Sulphur in water

[ByronBob]

There is some sort of rod in hot water heaters that can cause a sulpher smell. In my cabin we get this smell only with the hot water and only with the first tankful. After that, no smell. Someone said you could remove this rod, but others say that of you do you will get corrosion?

Most rods are magnesium which go into the H2O tank. The heat and the metal react with the H2S gasses to have them smell.

Most times you replace these with an Aluminum anode rod to limit the reactions. It still works the same however it keeps your smell down.

Don't take the rod out completely. If you do then the water starts eating at your tank and eventually it'll leak.

I'm on my 2nd rod on a 3yr old tank.

 

[dbdartman]

Dr George, that is the sacrificial anode rod, typically made of magnesium. It's job in the hot water tank is to corrode due to electrolysis, instead of the tank corroding.

If a magnesium anode causes your well water to smell, you can try replacing it with an aluminum anode, or remove it all together (although removing it WILL shorten the life of the tank from approximately 10 years [doing no maintainance] to around half of that).

My well water has a very high iron content. This causes the hot water to smell bad. I tried replacing the anode with an aluminum one, but it didn't change. I've found that the only way to keep the hot water smell to a minimum is to dump & flush the hot water tank, & wire brush the anode, 3 times/year.

Here's a tip that will make your hot water tank last up to 3 times longer than "normal" (normal being; you do nothing): At least once every 2 years, remove the anode & wire brush it! After 7-8 years, REPLACE IT! A new anode isn't inexpensive (at around $40-$50), but compared to the cost of replacing the tank, especially if you can't do it yourself, it's cheap insurance & will save you money.

 

[ponytug]

There are special, albeit simple, filters for removing manganese. Alternatively, pumping it into a cistern with aeration will remove it, if the water has enough chance to stand.

Given the health hazards, you probably want to do something about it.

All the best,

Peter

Are you sure it's sulfur? The water at my house smells like sulfur to but that's not what it is. I get my water tested on a regular basis and mine alway's shows a high manganese (sp?) level. Smells just like sulfur/rotten eggs. I to have a water softener and it does nothing for the smell. I installed a charcoal water filter on the kitchen sink and it removes it but to install one of those filters on the whole house would mean I would probably have to change the filter cartridge on a weekly basis. The plug up fairly fast.

If you have not had your water tested by a lab yet I would. Make sure your dealing with sulfur before you get to involved in trying to get rid of it.

 

[marks]

The road in treating the HS in my water has been long and bumpy. Aeration did not work, and chlorine wasn't feasible in that one gallon of 12% would treat 80 gallons of water. I've since built an ozone system utilizing an oxygen generator that feeds an 8 g/hr o3 generator, that then feeds the gas thru a Mazzei injector, and then mixes in a static inline mixer, and then being cleansed by a filtration system. Getting all this stuff to work together was a lesson in persistence, however I'm now able to treat 50 gallons per hour, utilizing a 1200 treatment tank. Once the water is transfered into the settlement tank, it is then chlorinated prior to entering the pressure pump, and then removed by the the carbon filter down stream.

HS bacteria is what turns the water black, and can irrervisibly lodge in the carbon filter, and become trapped in the softener's resin and hot water heater. Draw some water off the heater, and if it's black then the bacteria has inflitrated the entire water system.

If you need the specifics or more info, send a PM.

Mark

 

[GaryQWA]

A hot water only odor of H2S is caused by a combination of things. You need some sulfate in the water. Then some SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria, nonharmful to humans and pets) and an anode rod (material wise) that the SRB can get some hydrogen from. Remove any one of the three and the odor goes away.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[dfkrug]

A hot water only odor of H2S is caused by a combination of things. You need some sulfate in the water. Then some SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria, nonharmful to humans and pets) and an anode rod (material wise) that the SRB can get some hydrogen from. Remove any one of the three and the odor goes away.

Don't forget there is a simple inverse relationship between dissolved gases and
water. A cool glass of water may not smell of H2S, but heat it a bit and
the dissolved gas goes out of solution and you then smell it. That is my
situation, and the first indication that my tank fan and/or bubbler has failed.
I smell it in the hot water first.