Water Heater Noises & Air Sputtering At Faucets

LarryS

My 40 gallon electric water heater is at least 8 years old and it’s on a well. For about 2 months I have been unplugging the water heater between uses to conserve energy. About a week ago it started making unusual noises and air sputtering out the faucets only on the hot water side.

A note I have on the water heater said it’s been 2 years since I drained it last. So I left the cold water valve on and the electricity on and flushed out the tank for about 5 minutes into a bucket. I did get about 3 tablespoons of scale out of it. Although there was hot water coming out of the other faucets and the hot water pipe coming out of the top of the tank was quite warm, there was only cold water coming out of the drain valve from start to finish.

I noticed the upper and lower thermostats were set at 100 degrees, not on the factory mark of 125 degrees. So I adjusted the upper one first, back and forth, I could hear it turning off and on. But when I tried adjusting the lower one it was silent. I even pushed the reset button a couple of times but didn’t help.

I reset the thermostats to 90 degrees, the lower one still shows no sign of life. There are no unusual sounds from the water heater or sputtering from the faucets now, but the water is only warm, not hot.

Any suggestions?

Rudd Water Heater
Ruddglass
Pacemaker
Ser. # RU 0996B37136
Model PEH 40-2
240 volts


Thanks in advance

Larry

SLSTech

Call a plumber to replace it

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Ron The Plumber

Replace the stats and elements, that will fix it.

Static Design

If you are worried about conserving energy and it is time to replace your old hot water heater then I would recommend a tankless setup. Much more efficient. It sounds to me it's worn out, or you damaged the hot water heater by leaving the electricity on while draining the tank.

LarryS

Thanks Ron The Plumber! I think your advice confirms my suspicions, I’ll give it a go.

Full Spool, I said I flushed the tank not drained it so I don’t think I caused any further damage, thanks anyway.

SLSTech, I don’t think throwing “the baby out with the check book” is the answer, but thanks.
Larry

protechplumbing

About how much energy will be saved by switching a 12 year old 40 gallon electric tanked heater to an electric tankless and what would the payoff date for something like that be? (I know the answer, I'm just testing you since you made the recommendation)

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protechplumbing

Larry, have you performed an electrical diagnostic yet? Have you checked the anode?

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LarryS

Well, this morning I called Home Depot and spoke with a plumber/salesman to see if they had the parts I needed. After explaining the situation, he said the upper thermostat sounds like the problem. So I took the bait, spent $12 and some change, changed out that part and bleed the lines of air.

After running the Dishwasher and later taking a shower, everything worked like a brand-new system, plenty of hot water, no unusual sounds and no sputtering, Life is Good!

Protechplumbing, thanks for the advice on the anode, Home Depot didn’t have one and the plumbing supply store is across town, I didn’t pull it to see its condition, but that’s next.
Thanks
Larry

radarrob

Hey Larry. What part of the country do you live in? I have seen the same symptoms here in Alberta and it is caused by gases trapped in the water getting released when the water is heated. Sometimes it is possible to ignite the gasses coming out of the tap. Could possibly be H2S or Methane depending on where you live. We see it more on well water here.

MALCO.New.York

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E.C

good for you larry