not all that confident in the abilities of the handymen around here so I'm trying to keep things simple. Does anyone happen to know if that width measurement for a WH includes things sticking out like the draining connection? If so then the one at Ace would fit.

Betsy, you don't have to be afraid of using the pressure relief valve occasionally. My concern was for using it during drain/refill because of all the sediment that is stirred up during the process. And it is easily replaced if need be.
I would think the new heater should be able to squeeze in to your compartment. Usually the exterior of a wh is very thin, flexible metal covering insulation, so there should be enough "give" to fit it through. I bet there is just a small piece of wood framing in the way, which your installer could easily trim if it is really necessary.
Oh, and don't forget the pan. It can save your floors if there is ever a leak.

Oh yeah, the pan. Is that something that can be bought or does it have to be fabricated?

You buy them. Looks like a big pizza pan. Should be able to get from the same place you get the heater, or Lowes.

You can buy the pan either plastic or metal. It should be slightly larger than the water heater and use some shims of cement board or pressure treated wood to elevate the bottom of the water heater off the pan. That way if there's ever any water sitting in the pan, it won't rot the bottom of your heater. The pan must drain separately of the T&P valve, so whoever installs will drill another hole through the floor and run some pvc pipe for it.

Okay got it. Thank you again for helping me.

The rust color while the water is spitting is probably rust from galvanized pipe somewhere in your plumbing. After letting the flow run smooth for a while, it should clear up. The force of the air blowing small amounts of water through the line cleans out some loose stuff. If you are really concerned, you could have your faucet water tested. But most people with galv pipe in the mix will experience the same thing as you. It is a good idea to remove the aerators before turning the water back on or to at least clean them all out after the fact.

On the rust front, don't forget to remove the shower heads and any water filters from taps before you flush the pipes out - saves a lot of cleaning up afterwards!

Just my 0.02

DaveyB

Both excellent tips and it never would have occurred to me to take off shower heads and aerators. I don't think there is any galvanize pipe in or under my house. All ive ever encountered is white - either flexible vinyl-like or stiff PVC-like.

I'm sorry because I'm pretty sure everyone is sick of me and my water heater but I wanted to tell what has happened. Yesterday on my walk I happened to meet up with my handyman, who I had not contacted about my WH because he doesn't like to do plumbing, and told him about my WH issue. He said right off it was probably the element and offered to come by and check it with his meter. He checked it today and he says the element is fine, it's showing full power or whatever the meter says that indicates the element is working. So now I'm back to wondering what to do. Is the functioning element an indication that I should or should not buy a whole new WH? The handyman said it could be the thermostat but he didn't want to mess with that. I have a business card here for a local man who does appliance repair so I'm thinking about maybe calling him to see if the thermostat is bad. Mainly I'm asking for opinions from those of you who have experience, to stick with my decision to buy a new WH or try to have this one fixed?