Clogged water heaters?

[Simon6101]

From the picture you posted part of the problem is the galvanized piping. That type of piping has a tendency to rust solid on the inside of the pipe.

 

[woowoo2]

Is that enough to draw the water through all the scale lying at the bottom of the tank? Does the scale ever jam up the pump or anything?

Yes
No
Its a cheap pump, and slow, but it works for me.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Yep, found this out myself (couldn't get anything over a 50 I believe) and ended up going with a heat pump water heater. The 65 gallon regular electric I replaced was under purchased warranty from Lowes so I got refund for previous purchase amount (including install cost, I believe) and a hefty tax credit at the time for going with the heat pump so it ended up ok on my end, otherwise the heat pump water heater was pretty pricey at the time. Not sure if they have gone down much in last couple of years. Would have liked to have gone with something else just because I don't like this type of thing to have too many moving parts, but it was what I could get at the time.

I'm thinking they're in the $1000 range at Lowes. They say they'll pay back in 2 years...but I don't know.

 

[Cameramonkey]

From the picture you posted part of the problem is the galvanized piping. That type of piping has a tendency to rust solid on the inside of the pipe.

Maybe, but not yet. No sign of internal flow issues. It turned out to be a closed shutoff valve.

 

[WebSnyper]

I'm thinking they're in the $1000 range at Lowes. They say they'll pay back in 2 years...but I don't know.

Yeah, more than that at the time I bought mine, but again, I came pretty good in the end between refund on warrantied unit and tax credit.

 

[churchmouse]

Maybe, but not yet. No sign of internal flow issues. It turned out to be a closed shutoff valve.

Well that was simple enough. Who shut it off.
I do some maint/. work for a local church and I find some really strange things.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Well that was simple enough. Who shut it off.
I do some maint/. work for a local church and I find some really strange things.

We know it was one of us that shut it off in the confusion of thinking the slow flow was due to frozen pipes. Not sure who turned it aaaaay down prior to March of last year when we joined. (Both Mrs Monkey and myself remember trying to wash our hands with warm water and only getting a trickle of hot. Its been that way since we got here. Thats how we started down the trail of "its not frozen")

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Here is my big question. Isnt a 200' run of 1/2" pipe full of hot water a waste snice most of it cools just sitting there before reaching the other end? Why not deliver cold to the other heater and let it do all the work? Seems like a lot of wasted heat energy by sending hot water through the ceiling lines, only to in most cases not have that water reach the other side and sit and cool down in the pipe. So in that case where somebody washed hands at the far end, didnt they just use energy to heat the water from the far tank that they felt, and lots of heat energy go to waste in the pipe from the first heater because it never actually reached the other tank and was never used? (heated water ends up sitting in the ceiling, not reaching the other heater until well after it cools) Wouldnt it be more cost efficient for each tank to only deliver heat to their respective sides of the house?


Thanks for the guidance and advice again. INGO ROCKS!

Does the water heater that supplies the kitchen also supply the bathrooms on that side? I've seen/heard of something like you describe. The reason for it is the first heater supplies a lower temp hot water to the bathroom sinks for handwashing without worry of someone getting scaled, but that water isn't hot enough for dishwashers/kitchen duty and such so they run a second one to the kitchen and plump the first water heater into it to reduce recovery time when doing lots of dishes.