What came out of my hot water tank?

[trdutch]

This is a repost to try and get opinions from the Sunseeker crowd.
My 2860 low point HOT drain is capped under the coach next to the cold (that shuts off in line by the pump)
Road debris broke cap and I bled all my potable water out on the highway through the hot side
Question one,
Obviously all water drained is this normal through the hot drain
Question Two
What came out of the hot water tank?
The spray back discolored and stained the aluminum diamond plate and aluminum fender of my motorcycle trailer
It would not wash off it had to be polished off with Aluminum paste cleaner
White spot on driveway with rust ring
Reminds me of stain left after cleaning a corroded car battery with baking soda
The tank was filled with my homes city water
Any chemists out there?
Was this mineral deposits at the bottom of my hot tank?
I've not checked the hot tank anode yet cause the unit was new in July
I know you should periodically flush the hot tank
Did this leak do it for me
The fender and diamond plate looked like it was sprayed with opaque white paint
Any ideas, or opinions?

[limblips]

I am betting the white stuff is from the anode.

[dustym]

This year I (wife) had bought a little wand to help clean out the hot water tank. She thought it looked like a cool little gadget. I couldnt beleive how much stuff came out. I park in the gravel on the side of the house, and its still there 6 months later. Calcium deposit, maybe use that CLR stuff.

[BigJohnD]

I second the white being from the anode. Had the same crap come out of our shop waterheater, and it was the anode. Low points can siphon the water heater. We proved that in our shop, after filling numerous 5 gallon buckets under the drains. It kept going and going, us knowing darn well there wasn't that much water in the lines alone. Pulled the water heater anode and it was almost empty.

[Brother Les]

Have you ever cleaned out a home 50 gal Electric water heater? The amount of calcium, minerals, metal flakes from the tank/rods/heating elements, chemicals for treatment of the water is very high. I have a shop vac with attachments to suck out most of this debris once a years or it will build up over the lower elements and burn it up/short it out. The calcium is flaky white and I can get most of it out. When refilling the water tank, I 'flush' and burp the air from the tank into the bath tub. There is still a lot of stirred up 'crxxp' in the bottom of the tank. Some of this consists of heavy black slime and multiple amounts of other 'junk'. I run the water into the tub until the water is clear. If you run the water first through any faucets, you will clog up the screens. Water... from water systems contain a lot more than just 'plain' water....

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by trdutch

My 2860 low point HOT drain is capped under the coach next to the cold (that shuts off in line by the pump)
Road debris broke cap and I bled all my potable water out on the highway through the hot side
Question one,
Obviously all water drained is this normal through the hot drain
Question Two
What came out of the hot water tank?

I was thinking about replacing the caps with valves. Sounds like a good project for the winter.

Don't have a good answer for the damage to your trailer aluminum. One thing that puzzles me is how the broke drain line cap on the hot side could drain the water heater. The hot side connection to the water heater is on top. Even if it somehow drained any cathode debris would remain in the bottom. If it was the cold side drain then it could drain the water heater. Did you verify the water heater was actually drained?

[trdutch]

Pressure relief valve had no pressure or water when opened
System is completely empty all the way to the filter canister having an inch of water in it
I did not open the the main plug/anode
No water flows from faucets or toilet
Someone suggested that it could have siphoned its self dry

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by trdutch

Pressure relief valve had no pressure or water when opened
System is completely empty all the way to the filter canister having an inch of water in it
I did not open the the main plug/anode
No water flows from faucets or toilet
Someone suggested that it could have siphoned its self dry

If you were going down the road with the cap off, the air going across the pipe will syphon all the water out of the entire system, it is called Bernoulli's principle which is how carburetors worked.

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by trdutch

Pressure relief valve had no pressure or water when opened
System is completely empty all the way to the filter canister having an inch of water in it
I did not open the the main plug/anode
No water flows from faucets or toilet
Someone suggested that it could have siphoned its self dry

Sorry but I'm still stuck on how the hot water heater would drain if only the hot side was open. Air would have to get into the system somehow. Was your water pump switch left on?

[trdutch]

Yes to Bernoulli principle (which is how an Airplane gets off the ground I might add)
Yes to pump being on while traveling to use bathroom
Empty system
You don't think I hurt the water pump?

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by trdutch

Yes to Bernoulli principle (which is how an Airplane gets off the ground I might add)
Yes to pump being on while traveling to use bathroom
Empty system
You don't think I hurt the water pump?

Now things make sense but I still believe if you pull out the anode/plug you will get water from the heater.

I think you probably hurt the pump as it would heat up if pumping just air for very long. Was it still running when you stopped?

[trdutch]

I was under the impression that the pump switch could be left on and only ran when a demand was asked of it
Obviously I didn't count on the cap being torn off of the drain
So lesson learned is never travel with pump switch on????
I never heard to the contrary.I guess I missed that thread/chapter/video.
I guess I'll have them look at the water system while it's in for the awning
Sometimes I wonder if I'm in over my head
Camping was supposed to be the hobby
NOT fixing,preventing and rebuilding!

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by trdutch

I was under the impression that the pump switch could be left on and only ran when a demand was asked of it
Obviously I didn't count on the cap being torn off of the drain
So lesson learned is never travel with pump switch on????
I never heard to the contrary.I guess I missed that thread/chapter/video.
I guess I'll have them look at the water system while it's in for the awning
Sometimes I wonder if I'm in over my head
Camping was supposed to be the hobby
NOT fixing,preventing and rebuilding!

Don't be so hard on yourself. We all have had issues. The cap was probably just loose and vibrated off. Mine were both loose which I found during my post delivery check.

The new larger motorized campers are more complex and require some fixing and preventing. I'm very curious on how things work so I have been all thru my unit. I am always looking for ways to modify things and make them better. This forum is a great resource on issues others have had. Items such as improperly installed anti-sail stops on the slide toppers, missing fuse in the charge control circuit, and a plumbing mistake to name a few I discovered were also on my unit.

[harderd]

Don't put CLR in your water heater. Main ingredient is sulfuric acid.

[dustym]

Originally Posted by harderd

Don't put CLR in your water heater. Main ingredient is sulfuric acid.

Oh, . Thanks for the heads up.

[trdutch]

Originally Posted by ATVer

Don't be so hard on yourself. We all have had issues. The cap was probably just loose and vibrated off. Mine were both loose which I found during my post delivery check.

The new larger motorized campers are more complex and require some fixing and preventing. I'm very curious on how things work so I have been all thru my unit. I am always looking for ways to modify things and make them better. This forum is a great resource on issues others have had. Items such as improperly installed anti-sail stops on the slide toppers, missing fuse in the charge control circuit, and a plumbing mistake to name a few I discovered were also on my unit.

I hear ya
I've already modified the Awning
Redid the shower door with new sweep seals and re caulked the entire door
Fixed a leaky water pump
Installed a brake controller
Installed vent covers
Etc etc...
For the benefit of others
It probably would be a good idea to put a shutoff valve on the HOT low drain
The Cap did NOT fall off.
Something hit it and cracked the top off
The threaded part was still attached but the drain was wide open
A spare cap is a must but considering everything that happened I'm thinking a shutoff valve

[wesslvm]

I was once told that RV stands for ruined vacations!


2014 Sunseeker 3050S

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[hockeytownmom]

When I did the walk through, I asked if there was an anode rod and they told me no, but is there?

[hockeytownmom]

What ATVer said. I had my Roo for 4 years and learned in March that I had the bypass on the water heater closed when it should have been opened. There is so much to learn. Best advice: Check everything every few trips.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by hockeytownmom

When I did the walk through, I asked if there was an anode rod and they told me no, but is there?

Hocky,if you have a (Suburban W/H) it has a A/rod! Youroo!!