Rotten Egg Smelling Hot Water / Black Hot Water from Faucets.

[hemi68charger]

Rotten Egg Smelling Hot Water / Black Hot Water from Faucets:

As the topic states, yucky water in the house !!!  OK, I've recently been educated on the component of typical, at least in today's world, hot water heater, the anode. It's the sacrificial metal rod that attracts corrosive ionic material in one's water instead of the hot water tank itself. Has anyone here ever experience the problem of major sulfur (rotten eggs) smell in one's water? More specifically, the hot side.....  My water heater is about 3.5 years old (new home). I found some videos on the subject and it was enlightening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEAEfuG1F8s

Question: I'm reading about two versions of the anode rod, one made of aluminum and the other of magnesium/zinc. Which one's better? I called the manufacturer of my hot water heater today and they said the magnesium version is the better of the two. Not sure if they were just trying to make a sale. I watched some youtube videos on the subject and the people were replacing them with the "better" aluminum...

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Troy

[mpdlawdog]

I'm assuming you have a well (I do and had the same problem).  I took out the rod, cut it off and stuck the cap back on. Next I emptied the hot water tank (hooked up a hose to the drain in the bottom) and ran it to the sump pump.  I let it fill back up and drained it again. Flush it out good!  Should do the trick.

[4cruzin]

I agree . . Just pull the rod out and put in a plug.  Have done that to many heaters in my time.   

[Domino]

Have you had your water analyzed?  Could be a Ph or mineral issue. 
Nuetralizer/softener system would cure that.

[hemi68charger]

Have you had your water analyzed?  Could be a Ph or mineral issue. 
Nuetralizer/softener system would cure that.

The city's come out and checked the water and they say it's good. In all hindsight, I believe they are correct. There are too many things pointing to the hot water heater (google search, only hot water, etc.). Now I just need to determine which is the best anode for a house with a water softener like ours.

[sunfire69]

Troy,
I'd be willing to bet your water is safe.....sulpher in it doesn't make it unhealthy..just smelly.... ....it's been really dry for you guys for a while and sometimes when the water table changes levels drasticly it can cause a problem out of the blue like this....if I'm not mistaken you guys don't have a hard water problem in Houston so that rod isn't as important as it is back east here.....I think you could take it out with out hurting anything....

[hemi68charger]

Troy,
I'd be willing to bet your water is safe.....sulpher in it doesn't make it unhealthy..just smelly.... ....it's been really dry for you guys for a while and sometimes when the water table changes levels drasticly it can cause a problem out of the blue like this....if I'm not mistaken you guys don't have a hard water problem in Houston so that rod isn't as important as it is back east here.....I think you could take it out with out hurting anything....

Doing some more research I'm finding there's a aluminum alloy anode called a KA90 or Reliance® Aluminum Anode Rod (9000029) made specifically for smelly water. Apparently it cuts down on the amount of magnesium in the system, reducing the bacteria growth causing the foul smell. My concern is the metallic material in the water during the process... I guess it is something that needs to be changed out regularly..  Easy enough, but over time, that's a lot of anodes to be swapped out. Guess I could always switch to a stainless steel water heater...... If they make them. All my plumbing throughout the house is the high-grade PVC, so there's no change of corrosion there and I have a water softener...

[sunfire69]

Sometimes it's just a one time thing.....if you've lived there a while and this just started it could be just bacteria got in the ground water due to the low water table not dangerous bacteria just smelly...you could try flushing it with either clorine bleach or Hydrogen Peroxide to kill the bacteria then rinse it out and wait and see if the smell comes back.....google it it's pretty simple to do....if that doesn't work then pull the rod.....one thing at a time starting with the easiest and cheapest first.....

[Todd Wilson]

Is it an electric water heater?


Todd

[hemi68charger]

Is it an electric water heater?


Todd

Nope.. Gas and the stench has increased over time. The first time the community noticed it was about 1 year ago. All things being equal, most the houses were built and moved in around the same time, late 2007/early 2008. Since there was on two builders, 50% of the neighborhood got one water heater and the others another. But, regardless, I'm sure all were using the anti-corrosion versions with the anode. We all have been slowly building up material on these anodes............... Now, it's time for all to change........... Some sooner than others due to water softener systems (The sodium in them cause the process to speed up some).

Troy

[Aussiemadonmopars]

watch the documentary "Gasland"....  We've had similar problems here with drilling companies "fracking" and polluting the crap out of areas.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Did I scare you?   

[hemi68charger]

Did I scare you?   

Oh no.. I'm a geoscienstist, so I know what you're talking about. We don't have that issue here in Houston. Granted, the natural ground water is going to have some iron and sulfur in the water (it was really bad in South Florida where I grew up). This here is 100% due to these dang anode rods in our water heaters................ Some residents have changed theirs out and now have a much better water situation...........

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Personally from my experience as an electrician I would recommend the zinc one, but if other ppl are having
Better luck with the other type then it may be worth a shot. Only time and previous experience will tell.

[hemi68charger]

Personally from my experience as an electrician I would recommend the zinc one, but if other ppl are having
Better luck with the other type then it may be worth a shot. Only time and previous experience will tell.

I have aluminum/tin/zinc alloy rods. But, I also have a water softener and the additional sodium in the water apparently caused the rod's reaction to speed up. Right now, I have other problems to tackle, I can't get the dang things out !!!! I've used a 6-point 1 1/16" 1/2 drive socket with both a 12" and 18" breaker bar and a freakin' 5lb sledgehammer and can't loosen the dang rods from the tank. I have the installation plumber coming out soon for the homebuilder to access the situation. The water heater company won't warranty out the heaters (have two in our house) unless a certified plumber says removal is impossible. THEN, they will replace the complete water heaters. Stinks I have to go to such extremes to do a simple service procedure. I offered the water heater company of taking a video of me wailing on the breaker bars and send them the youtube link. 

They said no........... 

Local water softener company around here states the rods need to come out. Last resort is having the softener company come out and remove them. Apparently they were supposed to do that to begin with. There's been a couple of residents out here with a Rainsoft system like mine that came out, removed the rods and flushed the tanks for free............ Can't beat that...........

[maxwellwedge]

Whenever my well water gets stinky I switch to beer.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Do you shower in warm beer? Dude that's wack.....   

Troy that sounds like a salinity problem as well.