Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - need help with hot water heater wine or groan
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09-20-00, 09:14 AM
I don't know much about hot water heaters..mine is 3 years old and at various intervals it will whine or groan for extended lengths of time..can hear from garage through the wall into the house..anyone have any recommendations if so reply to kbale@prodigy.net thank you
09-21-00, 05:07 PM
There are two likely causes, and which depends on if it's a gas water heater or an electric.
If it's gas, what you are likely hearing is the accumulated mineral deposits that have settled in the bottom of the tank (especially if you live in a fairly hard water area). When the burner kicks on, the heat makes the minerals pop, whine and moan as gas is driven out of them.
If it's an electric, you can get a similar effect from minerals building up on the heating elements.
The fix for mineral deposits is simple, hook up a hose to the drain at the bottom of the heater, and throw the breaker if electric, or turn the thermostat to the lowest setting if gas, and open the draincock. About 5-10 minutes will get the worst of the crud out.
You will never get all of it out of a gas unit, the way they are made, the bottom of the tank is below the drain.
The second possibility, is your temp/pressure relief valve is starting to fail, and is vibrating as it opens and closes. This is easy to test, find the outlet end of the valve's piping (normally a small copper or cpvc pipe) if hot water is coming out, the valve is failing. They are pretty cheap to replace, the hard part is whether it was plumbed with flexible lines, or if you have to cut hard pipe.
[This message has been edited by MrRonFL (edited September 21, 2000).]
If it's gas, what you are likely hearing is the accumulated mineral deposits that have settled in the bottom of the tank (especially if you live in a fairly hard water area). When the burner kicks on, the heat makes the minerals pop, whine and moan as gas is driven out of them.
If it's an electric, you can get a similar effect from minerals building up on the heating elements.
The fix for mineral deposits is simple, hook up a hose to the drain at the bottom of the heater, and throw the breaker if electric, or turn the thermostat to the lowest setting if gas, and open the draincock. About 5-10 minutes will get the worst of the crud out.
You will never get all of it out of a gas unit, the way they are made, the bottom of the tank is below the drain.
The second possibility, is your temp/pressure relief valve is starting to fail, and is vibrating as it opens and closes. This is easy to test, find the outlet end of the valve's piping (normally a small copper or cpvc pipe) if hot water is coming out, the valve is failing. They are pretty cheap to replace, the hard part is whether it was plumbed with flexible lines, or if you have to cut hard pipe.
[This message has been edited by MrRonFL (edited September 21, 2000).]