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Old 01-12-2005, 12:51 PM   #1
Bill25
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I have a filter on the well output be still have what looks like sand in the hot water side. The cold water side is clear. It clogs the shower head, faucets and hot water washer inlet valve. One plumber told me that it's the heater coil oxidating and that the heater coil will fail in time!! I'm still looking for an answer.
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Old 01-12-2005, 01:42 PM   #2
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Default Interesting statement, Bill

Hi Bill,
It's funny you mention the "Hot" side only, because that's where our problem is also. The cold side is crystal clear, and very little sand in the washing machine inlet for cold. The "Hot Water" side is what really fills with sand. When my wife complained it took half an hour to fill the washing machine, I took the hoses off, and the hot side was jam packed with sand. I have also removed my shower heads and found they too were clogged with sand. I am going to call to have my furnace cleaned and I will have them take an extra close look at the tankless hot water system. Thanks for the clue!
To answer the other post,(the one before your's. I forgot to see who wrote it before I started typing this reply.) No, we do not currently have any filter on the water, other than the one for the ice maker.
Thanks again!
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Old 01-12-2005, 01:59 PM   #3
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Default Sand in water

I'm not a plumber, but I do not think it is possible to get 'sand' only on the hot side, unless this residue is coming from within the system and on the hot side pipes. If the cold is clear, then my logic says that it is coming into the house clear, and probably the problem is in the hot water heater or hot water lines. Can you flush the hot water heater tank by running cold water in and letting it drain out the drain valve, hopefully removing any residue. I guess a filter on the "out" pipe of the heater would be an answer. Good Luck.
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Old 01-12-2005, 03:12 PM   #4
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Default Point of Entry Water Filter

We are putting in a whole house filter system since we need to draw from the lake directly. The first stage of the filter system is a point of entry filter that does a great job of filtering sediment. We have not bought it yet, but have been getting some good recommendations on it. See link here below for a description of the Judo Sediment Filters. The only problem I can see is the price (>$1,000 for self cleaning, 1/3 that for manual cleaning), but it definitely does the job.

http://www.watertiger.net/judo/judo_index.html
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Old 01-12-2005, 03:36 PM   #5
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Default Plumber

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Your water heater is filled with cold water from your supply so it is most likely already filtered ..Hard water will build up on the dip tube and heating elements in your water heater and start scaling off ..it will look similar to sand ..Put a garden hose on the bottom of your water heater and open the valve , this will flush it out ..you may have to do this a few times a year depending on the quality of the water ..Make sure the water heater is turned off before you do this .. Any cartridge type water filter out there will filter out sand ..
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Old 01-12-2005, 03:43 PM   #6
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Exclamation

Question: How old is your water heater? If it is over 10 years old then it could be close to the end of its usefull life from what various plumbers have told me. Plus if it is about 10+ years old it could have quite a bit of sediment built up inside.

I agree with Camp Guy comments and think you should flush the water heater. Make sure you turn the water heater off while doing this to prevent any potential damge to electric or gas components in the water heaters. If there is a lot of sediment it could take a while to clear out. I have seen this process shorten the life of an older water heater so be careful. I flush my propane fired water heater once a year and it is more efficent and should last longer if done from new.

If you have a tankless water heater, inside a furnace, then the tankless coil may be failing and you are getting corrosion as sediment but I think that is less likely. Tankless water heaters usually clog with heavy corrosion inside the coils reducing the temperature and amount of hot water you get. How quickly the clogging of the coils occurs will depend on the amount of minerals, iron and manganese for example, you have in your water. My source of information on this is from plumbers and home inspectors I have worked with over the years. No, I am not a plumber either.


Good luck.
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Old 01-12-2005, 04:33 PM   #7
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Eagle,You have narrowed it down with the hot water only discovery.Very unlikely that "sand" is coming into into your water supply with this scenario.I would definately inspect your hot water device.As far as tankless heaters go,is yours a stand alone tankless or is it part of your furnace?If the latter,mine failed two years ago but I did not have the sediment issue you have.My boiler makes hot water for the hydronic baseboard(forced hot water).My coil for the domestic hot water is immersed in the boiler water.I figured out mine failed when my boiler water pressure kept getting too high and was being released through the relief valve overflow.The reason is the domestic water was leaking into the boiler water through a hole in the coil because the domestic water pressure was much higher(50 lbs) than the boiler needs(15 lbs) and the relief valve would open at about 25 lbs.Changing the coil was very simple and inexpensive to do myself.I think about $50-70.It might be worth changing the coil if this is your type of system. SS
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Old 01-12-2005, 04:42 PM   #8
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Default Tankless

If you have a tankless in the boiler like siksukr and it go's get rid of it ..Add an external or super store (brand name) storage heater
Way more efficient,10 times the surface area to transfer heat and well insulated, around $600

Last edited by HUH; 01-13-2005 at 11:25 AM.
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Old 01-13-2005, 02:32 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HUH
If you have a tankless in the boiler like siksukr and it go's get rid of it ..Add an external or super store (brand name) storage heater
Way more efficient,10 times the surface area to transfer heat and well insulated, around $600
Eagle,You could do as huh suggests for $600 or weigh spending under $100 for a coil that will probably last for another 10 years.The energy savings in efficiency couldn't offset the cost in 30 years even if the storage tank could last that long.I don't know what your demand needs are or if your supply of hot water was adequate before,but I never run out of hot water so the 10x's surface area is meaningless to me. Just my opinion with my situation.Good luck.
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Old 01-13-2005, 06:21 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SIKSUKR
Eagle,You could do as huh suggests for $600 or weigh spending under $100 for a coil that will probably last for another 10 years.The energy savings in efficiency couldn't offset the cost in 30 years even if the storage tank could last that long.I don't know what your demand needs are or if your supply of hot water was adequate before,but I never run out of hot water so the 10x's surface area is meaningless to me. Just my opinion with my situation.Good luck.
Obviously you have no idea what a storage heater does or how it works ..
With your tankless, when you need hot water your boiler fires and runs till your done with your shower or whatever and the aquastat stops calling..You would recover the difference in cost between a tankless and a super store in less than a year and use a lot less fuel .. Read up on them since you dont know !
Bill good point which I tried to make earlier ..your water filter should be the first thing after your main shutoff valve ..Filters save the life of all your mechanicals, circ pumps, backflow preventers, water heaters, boilers, expansion tanks, air scoop, zone valves etc ..
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