Home Repair forum - noisy water heater

Author

noisy water heater

old dirtbeard

2008-02-09, 1:25 pm

Hi all,

We have a 75 gallon, 75,100 BTU natural gas water (State Industries,
"Select" model) that probably is seven years old. I routinely drain water
off the bottom valve to flush out any sediment.

Lately I have noticed that when burner is on, it "clunks" and "knocks"
noticeably (a louder version of what a tea kettle sounds like on the stove).

I assume that it is water boiling near the flames, but thought it might be
due to excessive calcium build-up at the bottom of the tank, "insulating"
the bottom of the tank from the heat.

Anyway, is noticeable "knocking" when the burner is on an indication of
pending failure, or is there anything else I should in response to these
symptoms. Thank you.

Best,

doug

hallerb@aol.com

2008-02-09, 1:25 pm

On Feb 9, 12:47=EF=BF=BDpm, "old dirtbeard" <dirtbe...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> We have a 75 gallon, 75,100 BTU natural gas water (State Industries,
> =EF=BF=BD"Select" model) that probably is seven years old. I routinely dra=
in water
> off the bottom valve to flush out any sediment.
>
> Lately I have noticed that when burner is on, it "clunks" and "knocks"
> noticeably (a louder version of what a tea kettle sounds like on the stove=
).
>
> I assume that it is water boiling near the flames, but thought it might be=

> due to excessive calcium build-up at the bottom of the tank, "insulating"
> the bottom of the tank from the heat.
>
> Anyway, is noticeable "knocking" when the burner is on an indication of
> pending failure, or is there anything else I should in response to these
> symptoms. Thank you.
>
> Best,
>
> doug

yeah crud buildup at bottom of tank, it decreases efficency and slows
water heating a little. but the tank may run for years like this. i
wouldnt worry about it, its no biggie. the noise can get very loud,

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