# Water heater still producing brown/rusty water after flushing



## Ghostmaker (Mar 2, 2013)

Your hot water tank is 20 years old. I think you may be pushing the life span a bit.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Steel pipes?
Is there a water softener?
At 20 years old your about 5 years past the expected life span.


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## Larry K. (Mar 5, 2015)

A new water heater is, most likely, in your near future. Welcome to home ownership.


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## ben's plumbing (Oct 6, 2011)

sounds like internal rusting... of the heater ....most heaters life is between 10-15 yr ...yours is over due....:thumbsup:


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## GMX (Aug 25, 2012)

No steel pipes, there's copper into the basement (from the water provider) and then all CPVC inside.

No water softener.

Point taken about the lifespan... I guess I'll start looking at replacing it. Going to see if I can DIY it, it doesn't look all that complicated as long as I can get some help moving the tanks.

Thanks for the replies.


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## ben's plumbing (Oct 6, 2011)

once the glass linning is damaged it allowes rust to start even if its just a pin hole.....


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Do not forget to turn off the water heater heat before doing draining activities such as this.

It is easy to go off and do something else and then too much water drains out and the water heater self destructs when it kicks on and is somewhat if not completely empty.

Refill the tank long enough to see water gushing from an upstairs faucet before turning the heat back on.

The drain valve at the bottom of the heater usually has a quite small opening and drains slowly enough that much sediment is still left behind after the tank is almost completely drained. It then takes several tankfuls of refill and drain again cycles, 40 or so gallons per iteration.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Do not forget to turn off the water heater heat before doing draining activities such as this.

It is easy to go off and do something else and then too much water drains out and the water heater self destructs when it kicks on and is somewhat if not completely empty.

Refill the tank long enough to see water gushing from an upstairs faucet before turning the heat back on.

The drain valve at the bottom of the heater usually has a quite small opening and drains slowly enough that much sediment is still left behind after the tank is almost completely drained. It then takes several tankfuls of refill and drain again cycles, 40 or so gallons per iteration.


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## wctekkk (May 29, 2012)

i agree with everyone on the age , but if it's not leaking and the performance is there , then it's anode rod failure.


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## GMX (Aug 25, 2012)

wctekkk said:


> i agree with everyone on the age , but if it's not leaking and the performance is there , then it's anode rod failure.


Even if it is anode rod failure at the moment, it seems like the consensus is that the whole heater should be replaced anyway, right? (Due to the age.)

Btw to clarify on the age, it was mfg. in 1995 but the house was built in 1997, so it's probably been in service for 18 years -- but I doubt that makes a difference as to the outcome of this.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Just draining the tank and flushing it with the incoming cold water line will not get rid of any residue in the bottom of the tank. In my area (SW Ga) it is very common to have lime build-up in the bottom of water heaters. I have had to clean out many a water heater in this area. I drain the tank, remove both elements for inspection, and use the bottom element hole for access to a tool I made and vacuum out the bottom of the tank. Just three weeks ago I removed about 3 gallons of lime from an 8 year old tank. This type sediment in the bottom of a water heater tank could/will discolor the hot water coming out. And I also recommend replacing your tank due to age. A suggestion: IF you do decide to replace your water heater remove the drain valve at the bottom and replace it with a ball valve. As stated in post #9 the valve from the factory has a very small hole in it. This make it hard to drain and/or flush out the tank. A ball valve, or even a gate valve (but NO globe valve), will allow the water to drain out faster, and would help in flushing out the tank.


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## GMX (Aug 25, 2012)

Thanks for the help everybody.

Also, I made a mistake in calculating the age of the heater, I'd been using the model # instead of the serial #. It was actually mfg. in July, 1998 so it's coming up on 17 years old.

I'm going to start looking for a replacement heater today, I don't think a 17-year-old tank is worth going to the trouble of anode rod replacement if I'd need to replace the whole tank anyway in a year or three.

Meanwhile I'll definitely be taking better care of the new one, once I get it in.


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