Water heater help

[sxg6]

So i just moved into a brand new apartment building. It has a brand new water heater.

When i first moved in, i didn't have hot water, or warm water, the heater wasn't working at all. So basically a few guys had to come by, until the final diagnosis was that one of the two heating elements was busted, something like it had an open loop.

So the guy went next door and got a heating unit out of one of those heaters since that building is still under construction. Anyways, when he pulled the broken heater out of my tank, it was a little bent, and had a thick greasy substance all over it. He looked a little shocked, and didn't know what it was. It was a dark grey color grease.

So he put the new heating unit in the tank, and now everything works perfect. But i'm concerned because now i have stuff coming out with my hot water. The water is crystal clear, but there are small contaminates floating around in my water. I have no idea what they are. I went and talked to an older man at home depot and he has never heard of a greasy substance on a copper heating element. Now im worried my tank has this stuff built up on the inside, and i'm afraid to drink or anything.

I filled up my sink, drained the water, and heres a picture of the stuff that didn't go down the drain. Any idea what it could be?

http://home.comcast.net/~dsmphotos/heater1.jpg

 

[Pablo]

Does it come out of the cold water side, too?

 

[H2GURU]

I'm not going to get this exactly right, but the better units have an "Anode" that gives itself up and absords the corrosive chemicals in the water so that the copper element may survive. Perhaps this element needs to be cleaned or replaced?

 

[H2GURU]

Please make that a "CATHODE", sorry!

 

[sxg6]

I don't think it comes out of the cold water side too Pablo, but i'm going to double check that when i get home.

It's a brand new heating unit, so its i guess its possible that the device is full and needs to be cleaned out, who knows what kind of stuff could've been in the pipes and if they properly flushed them.

I may not reply back often since i don't have internet at home yet. Any ideas are appreciated though.

 

[tom slick]

since it is new construction my guess is pipe thread sealant.

the element probably burned up because they turned the heater on before bleeding all of the air out of it. the element was in the air pocket at the top and had no water to absorb it's energy, thus melting.

 

[sxg6]

The bits in the picture are a blue-green color. They do look like what i have seen built up on copper before. I'm going to call the company tomorrow probably and see how new the tank is, by serial number or another way.


Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Gary Allan]

tomslick has it, I think. A new element shouldn't be bent. That's from superheating. Normally it can't get very hot submerged in water. Too hot? Sags.

 

[Tones]

I've never seen pipe thread sealant that looked like that. My bet is that it is some of the glass liner of the tank. Might be just where some of it broke off when they screwed fittings into the tank. Or it could be more serious such as they could have dropped the tank when installing it and cracked the glass.

I suggest you call the manufacturer of the water heater and ask them about both of these things. I think you have two unrelated issues, the grease and the floating bits.

 

[chas3]

it is called an anode rod and it prevents galvanic corrosion. those bits in the picture look a little greenish. are they? if so, its probably copper salts/oxides from the heater element. the anode is primarily supposed to protect the steel tank though.

anyway, i would drain the water heater. stuff that built up on the heater/anode rod could be getting stirred up and mixed in with the water. next, i would check the anode rod and make sure its not broken off.

you say that the unit is new, but it does not seem like it.

 

[tom slick]

I should have been more specific, the greasy material covering the element may have been thread sealant. the small flakes may be pieces of the old element.
I have also seen that type of material when my water softener was self destructing.

 

[sxg6]

I just found this at the web site for my water heater. Looks like my problem

Link

 

[Pablo]

Interesting. Good work SX. I guess just get the correct anode - so I assume your pH is over 7.5 and your WH has an Al rod. Learn something everyday on BiTOG.

 

[JoggingGuy]

This is a great site about water heaters and their maintenance: Water Heater Rescue