What does this say about the previous water heater

[Chefwong]

Removed laundry washer today.

Cold Hose - clean as a whistle on the washers
On the Hot, the washer on the outlet box and the washer on the other hose end on the machine. A lil bit of yellowish sediment on the water. Not alot. Just a small ring. Obviously it was coming from the tank. Enlighten me. Normal, not normal. Doesn't matter as the tank died recently and was replaced it as well. And of course in spades, the spider arm on the washer had to conk out a month later

 

[Fitter30]

Hot water drives the calcium and magnesium in suspension. Then attaches to the tank ,elements and thermostat. The lower the water temp is better the hotter the water the more is driven out of the water. Water softener and flushing every six months helps. In case of a condensing heater a pump and vinegar cleaning the heat exchanger every year is required.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Chefwong]

I suppose I need to do full empty flushes as SOP

Last few years, I've been doing the partial flush. Flush about 10 gallons out. Looks clean. Close drain valve.

 

[John Gayewski]

The inside of a water heater should be lined with glass or some kind of ceramic coating. These coatings aren't perfect. They cannot be evenly coated everywhere and when shipped the water heaters get bumped around or set down aggressively and the coating can chip or crack. This will let rust start. About any water heater has imperfect lining and most will have some rust started in them somewhere shortly after their life begins and you turn your water on. A lot of pex hot water lines show this faint rust color. It's normal and fine. This is yet another reason to keep your system at a pressure below 80 psi (reach) and also its good to keep a vaccum from forming when draining the heater.

 

[Chefwong]

U lost me on vacuum.

I mean u do have to open up the relief valve and sometimes a faucet or 2 to let air in so water flows out the drain.
I do have a transfer pump so the drains I do are not gravity but -suction- once the water flow is established on the transfer pump

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Hot water tanks experience galvanic/electrolytic reactions that eat away at the anode and other parts of the tank, this creates sediment at bottom of tank that causes the discoloration you see.

You can mitigate this by flushing the tank periodically.

Fitter is correct about tankless, they need to be flushed with vinegar annually.

.

 

[John Gayewski]

U lost me on vacuum.

I mean u do have to open up the relief valve and sometimes a faucet or 2 to let air in so water flows out the drain.
I do have a transfer pump so the drains I do are not gravity but -suction- once the water flow is established on the transfer pump

Right. First open the sink or relief then drain. If you start to drain the heater and then go open the sink or relief you can flex the tank. You can actually hear this happen on some cases.

 

[Chefwong]

OK. I see what you meant by vacuum now. Makes sense

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Right. First open the sink or relief then drain. If you start to drain the heater and then go open the sink or relief you can flex the tank. You can actually hear this happen on some cases.

My state requires vacuum breakers at the cold inlet for this reason.

 

[Reach4]

My state requires vacuum breakers at the cold inlet for this reason.

Even if the WH is in the basement? That sounds excessive.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

Even if the WH is in the basement? That sounds excessive.

To my knowledge, we're the only state that requires it, yes, anywhere, basement or top floor of a high-rise.