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FogHelmut posted:My water heater is making knocking noises after I use hot water. Do I need to flush it? And how do I do that? Are you sure it's your water heater and not your pipes?
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Jul 19, 2013 15:11
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FogHelmut posted:My water heater is making knocking noises after I use hot water. Do I need to flush it? And how do I do that? If the knocking is coming from the tank, crud at the bottom might be the cause. Turn off the heater and the water supply (wait for it to cool down a bit), attach a garden hose to the valve at the bottom and open it. To break the vacuum, pull up on the tab at the top attached to the pressure relief valve to let air into the tank. if it seems really bad, you can close the drain, open the supply and refill the tank partially then flush that too. While you're doing that, it you should check (and replace if necessary) your sacrificial rod [http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20047047,00.html]
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Jul 19, 2013 17:48
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That reminds me, I've been wondering about this since I bought this house: when you first turn on a faucet, the water pressure is extra high. It quickly settles down to a reasonable level, one I think seems more correct, as that first burst of higher pressure is kind of annoying. It's not extreme, but it's definitely noticeable. It takes a while to build up: usually won't do it during the day when faucets are regularly being turned on, but by morning or in the middle of the night, it happens. I've never had a house that does this, what gives?
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Jul 19, 2013 18:00
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kid sinister posted:Are you sure it's your water heater and not your pipes? Yes, definitely. Qwijib0 posted:If the knocking is coming from the tank, crud at the bottom might be the cause. Turn off the heater and the water supply (wait for it to cool down a bit), attach a garden hose to the valve at the bottom and open it. To break the vacuum, pull up on the tab at the top attached to the pressure relief valve to let air into the tank. Excellent, I didn't even know about the anode rod.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:33
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Bad Munki posted:That reminds me, I've been wondering about this since I bought this house: when you first turn on a faucet, the water pressure is extra high. It quickly settles down to a reasonable level, one I think seems more correct, as that first burst of higher pressure is kind of annoying. It's not extreme, but it's definitely noticeable. It takes a while to build up: usually won't do it during the day when faucets are regularly being turned on, but by morning or in the middle of the night, it happens. I've never had a house that does this, what gives? Are you on city water or do you have a well?
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Jul 19, 2013 21:34
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City. It's a pretty new house, built in 2007.
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Jul 19, 2013 22:14
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The Home Depot and Lowes didn't carry those anode rods. Are they all standard sized? Should I just order one from Amazon? I haven't extracted the one that's in there yet, and I didn't think to put up a big enough socket while I was at the store. Flushing the heater was pretty painless. I think it's from 1998 though. Everything about the exterior looks brand new, but I guess this should probably be replaced soon anyway?
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Jul 20, 2013 02:22
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FogHelmut posted:The Home Depot and Lowes didn't carry those anode rods. Are they all standard sized? Should I just order one from Amazon? I haven't extracted the one that's in there yet, and I didn't think to put up a big enough socket while I was at the store. Check with your local utility. Mine just ran a 300 rebate for installed 67eff or greater. There is one or two 30gal for about 500 that can handle 3 to 4 persons. As you get into energy star heaters you can have a smaller tank because it heats the source quickly.
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Jul 20, 2013 15:17
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FogHelmut posted:The Home Depot and Lowes didn't carry those anode rods. Are they all standard sized? Should I just order one from Amazon? I haven't extracted the one that's in there yet, and I didn't think to put up a big enough socket while I was at the store. All rods have the same threading, but the length is dependent on the size of the tank. The warranty of the tank is usually set to the average lifetime of the rod that's in there, but the mineral content of your water will determine of long it takes to get eaten away. 15 years is starting to push it for a tanked heater, but replacing the rod will slow down any interior corrosion and make it last longer.
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Jul 20, 2013 15:21
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Bad Munki posted:City. It's a pretty new house, built in 2007. Most times I've seen pressure differences like that it has been city water and it's been due to the actual water supply. You (meaning the city somewhere on the street) probably have a PRV (pressure regulating valve) somewhere that is "lazy", meaning it doesn't regulate down quite as much as it should unless there is a lot of water flowing. So pressure builds on your segment of the main to a slightly higher level than normal during times of low/no demand and you can feel it when you first turn on the water. This seems to happen more frequently in areas that are close to gravity fed sources (like near a water tower). If it's truly excessive pressure you should probably call your municipal authority and tell them this is happening before your faucets start prematurely leaking so they can service or replace the appropriate equipment. The same thing should likely be happening to your closest neighbors if this is a municipal issue. I've seen areas where the city refuses to do anything about it and pretty much everyone has had their own PRVs installed post-meter to control the situation. Motronic fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Jul 20, 2013 |
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Jul 20, 2013 16:16
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Municipalities around here are usually pretty bad about regulating pressure. There are a lot of office/warehouse parks near me that will have normal pressure during the workday, but once everyone is gone, pressure starts creeping up and all the usual problems started happening. The county didn't really care.
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Jul 20, 2013 16:37
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Don't open the t/p valve, you can get crap in them and they will then continue to drip. drain the pressure else where.
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Jul 21, 2013 01:34
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Qwijib0 posted:All rods have the same threading, but the length is dependent on the size of the tank. The warranty of the tank is usually set to the average lifetime of the rod that's in there, but the mineral content of your water will determine of long it takes to get eaten away. 15 years is starting to push it for a tanked heater, but replacing the rod will slow down any interior corrosion and make it last longer. Yeah there's no way that rod is coming out. I had a pretty serious cheater bar going on, and it was just moving the entire nearly full tank.
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Jul 21, 2013 19:46
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FogHelmut posted:Yeah there's no way that rod is coming out. I had a pretty serious cheater bar going on, and it was just moving the entire nearly full tank. Have you tried an impact gun. I've used them in certain cases.
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Jul 21, 2013 23:59
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Have you tried an impact gun. I've used them in certain cases. FogHelmut, give it good whack with a hammer to help crack the rust/scale buildup and try a little PB Blaster. Also, you can somewhat simulate an impact driver by giving your wrench/cheater bar a whack counter-clockwise with a hammer.
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Jul 22, 2013 00:08
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Have you tried an impact gun. I've used them in certain cases. I have a battery one for driving screws. Its 100 ft lbs, I guess if it doesn't work then no harm done. kid sinister posted:FogHelmut, give it good whack with a hammer to help crack the rust/scale buildup and try a little PB Blaster. Also, you can somewhat simulate an impact driver by giving your wrench/cheater bar a whack counter-clockwise with a hammer. I'm not sure I want PB Blaster in my water supply.
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Jul 22, 2013 02:17
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FogHelmut posted:I'm not sure I want PB Blaster in my water supply. Then use something more volatile like penetrating oil that will evaporate away. Maybe try graphite? You would have to check the can what the graphite is suspended in though.
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Jul 22, 2013 02:33
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FogHelmut posted:I have a battery one for driving screws. Its 100 ft lbs, I guess if it doesn't work then no harm done. Don't use the battery one. This is what I use. http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW293-7-5-Amp-2-Inch-Impact/dp/B0009HGCRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374553551&sr=8-1&keywords=corded+impact+gun
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Jul 23, 2013 05:26
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Can you help me identify a piece of piping? Specifically, the piece circled red below, whose only purpose appears to be to overflow when the sink is blocked, and soak all the stuff in the cupboard, instead of just not letting the sink drain. It's capped off on top with a screw-down cap and a cap under that that's held down, then inside, from what I can gather, all that it seems to do is serve as an overflow when the pressure gets too high. Which I only discovered a day or two ago, but which had been overflowing for at least a couple of days prior. Faugh. And this is by no means the worst of the heath robinson poo poo in my new flat    I've now cleaned the incredibly clogged drain, but I want to know whether I can just replace this whole mess with a single straight pipe, or whether there might be some intent or purpose behind this mysterious piece whose only apparent effect was to leak water into my loving cupboard. Help me, plumbing thread, you're my only hope! Or, I could get a plumber, but I'm pretty sure I can do this one by myself...
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Jul 25, 2013 20:27
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Don't use the battery one. This is what I use. http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW293-7-5-Amp-2-Inch-Impact/dp/B0009HGCRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374553551&sr=8-1&keywords=corded+impact+gun Yeah, it didn't do anything. Neither did a hammer. It's 15 years old, might as well put those dollars towards a new one than an impact wrench. I've flushed this thing 5 times now, and it's still got sediments. Whitish/translucent pieces, nothing dark or rusty. Should I be running water through it with the bottom drain open? Or just fill and empty? It's still knocking a bit, but much less than it was.
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Jul 25, 2013 20:36
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thespaceinvader posted:Can you help me identify a piece of piping? That looks to be an air admittance valve. They're used for certain construction situations (island sinks or half walls on single storey buildings, etc) where that sink's placement prevents running a vent pipe. No, you most likely can't replace it with a straight pipe.
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Jul 25, 2013 21:28
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OK, thanks. I'm presuming it shouldn't leak like that though? Maybe it needs replacing I guess?
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Jul 25, 2013 21:49
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thespaceinvader posted:OK, thanks. I'm presuming it shouldn't leak like that though? Maybe it needs replacing I guess? No, probably not. AAVs work great for negative pressure. Here's their normal operation. At normal pressure, they close to prevent sewer gas from escaping from the pipes into your home. When water from sink goes down drain it creates a vacuum (negative pressure), which opens up the AAV to admit air into the pipe so that air can take the place of the water now going down the drain. Otherwise, bad things can happen like siphoning that will suck that trap empty and again allow sewer gas into your home. Your AAV did exactly what it was designed to do: it sensed water rushing past, so it opened to allow air into the drain. The problem was that the since the drain was clogged, the water level in the drain pipe never went down, which is when the AAV would have closed. With the pipe's water level rising and the AAV still open, the water spilled out into your cabinet. But since you cleared the drain, it sounds like you fixed the main problem. AAVs aren't perfect, and a lot of places ban them for that reason.
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Jul 25, 2013 23:29
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Thanks, I'll keep an eye on it for the future. Curse my scuzzy non-drain-clearing vendors.
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Jul 25, 2013 23:34
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Here's a quick question, might not be the right place but if you can answer it might be helpful... Basically we have an electric shower in our bathroom, connected to the main taps, and is controlled with a thermostat. I say controlled, but the water's either been coming out too hot, or completely cold. The shower is connected up to the normal cold and hot water taps, so to get around the "hot" setting being too hot we want to simply run the cold and hot water from the taps through the shower, so we can mix it to the desired temperature. The water only flows from the showerhead when the switch is on, so the idea is to switch the thermostat shower control button on and move the temperature control to "cold", so that the mixed hot/cold=warm water comes out. But would doing that damage the thermostat control? I would assume that an electric shower works by heating cold water and simply not-heating the water if it's hotter than it thinks it should be, but my housemate is sure that it'll blow the thermostat. Any opinions?
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Jul 31, 2013 22:24
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I found this at one of our retail stores. I've never seen a branched off drain section like this. What is it and what does it do?
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Aug 23, 2013 17:58
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kid sinister posted:I found this at one of our retail stores. I've never seen a branched off drain section like this. What is it and what does it do? Keeps water in the floor drain from getting stagnant or drying out and allowing sewer gas inside.
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Aug 25, 2013 14:15
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I need to replace the P trap and dishwasher wye tailpiece in my kitchen sink, and all the reviews for the PVC jobbies I've found are extremely negative. However, the chrome/brass versions are more expensive than I was expecting. Is it worth it to shell out for brass/chrome, or should I just take my chances with the $2.50 PVC pipes?
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Aug 28, 2013 00:25
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ButWhatIf posted:I need to replace the P trap and dishwasher wye tailpiece in my kitchen sink, and all the reviews for the PVC jobbies I've found are extremely negative. However, the chrome/brass versions are more expensive than I was expecting. Is it worth it to shell out for brass/chrome, or should I just take my chances with the $2.50 PVC pipes? My last 2 houses have been PVC and I've never had a problem (11 years or so)
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Aug 28, 2013 00:43
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Ender.uNF posted:Keeps water in the floor drain from getting stagnant or drying out and allowing sewer gas inside. Good idea, but it only works if the place is inhabited... That actually happened at this same store. That shopping center that was built right at the start of the economy going bad a couple years ago and we were the first tenants in our branch of the center. I get a call for a bad smell in that shop and checked twice over 2 days for a dead animal somewhere. I didn't find one, but the smell persisted. A couple days later it hits me: the shop has been there for a year and a half, we still don't have any neighbors and those neighboring units have never been used. The water evaporated out of all their traps! So I talked the landlord into going around with a bucket of water to fill them back up. No more smell!
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Aug 28, 2013 17:23
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Forgive me if this is too minor of a problem for this thread, but it's been driving me nuts! Our bathtub drain is extremely slow, presumably from hair clogs. I've used probably half a dozen bottles of Draino, etc. and plunged it more times than I can count, but it hasn't done anything. I tried to use one of those 'Zipper' things, but it didn't get anything. I think that the clog may be pretty far down the pipe from the tub, since the toilet has also started flushing weakly and there is a 'trickling' sound from the corner of the room where the stack and the toilet are. Are there any tricks you pros can recommend?
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Sep 4, 2013 05:26
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RapturesoftheDeep posted:Forgive me if this is too minor of a problem for this thread, but it's been driving me nuts! No question is to minor. Run a snake down the line. I'd suggest pulling the toilet and replacing the wax ring after you put it back down. If you can run water down the drain with a hose. Put the drain under a load and make sure its part of the problem. Or you can just throw a snake down the line and see what you can punch through. If the house is older like 60's era and has cast iron drain piping you can bust through fittings. But if you do or the rooter guy does. It's still your problem and you will have to pay to get it fixed. Try running hot water when you run the snake, it helps break up clogs.
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Sep 4, 2013 06:09
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RapturesoftheDeep posted:Forgive me if this is too minor of a problem for this thread, but it's been driving me nuts! Just for, well, shits. If you turn off the water to the toilet does the trickle noise stop?
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Sep 4, 2013 14:10
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Just for, well, shits. If you turn off the water to the toilet does the trickle noise stop? Well, I haven't tried that, but it's definitely not coming from the water running in the toilet-- I'm not that clueless! I'm not going to risk using a snake, the bathroom was redone recently but the house itself is from the 20's. And as it turns out, leaving Draino in the pipes overnight last night made more of a difference. It's not perfect, but the water isn't up to my ankles when showering anymore.
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Sep 4, 2013 22:28
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RapturesoftheDeep posted:Well, I haven't tried that, but it's definitely not coming from the water running in the toilet-- I'm not that clueless! Have you cleaned the vent pipe on the tub?
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Sep 4, 2013 22:41
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RapturesoftheDeep posted:Well, I haven't tried that, but it's definitely not coming from the water running in the toilet-- I'm not that clueless! If you're really lucky, you've got clay drainage pipes and there's a root going through them. The draino will melt the root mostly and let the water get out of the side of the pipe. Any warm wet spots show up in your yard recently?
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Sep 5, 2013 01:58
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If it is roots, RootX would be a better choice than draino.
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Sep 5, 2013 02:06
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I've got water coming up in my basement floor drain when I use water in the kitchen or washer that drains into that floor drain. It's a small house with only 1 bathroom. However, the drains in the bathroom work fine, so I know that the main sewer isn't blocked. My bathroom is on one stack with the main cleanout, and my kitchen is on the stack in the corner on the opposite side of the basement which has a smaller cleanout. That kitchen stack must run under the basement floor to the main stack and the floor drain must be branched off of that run. I cannot unclog this drain for the life of me. If I feed my 25' thin snake down the smaller cleanout it isn't long enough, and my 50' fat snake can't make this one turn under the concrete floor. I also tried snaking the floor drain but I can't make it past the trap with either snake. What do I do? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Sep 6, 2013 |
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Sep 6, 2013 22:55
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Depending on the head of the larger snake. Keep trying and spin the head forward when you hit the corner.
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Sep 8, 2013 02:49
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Depending on the head of the larger snake. Keep trying and spin the head forward when you hit the corner. No dice. I still can't get it to turn the corner, clockwise or counterclockwise.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:00
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