A.O. Smith Water Heater EEST 52-917

[arnshrty]

Sorry everyone, not sure where to put this, but my water heater is getting to whrere it makes popping noises quite often.  I have had some people tell me that means it is about to go out.  Any info people?

[appl.tech.29501]

The noise you are refering to is usually caused by excessive sediment buildup in the bottom of the tank. This causes the tank bottom to get really hot and the noise comes from the water boiling. You may try draining the tank completely to see if some of the sediment will come out...if not I would plan on investing on a new water heater and adding an inline filter to the cold water in pipe to avoid future problems.

It may last like it is for years...or may not...I fear that the tank bottom exposed to excessive heat for prolonged preiods of time will weaken the seam and bust.....you know the rest of that story

[hvacdrd]

Gonna move you to the HVAC forum with some other water heater questions.

Can't get a hit on the model number on AOSmith's site, is this gas or electric?

[arnshrty]

Electric....I took the T off the model number and got a hit

[hvacdrd]

On electric water heaters I would not be concerned about tank failure since the heat is applied at the element not the base of the tank as with gas.

As scale builds up on the element it will make the same popping noises but eventually the scale falls off and into the bottom of the tank. Draining the tank at the drain valve usually does nothing because the scale pieces are too large to pass thru the valve. The only way to get the scale out is to drain the tank(if it will not drain from the drain valve it gets a little messy), remove the lower element and use a shop vac and whatever you can get into the opening to clean out the bottom. I have taken out as much as a 5 gallon bucket full of scale from a tank before and it is still running today.

Using a water softner helps prevent this type of scale.

[arnshrty]

alright thanks for the input guys you have been a great help

[arnshrty]

Alright guys one more question, and this one is ignorant.  It's been forever since I've drained a water heater and my Grandfather always had a hand in helping.  Anyway, do I have to turn off the main water supply outside for it to drain completely?  I turned off the cold water supply to the water heater and let it drain for about 30 minutes.  The water was still coming out with the same force as when I started draining it and I still had good water pressure coming out of all the faucets on the hot side.

[hvacdrd]

Something must not be shutting off. If you turn off the water inlet to the tank and then open the drain valve the pressure should taper off to nothing. At that point it is necessary to open a hot water faucet to let air back in so it will drain. You should NOT have any pressure at this point, the tank will gravity drain. If you cannot get it to the point of no pressure possibly the inlet valve is not closing properly at which point turning off the main water supply would be an option.

[RegUS_PatOff]

unless some mixture valve is letting water into the hot water side or maybe even if he is using the washing machine utilty tub spout w/hose to supply his washing machine and both water valves are left on, ect...

yes, you may have to shut off the main house valve, and draining the water heater tank may take a while because, depending on the location of the water heater (basement, ect),  it may have to drain the whole house's pipe system, hot & cold, but there should be no pressure..