The Mystery: Plastic rod with multiple holes in it inserted in hot water tank where hot water enters. Not an anode.

[wpns]

if the dip tube breaks off

I don't see that happening, my 15 year old dip tubes were in perfect shape when I swapped out my solar tank recently. There's no stress on them, why would they fail?

 

[rob49]

Plumbers came out yesterday and installed a dip tube (had to go back to shop to get another because the older model he brought did not quite fit right). Taped and doped it and now we have a dip tube installed on cold side, but after running hot water to bathroom farthest from hot water heater, it still seems to have lost hot temp some. Maybe the long run of pipe from HW heater to back bath cooled the hot water by the time it got to sink and shower head. We had a 31 degree night last night. Anyway, all that can be done by the plumber has been done. I guess I can always turn heat up five degrees at both heating elements.

 

[JEG in Raleigh]

I don't see that happening, my 15 year old dip tubes were in perfect shape when I swapped out my solar tank recently. There's no stress on them, why would they fail?

Thanks. Regarding your question, "why would they fail?"..... I have no idea why they would fail....that's why I'm asking. I'm asking because the OP's failed and there are plenty of YouTube videos and comments on the web about replacing failed dip tubes, and in the videos, they often look like shredded or collapsed, limp strings of spaghetti. And often, they have broken off inside the water heater. So that's why I'm asking. Is it something about the type of water heater.....gas vs. electric, chlorinated municipal water, or excessively high temperature? Or does the plastic just degrade over time and need to be replaced as a PM measure? In my case, I'm on well water with no chlorination, it's an electric water heater, and it's a plastic water heater so no corrosion is happening inside the water heater, and I have the thermostat set at the factory setting, midway between coldest and hottest. I want to do whatever I need to do to keep that tube from breaking off inside the water heater and if I have to do nothing because of the nature of my setup, then great. But, if I need to replace it every X number of years to make sure I don't have that problem, I'd like to know. That's why I was hoping some professional plumbers might provide some feedback.

 

[RS]

Question for the pros on this thread. I'm on a well and (with good sediment and backwash filtering & softening) and I have a 6-year-old Rheem Marathon WH (all plastic) that has worked great. I was hoping to live out my days with only maybe needing to replace the heating elements, but now after reading this thread, should I replace the dip tube every 7-8 years or so to be on the safe side? Or, do I not need to worry about it? I don't want the thing breaking off inside and ruining my expensive, supposed-lifetime WH. With regard to anyone dealing with a broken dip tube situation, if the dip tube breaks off and settles in the bottom of the WH, is the WH toast or can you just replace the dip tube and keep on using it?

A dip tube should last longer than the water heater, which should be almost forever in your plastic heater! If you stop getting hot water, check the elements first, don't start changing parts until you have done thorough troubleshooting! And it's best to do that yourself, many plumbers don't understand water heaters.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Years ago there was a batch of bad dip tubes that affected almost every manufacturer. A big batch…..Most sourced the same dip tubes.

They were white and would become brittle and break off. Then little pieces of it would clog the hot water side of fixtures.

Sometimes we would clean the heater out and replace the dip tube, sometimes we would replace the heater.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Thanks. Regarding your question, "why would they fail?"..... I have no idea why they would fail....that's why I'm asking. I'm asking because the OP's failed and there are plenty of YouTube videos and comments on the web about replacing failed dip tubes, and in the videos, they often look like shredded or collapsed, limp strings of spaghetti. And often, they have broken off inside the water heater. So that's why I'm asking. Is it something about the type of water heater.....gas vs. electric, chlorinated municipal water, or excessively high temperature? Or does the plastic just degrade over time and need to be replaced as a PM measure? In my case, I'm on well water with no chlorination, it's an electric water heater, and it's a plastic water heater so no corrosion is happening inside the water heater, and I have the thermostat set at the factory setting, midway between coldest and hottest. I want to do whatever I need to do to keep that tube from breaking off inside the water heater and if I have to do nothing because of the nature of my setup, then great. But, if I need to replace it every X number of years to make sure I don't have that problem, I'd like to know. That's why I was hoping some professional plumbers might provide some feedback.

Those polybutene tanks go bad too. I’ve seen marathon heaters sitting by the dumpster at supply houses. Yes they have a lifetime warranty.

 

[JEG in Raleigh]

A dip tube should last longer than the water heater, which should be almost forever in your plastic heater! If you stop getting hot water, check the elements first, don't start changing parts until you have done thorough troubleshooting! And it's best to do that yourself, many plumbers don't understand water heaters.

Thank you!

 

[JEG in Raleigh]

Years ago there was a batch of bad dip tubes that affected almost every manufacturer. A big batch…..Most sourced the same dip tubes.

They were white and would become brittle and break off. Then little pieces of it would clog the hot water side of fixtures.

Sometimes we would clean the heater out and replace the dip tube, sometimes we would replace the heater.

Thank you!

 

[JEG in Raleigh]

Those polybutene tanks go bad too. I’ve seen marathon heaters sitting by the dumpster at supply houses. Yes they have a lifetime warranty.

Thanks, I was wondering about that. I'm guessing the interface between metallic plumbing fittings mounted to the WH and the seals between those fittings/pipes and the polybutylene tank might be pretty delicate and subject to leaking. In installing the things (I have 2....one in my main house and one in a garage apt.) I've tried to be very careful to not torque around those fittings and possibly break the factory sealing.