water pressure?? problems

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mrbb
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 5:59 pm

thanks for the input
but sadly to get to my water heater is a MAJOR project, that requires taking down a wall?
was built with NO pre planning , and its no where you can rreally get to it any other way now
was build before I got the place
and with temps now in the single digits
DOn't plan on taking it apart any time soon

Next will be the pressure tank
that is in a crawl space under the place, and last summer when I got it, I built a small insulated room around it I have sealed up pretty good to prevent any freezing issue's

and again, Hate like hell to have to tear into that now with it so cold and , my bad back doesn't work well in the crawl space
the set up of this place was piss poor design to say the least

SO, no easy way to get to the tank there either for me

the smell can be smelled in the water itself only on the HOT side
NO smell on the cold

I am SURE There is rusty metal flakes in the water heater tank, as the amount that came out the cold lines was crazy and I am still getting some a week plus later now

so, have to be a bunch in the hot water tank too!
they do seem to be getting smaller in size and less

but there still coming out!
and again I am still having less water pressure too


next week, I plan to get some water sample bottles from a local lab that tests water.
and will have the water tested to see if anything is coming out different than before
been getting water tested here every few yrs

as I don't drink the water here, but do keep tabs on it

so, if there is a MUCH higher iron content I will know in about a week after the test

been just trying to let things run a while before testing again!

will update when I know more on that

and MIGHT call the plumber again about the lower water pressure and just see what he thinks about it all too??

the smell I get almost seems like GLUE or a some what plastic like smell

wondering if the new water line is the cause??
HouseMedic
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:14 am
Location: Delaware
Contact:

Sounds like you will gradually get things worked out. Good move on getting the water tested. I try to get mine done about every three years. One thing on the pressure is I wonder if it could just be the new check valve? It might be a little tight and will get a little better after a while.
The plastic smell is almost what I have also but it is only around my tank. It's strange as I know it only started after the iron went up some and I installed a new HW tank.

Ron
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Greg
Moderator
Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Many times the water heater is in a closet behind a wall. If you look close you may find that there are screws holding the panels in place for "easy" removal. If the water heater is more than 10 years old it may not be worth messing with especially if it's electric.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
mrbb
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 5:59 pm

yes water heater is behind a wall, BUT then there is a closet that has a second wall that has to come down and the whole closet has to be taken apart to get to it all
so its a royal pain in the butt to check on
I did add a water alert alarm in with the water heater so if a leak happens an alarm SHOULD sound off, a some sort of warning
as about 10 yrs ago, a line broke and didn't find out till a ton of damage was done, so trying to resolve that from happening again
I also built like a plastic tub around it all and a BIG drain pan under it all, so if another leak ever happens, it should drain and do much less damage
I was thinking about adding a 1/4 inch sheet of CLEAR plexi glass as a wall, till I sen the price of a sheet LOL
wanted like 400 bucks from local shop?
but even if I did that with the way its set up closet wall and all, I still would have to remove one wall to view anything in there

NOW so many security camera's are cheap, I been thinking about adding one of them to be able to keep tab's on it easy!!
maybe some day?? but that has crossed my mind some!

The water heater is just 1 yr old, I seem to need a new one every 4-5 yrs, they don't last long here, BUT I never replace the rod in them, so, I think the water eats the rod and then attacks the heater
so I am planning to try replacing the rod every 2 yrs and see if I can get longer life out of them, as it sicks replacing every 5 yrs or less

I had been eyeballing the instant hot water heater deals, but I hear more bad than good about them!
but do think they sound like a better deal and less up keep IF THEY LASTED, I hear so many complain how they don't last long or don't heat water well, or, a pain to get wired in

so, been holding off on them
plus NONE Of the plumbers in my area want anything to do with them, won't even install if you ask!

Next week will be grabbing two water testing bottles
they ONLY tell you to test COLD water. but since I am getting a smell from the hot, I plan to have that side tested too, just to see what the difference is if any!
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

I fully understand about hard water. The park I used to live in had water that would clunk before it splashed. If you got 3 years out of a water heater you were doing good.
Do you have space for a water softener?
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
yakima4$
Posts: 83
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:02 pm

If you do install a new water heater install pan under it and run out pan drain and p/r line separate through skirting. If either is leaking you can tell by looking at the drains at the skirting.
Flush water heater once a year through the faucet provided on the water heater. Make sure plumber provides easy access to drain down faucet. Regarding insta hot. They need additional power supply above and beyond what currently exists and if you have a problem with scaling it might plug sooner that your tank.
mrbb
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 5:59 pm

thanks not much room for a water softer, and not so sure my water so so hard??

and as for a drain pan, YES I added one of them a long time ago when I had a heater explode and do a crap load of damage, I also added plastic pvc like sheeting to walls to all any spraying water to run into the drain pan too
and last I added a water alert alarm, that SHOULD go off if it detects water(like if a line gets a pin hole or a leak in tank?)

problem again with it all is its all behind walls, and even the drain is tucked under the place so unless you crawl under there, you won't see if its draining!

so, its NO easy user friendly set up
if winters were NOT so harsh here I would have it on a more easier set up, or move the heater to a non heated porch I have there, but I worry too much about pipes and lines freezing doing so!
been pretty safe for the past 30+ yrs set up like this in some major cold winters
so for that reason ONLY I been leaving it be

This test is a basic free deal(done in 2014)
the one I will be getting done soon is a different test all together!, I do both every so often

Image
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

If the smell is only on the hot like you said in above post then it's not the new plastic pipe making the smell. The cold would also smell if it was the pipe.

Forget about security cameras and plexiglass for seeing the water heater. Make a door in that closet so you can easily get to it. Cut a hole in the drywall and frame up an opening and make a panel that will come off with a couple screws or even those turn latches. Post up a picture and maybe we can help.
mrbb
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 5:59 pm

thanks for the suggestion
the problem with the closet access is the wall is short, and the main bar to hang things on is in the middle of the wall(where a door would need to be)
and only way again to get to it is to remove everything from closet, which gets pretty full of things and the wall there is only about 22 inches wide to work with, so making a door of it, I have thought about but just doesn't make life any easier
there is NO dry wall in this place its all old paneling
there is NO real easy way to make a faster access to it
it really needs to be in a different part of the building, piss poor design when made and then modified some and that didn't help at all to make it easier

Like Is aid, IF I didn't get such cold winters here, I would have moved it else where after the first 5 water heater changes LOL
as every one is pain to replace
between removing the wall and the tight quarters in which the heater sits in, water heater fits with about 1 inch or less space all around it, and about 6 inches over the top of it
its a squeeze getting it in
BUT also think its the tight space that helps pipes from freezing too!
as water lines to it at FAR from any heat source, so its actually the heat from the tank that heats the room in winter time

the Camera idea is just a thought to make QUICK checks on it easy and fast, NO removal of anything to do so!

MY thought on the smell in the water and possible plastic pipe, is MAYBE when the water gets HEATED it activates the smell more, than just running COLD

as heat can change things in it??

be getting test bottles next week and will see what they say?
before I call the plumber back or??
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