Another water heater thread

[Toy4x4]

Just finished putting in five gallons of white vinegar and will give it about 36 hours to work. Judging how long it took the scale to dissolve in the cup, this should be long enough with that amount. I plan on doing a couple of quick on/off shots of water to help stir things up a bit tomorrow so that is another reason why I used that much. You can see the method I used to get it in there. Its a two cup container with a makeshift spout made out of masking tape. Worked well in the confined space. There were bubbles forming in test cup and I can hear the tank bubbling. I left the emergency pressure valve open on top as well as the bathroom hot water tap so there is no pressure build-up. We'll see what happens.

 

[Toy4x4]

A couple days ago, I finished round two of the vinegar treatment with six gallons used this time. I left it in for about 43 hours with the occasional blast of water from the inlet to stir things up. I drained it in my bathtub so I could see what was coming out. It was a LOT. The first round must have really weakened the deposits. I rinsed the tank out for the next couple hours to get as much out as possible. I'd turn on the water for about 20 seconds and let that drain/wash out. The result is that there is no more pooping and banging in the tank. With the cost of the vinegar and parts, I'd say about $80 was spent. If the new, more open valve wasn't purchased, much less.

I did change how I introduced the vinegar to the tank. I didn't go through the top as pictured above. I saw a YT video where someone used an old washing machine hose. Went to Home Depot to see what I could find to attach to it so I didn't spill vinegar all over. I ended up thinking I could use an old sprinkler head body I already had and bought the necessary parts to attach it to the hose. You just have to keep the sprinkler head above the level of the vinegar in the tank. Worked perfectly! Hopefully this can help someone else to clean out their tank and save a ton of $$$.

Pic of my contraption: