Rheem PowerVent 2 Questions

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coplumbo

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I have a 10 year old Rheem PowerVent 2 in the back of the garage. It has a 25-30' horizontal pipe that vents the fumes out to the exterior of the front of the garage.

Lately, I've had some issues with hot water pressure rapidly decreasing by about 90 percent. It's happened twice.

I know I need to drain the water heater, but I'm disabled, so it's not trivial for me.

In the meantime, I turned on all the interior hot water faucets, and after about a minute of running slowly, full pressure was restored. I heard a loud pop in pipes in the walls as the pressure was restored.

I had all the sinks stoppered when I ran the faucets. It looked like a bunch of black gunk was coming out of the faucets, but there was no sediment or anything else visible in the sink. It was weird, and I can't explain it. I then took off all the faucet aerators, and they were relatively clean.

I went to the garage, and there are no visible water leaks or rust. But now I hear a pinging sound that actually sounds like it is coming from the carbon monoxide output tube. The pinging sound seemed to be about once every 10 seconds.

Questions:
1. Why did it look like there was black gunk coming out of the faucets, but nothing visible in the stoppered sinks?
2. Any idea of the loud pop I heard in the pipes in the interior wall next to the bathroom?
3. Any idea of this pinging sound I heard in the garage? I've heard it a couple times now when I'm in the garage.
4. Besides emptying the tank, any other essential maintenance that I need to perform?
5. Is it best to replace this water heater now because it's about to burst open? Or after I drain it, should it be okay? Even though it's 10 years old, it looks brand new on the exterior. I'm getting quotes of over 2 grand to replace it, which is a huge sum of money for me.
 
Do you drain it once a year? I know manufactures recommend it but I think it's just a bunch of hooey. Unless you remove the manufacture's drain cock and install a full port valve, you're not going to drain /remove much sediments if any from the bottom of the tank. Average life of a water heater is 8yrs. Some may last 20 yrs. If it is somewhere it will cause water damage when it leaks, then YES, replace it before it does leak.
 
Pay a plumber to replace it with a 50gal Bradford White powervent for around $1600
 
Your water heater has worn out, replace it. The popping sound is caused by large sediment deposits in the bottom of a gas water heater. In my experience, Mr_David is being generous and quoting the average life of all water heaters. Power vent water heaters usually wear out after 6 years. You have had twice the use of your water heater as normal. Great! Unfortunately, now you must replace it before it has a catastrophic failure and floods your garage.
 
ozzyboy said:
Pay a plumber to replace it with a 50gal Bradford White powervent for around $1600
Click to expand...

Thanks. Why replace the entire water heater instead of just replacing the anode? The exterior of the water heater looks brand new, although I have no idea what the inside looks like.

Why do you recommend Bradford White? I've never heard of them before. But, of course, I'm not a plumber or any sort of expert.

Although still very expensive, $1600 out the door installed price is much less than anything I have found. Do you know anyone near Oceanside, CA that will install it for that price?
 
Mr_David said:
Do you drain it once a year? I know manufactures recommend it but I think it's just a bunch of hooey. Unless you remove the manufacture's drain cock and install a full port valve, you're not going to drain /remove much sediments if any from the bottom of the tank. Average life of a water heater is 8yrs. Some may last 20 yrs. If it is somewhere it will cause water damage when it leaks, then YES, replace it before it does leak.
Click to expand...

No. I'll admit to never draining it. Had no idea you had to do that. Not on a well, so at least that is good.
 
SHR said:
Your water heater has worn out, replace it. The popping sound is caused by large sediment deposits in the bottom of a gas water heater. In my experience, Mr_David is being generous and quoting the average life of all water heaters. Power vent water heaters usually wear out after 6 years. You have had twice the use of your water heater as normal. Great! Unfortunately, now you must replace it before it has a catastrophic failure and floods your garage.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your advice. What is actually worn out with the water heater? I'm sure the anode has worn thin, but that can be replaced, right?

The water heater is working fine again, but without draining it, I imagine the problem I experienced will happen again.

I'm considering moving, so I don't want to spend $1600-$2500 to replace the water heater unless I really need to. That's a huge sum of money for me. I won't recoup the cost of a new water heater in the sale at all (the sale price is fixed regardless of the condition of the property). Of course, moving takes time, and I'll need hot water while I am in the decision process. And the last thing I want is the water heater to burst open in the garage.

What actually causes a catastrophic failure? The exterior of the water heater looks brand new. The inside, of course, could look like anything.

Regarding the sound, it sounds more like an echoing dripping sound, but I see no water dripping anywhere. The sound sounds like it comes from the horizontal carbon monoxide exhaust vent. Does that added info change your mind regarding the cause of the sound?

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.
 
Your water heater has rusted from the inside. As I previously stated, your power vent water heater is TWICE as old as those I regularly replace. As for moving, you can not sell your home with a bad water heater. As for the $$$, welcome to home ownership. Basic, yes even very basic home maintenance costs alot of money.
 
Catostophic failure happens when you do not replace a worn out water heater. Often pressurized water will spew everywhere, soaking everything.
 
The thing with a gas WH and sediment (and there can be heavy sediment in municipal water also) is that even after a proper flush, the burner plate can have either become corroded or have a permanent layer of crud which will lessen its ability to heat water properly.

The anode rod can sacrifice itself at different rates according to water quality.
 
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