Water Heater Help Needed,,, It Has Air In It After A While

[CADplans]

We live with a well for water, cut in pressure 30 psi, cut out around 50
The well cycles as it always does, on at 30, off at 50,, when no water is being used, it stays at the same pressure.
We have a water softener
We have a rather large bladder tank, the cycle time to fill the tank is about usual.

We have a 50 gallon electric water heater , the water set temperature is about 125F

For the last week, when you turn on the hot water, you get a blast of air.
My wife believes it is only the hot water,

I have only seen it happen once, when I turned on the shower, which was hot only, to get warm water to the shower.

I checked both elements after no water had been used for ~15 minutes. Neither element was drawing power.
I ran about 5 gallons of hot water, the lower element came on.

The hot water is not a higher temperature than normal, as i always set the water mix for the shower at the same location

The elements in the water heater are 20 years old, original to the water heater. We do not get lime buildup on the elements, because of the water softener.

What could be causing air in the water system??

 

[quicksandfarmer]

It could be that it's not air but another gas that's forming because of either a chemical or biologic process. Bacteria could produce carbon dioxide, electrolysis could produce hydrogen.

Have you ever replaced your anode rod? After 20 years it could be gone and your tank could be starting to rust. Of course, after 20 years it may not be replaceable and you might have to start thinking about a new tank.

 

[seville009]

I’m on well water with a bladder tank and water softener, but I have an on-demand water heater.

Occasionally (not all the time) when I start the shower in the morning (in a second floor bathroom), I’ll get a very quick shot of air. Not extremely noticeable, but I can hear it.

I always have assumed that somehow a little air was getting in the system from either other faucets, toilets, etc. my shower cartridge also needs replacing (occasional slow drips when off), so that might also be the cause.

Do you hear air coming from different faucets, or just one?

 

[D&D]

We live with a well for water, cut in pressure 30 psi, cut out around 50
The well cycles as it always does, on at 30, off at 50,, when no water is being used, it stays at the same pressure.
We have a water softener
We have a rather large bladder tank, the cycle time to fill the tank is about usual.

What could be causing air in the water system??

excess air in the tank. Is it a bladder or air volume control setup?

 

[CADplans]

The air comes from all hot water faucets, of which we have six faucets.
This has only been noticeable for a week or so.

We have been in the house over 40 years, and this type air (or gas) has never happened.

I think today I will try changing the water heater elements, my daughter keeps replacements at her house because she gets LOTS of lime buildup which makes the element life short.

I have also ordered a new anode, I am going to try the electrical anode.

Heck, I think a LOT of my water system is running on borrowed time,
The water heater is 17 years old (I was wrong about the 20 years earlier)
The well was drilled in ~1978, the pump was struck by lightning in 1984 and was replaced,,
So, the well pump is 40 years old.

The guy said that sometimes wells only last 40-50 years,, so a new well MIGHT be required some day

Lots of people say 10 years is a long life for a well pump, I am at 40 years,,,

I think one of the reasons the pump is lasting so long is that right after the new pump was installed, I decided to replace the bladder tank. I bought a HUGE tank, relatively speaking. The one installed now is about triple the normal size tank for a house my size. The draw down" is so many gallons, our normal life might only start the pump 3-5 times a day. The pump guy told me that the hardest thing on a pump is the start,, the big bladder tank reduces the number of pump starts.

 

[CADplans]

excess air in the tank. Is it a bladder or air volume control setup?

It is a bladder tank, I check the pressure about every 6 months, it stays at ~27-28 pounds, which should be correct for our 30 psi turn on switch.

 

[MattB4]

Sounds like you are due for a new hot water tank. They are not forever.

 

[Egon]

Hold a match to the “hot air” escaping from the faucets Before you start replacing things.

 

[ponytug]

I would also consider the possibility that you have an air leak in the piping to the pump or on the pump intake, including a low water table at the well. A trace of air would accumulate in the hot water tank, but be less noticeable on the cold side.

My bet though would be on a water heater element, or perhaps a ground rod.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[repete]

Are you over pumping your well? If your well is only capable of delivering say 10 gallons per minute (GPM) and you allow it to pump unrestricted it may try to pump 11+ GPM. When the well cannot keep up, the casing starts to run low and you pick up air along with the water.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I really don't think it's air.

Downstream of the pump, air only enters when the pressure is at or below atmospheric pressure. If you drain the pipes and refill them, yes, you get air. But if there's a leak it's the water that leaks out, not the air that leaks in.

If the pump is sucking air, that shows up as the pump being unable to achieve pressure, as the pump can't move air. So you get low pressure, low flow and long run times. That doesn't seem to be happening here.

I'm sticking with my guess that it's not air, it's another gas being formed somewhere in the system.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I had an indirect water heater, oil burner heated a tank as it's own zone. I had similar issue, ended up being a pin hole in heating coil in indirect tank.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm interested in this because I've never seen it before, and I can't imagine how air could get into a pressurized system, and water isn't leaking out of that system.

The only time I see air coming out of a faucet is after I've turned off the water, done something to the line where the water drains from the pipes, and then put it all back together and turned the water back on. Air comes out as the water pressure builds back up. Water pushes air out of the line until it's all gone, which just takes a minute.

This is very odd.

 

[CADplans]

OK,, here are the pics of the lower element out of the hot water heater.

Not too bad looking for being 17 years old,, well, except for that little "split"
My daughter only had one element left, so I ordered a couple more
The lower element was the one I replaced.

Possibly, that split spot exposed enough of the nichrome wire to cause the water to turn into oxygen and hydrogen?

We will know tomorrow, the hot water heater had the "gas" again this morning.

 

[CADplans]

If you have a well pump, I highly recommend this type switch, of your correct pressure.

Amazon.com

If a pipe bursts, and the pressure in the storage tank drops below a certain point, this switch will disable the pump until you reset the switch manually.
I think that is better than 2,000 gallons of water in your basement.
Also, continuous running of your pump for a long period can burn up the pump, which is BIG $$$$

The only negative is that if you loose power, and use the water in the storage tank, the pressure will drop and the switch will disable.
You will have to turn that little lever for a few seconds, until pressure is above cut in pressure.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

This article on hydrogen sulfide gives an idea of the kind of reaction you can see in a water heater:

Hydrogen Sulfide (Rotten Egg Odor) in Water Wells

Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that gives water a distinctive "rotten egg" odor. Various treatment options are discussed in this article.

extension.psu.edu

I don't think it's hydrogen sulfide per se, because that has a strong smell.

 

[CADplans]

My sister had that,, any water they wanted to drink the next day had to be left on the counter the night before.

I thought she was just being efficient when she filled the MR COFFEE pot right after dinner.
I was shocked she lived with that sulfur smell,,
Just setting there, the sulfur smell would go away.

They had a company working on their property that damaged the first well that had no sulfur.
There would have been no problem getting them to drill another well.

 

[ponytug]

My sister had that,, any water they wanted to drink the next day had to be left on the counter the night before.

I thought she was just being efficient when she filled the MR COFFEE pot right after dinner.
I was shocked she lived with that sulfur smell,,
Just setting there, the sulfur smell would go away.

They had a company working on their property that damaged the first well that had no sulfur.
There would have been no problem getting them to drill another well.

Sulfide smells are easy to remove; pump into a storage tank and aerate it, or through an aeration unit that actively mixes in air, or add ozone. I wouldn't put up with it personally.

Congratulations on finding the blown electrode. I hope that fixes your gas issue. Did you by chance check the anode as well?

All the best,

Peter

 

[CADplans]

Congratulations on finding the blown electrode. I hope that fixes your gas issue. Did you by chance check the anode as well?
All the best,

Peter

I have the second element coming Tuesday,, AND,,,
also, I ordered a powered anode, which is also coming Tuesday.

The powered anode does the same thing as the metal one, except it uses your house electrical current.
I think it said it uses $3 worth of electricity a year,, something like that.

It is made out of titanium.

 

[ponytug]

I have the second element coming Tuesday,, AND,,,
also, I ordered a powered anode, which is also coming Tuesday.

The powered anode does the same thing as the metal one, except it uses your house electrical current.
I think it said it uses $3 worth of electricity a year,, something like that.

It is made out of titanium.

I have had a powered anode for a long time. I love them. I think that the anode controller draws a coupe of watts, so yes, you will never notice it. Way better than standard anodes. I suspect that most people don't service their anodes regularly, and end up replacing water heaters often, especially in hard, or softened hard water. Plus, many of us are lucky enough to have water heaters with limited head room, and limited access which makes the whole service process...fun.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter