Need help with Water Heater problem

June 7, 2005

Hello all ....

I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water heater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less than 3 years old and they are on their second water heater.

The water heater is located in the furnace room where they also store some cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this room there is also a sink which is used to discard the chlorine solutions. The furnace room is approx. 12 ft by 8 ft.

The facility uses city water which goes through a water softener unit prior to being fed to the water heater. No similar problems experienced in other buildings using city water.

Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of rusty sediment. The rust deposits get up so high into the tank that eventually the water heater fails and has to be drained and cleaned. After a while, the bottom of the water heater is so corroded and the WH needs to be replaced.

Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing corrosion or should I look at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ? The water heater has otherwise been checked and rechecked and operates properly.

I have recommended against using and storing chemicals in that room since the furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced that is the problem.

Any ideas or suggestions ?

e

Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

June 7, 2005

have you checked anode rods?

--- iequality wrote:

> Hello all ....

>

> I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what

could cause a water he

> ater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a

dialysis center, building is

> less than 3 years old and they are on their second

water heater.

>

> The water heater is located in the furnace room

where they also store some

> cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this

room there is also a sin

> k which is used to discard the chlorine solutions.

The furnace room is appr

> ox. 12 ft by 8 ft.

>

> The facility uses city water which goes through a

water softener unit prior

> to being fed to the water heater. No similar

problems experienced in other

> buildings using city water.

>

> Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of

rusty sediment. The ru

> st deposits get up so high into the tank that

eventually the water heater f

> ails and has to be drained and cleaned. After a

while, the bottom of the wa

> ter heater is so corroded and the WH needs to be

replaced.

>

> Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing

corrosion or should I look

> at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ?

The water heater has oth

> erwise been checked and rechecked and operates

properly.

>

> I have recommended against using and storing

chemicals in that room since t

> he furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced

that is the problem.

>

> Any ideas or suggestions ?

>

> e

> Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

June 7, 2005

Ms. :

does the water heater use an atmospheric burner? or is it a closed-

combustion system? in other words, where does the combustion air

come from - inside the mechanical room or from the outdoors?

if it is an atmospheric burner, chlorine in the combustion air would

cause problems on the burner side, but does not explain the

accumulation of " rusty sediment " inside the tank.

something is amiss, either in the water supply or in the water

softener system. what is the iron content of the incoming water?

Wane

> Hello all ....

>

> I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a

water heater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis

center, building is less than 3 years old and they are on their

second water heater.

>

> The water heater is located in the furnace room where they also

store some cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this room

there is also a sink which is used to discard the chlorine solutions.

The furnace room is approx. 12 ft by 8 ft.

>

> The facility uses city water which goes through a water softener

unit prior to being fed to the water heater. No similar problems

experienced in other buildings using city water.

>

> Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of rusty

sediment. The rust deposits get up so high into the tank that

eventually the water heater fails and has to be drained and cleaned.

After a while, the bottom of the water heater is so corroded and the

WH needs to be replaced.

>

> Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing corrosion or

should I look at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ? The

water heater has otherwise been checked and rechecked and operates

properly.

>

> I have recommended against using and storing chemicals in that room

since the furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced that is

the problem.

>

> Any ideas or suggestions ?

>

> e

> Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

June 7, 2005

e:

What kind of water softener is being used? Some are salt based, others potassium based. Some water treatment units use neither and have also been shown to be ineffective or else change the quality of the water so that you may have acid water flowing into your tank.

If you could give the make and model of your softener, I can look it up in the WQA website.

Norm Gauss

Need help with Water Heater problem

Hello all ....

I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water heater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less than 3 years old and they are on their second water heater.

The water heater is located in the furnace room where they also store some cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this room there is also a sink which is used to discard the chlorine solutions. The furnace room is approx. 12 ft by 8 ft.

The facility uses city water which goes through a water softener unit prior to being fed to the water heater. No similar problems experienced in other buildings using city water.

Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of rusty sediment. The rust deposits get up so high into the tank that eventually the water heater fails and has to be drained and cleaned. After a while, the bottom of the water heater is so corroded and the WH needs to be replaced.

Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing corrosion or should I look at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ? The water heater has otherwise been checked and rechecked and operates properly.

I have recommended against using and storing chemicals in that room since the furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced that is the problem.

Any ideas or suggestions ?

e

Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

FAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

June 7, 2005

e

Since the water is pressurized in both the water softener and hot water side, and certainly is on the cold water side, I cannot see how gases from the indoor air could make their way into the water.

How about just changing out the anode in the tank before any tank corrosion goes on? Of course, the question could also be 'Do they have an anode in the tank?.

Jim H. White SSAL

Need help with Water Heater problem

Hello all ....

I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water heater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less than 3 years old and they are on their second water heater.

The water heater is located in the furnace room where they also store some cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this room there is also a sink which is used to discard the chlorine solutions. The furnace room is approx. 12 ft by 8 ft.

The facility uses city water which goes through a water softener unit prior to being fed to the water heater. No similar problems experienced in other buildings using city water.

Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of rusty sediment. The rust deposits get up so high into the tank that eventually the water heater fails and has to be drained and cleaned. After a while, the bottom of the water heater is so corroded and the WH needs to be replaced.

Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing corrosion or should I look at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ? The water heater has otherwise been checked and rechecked and operates properly.

I have recommended against using and storing chemicals in that room since the furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced that is the problem.

Any ideas or suggestions ?

e

Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

FAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

June 7, 2005

Dear e:

Since it has been stated that the bottom of the water tank experienced

corrosion, is it known if this corrosion was exterior to the tank (indicating

the adverse impact of the nearby stored chemicals), or was the corrosion on the

inside ( indicating the pH or other parameter of the city water at that

location)?

Bearg, PE, CIH

www,LifeEnergyAssoc.com

e

Since the water is pressurized in both the water softener and hot water side, and certainly is on the cold water side, I cannot see how gases from the indoor air could make their way into the water.

How about just changing out the anode in the tank before any tank corrosion goes on? Of course, the question could also be 'Do they have an anode in the tank?.

Jim H. White SSAL

Need help with Water Heater problem

Hello all ....

I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water heater to corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less than 3 years old and they are on their second water heater.

The water heater is located in the furnace room where they also store some cleaning chemicals, mostly chlorine based. In this room there is also a sink which is used to discard the chlorine solutions. The furnace room is approx. 12 ft by 8 ft.

The facility uses city water which goes through a water softener unit prior to being fed to the water heater. No similar problems experienced in other buildings using city water.

Both water heaters have accumulated large amounts of rusty sediment. The rust deposits get up so high into the tank that eventually the water heater fails and has to be drained and cleaned. After a while, the bottom of the water heater is so corroded and the WH needs to be replaced.

Could the chemical fumes in that room be causing corrosion or should I look at the water analysis from the city/water pipes ? The water heater has otherwise been checked and rechecked and operates properly.

I have recommended against using and storing chemicals in that room since the furnaces are located there but I'm not convinced that is the problem.

Any ideas or suggestions ?

e

Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc.

FAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

June 8, 2005

If the water from the softener is quite salty, corroding the anode rod

away and then starting on the non glass lined tank, that would explain a

lot. Also, I would tend to think of a residential water heater as

handling maybe a few hundred gallons a day. Is by any chance this one

called on to deliver far more than that?

steve chalmers

stevec@...

--------------------------------------------------------

Hello all ....

I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water

heater to

corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less

than 3 years

old and they are on their second water heater.

June 15, 2005

THANKS TO ALL for your many questions and suggestions ! Been gone but I plan

to get some answers and see if I can apply some of the theories mentioned

here .

e

Indoor Environmental Testing Inc.

re: Need help with Water Heater problem

> If the water from the softener is quite salty, corroding the anode rod

> away and then starting on the non glass lined tank, that would explain a

> lot. Also, I would tend to think of a residential water heater as

> handling maybe a few hundred gallons a day. Is by any chance this one

> called on to deliver far more than that?

>

> steve chalmers

> stevec@...

>

> --------------------------------------------------------

>

> Hello all ....

>

> I wonder if someone could give me some ideas on what could cause a water

> heater to

> corrode at a rapid pace. This is in a dialysis center, building is less

> than 3 years

> old and they are on their second water heater.

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

>

> This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always

been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such

material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental,

political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice

issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such

copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is

distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in

receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your

own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright

owner.

>

June 15, 2005