Blue deposits could be from minerals in water, or I suppose wear on copper piping, but that seems pretty slim. Just make sure your wife isn't dumping some cleaning solution in anything.
What can cause air in home plumbing?
- Thread starter armylifer
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North Idaho Wolfman
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There are mutiple reasons you could be getting air in the water.
Do you have an in well pump or above well pump?
If it's an in well pump there should be at least 2 check valves, and the lower check valve can be failing.
You could also have this same setup on the suction line.
A leak or failure of these check valves will not be obvious and will cause air to get into the system.
A crack or leak in the well down pipe will not be easy to detect till you open it up.
If you do have a air bleeder on the hot water tank then you wouldn't notice any air in the hot water side as it's burping the air out.
If you do have sulfur gas or hydrogen gas in the system, they will both smell.
You could have carbon dioxide and that won't smell.
Do you have an in well pump or above well pump?
If it's an in well pump there should be at least 2 check valves, and the lower check valve can be failing.
You could also have this same setup on the suction line.
A leak or failure of these check valves will not be obvious and will cause air to get into the system.
A crack or leak in the well down pipe will not be easy to detect till you open it up.
If you do have a air bleeder on the hot water tank then you wouldn't notice any air in the hot water side as it's burping the air out.
If you do have sulfur gas or hydrogen gas in the system, they will both smell.
You could have carbon dioxide and that won't smell.
Those hot dog string anodes are something to avoid, the hot dogs split and stop you from removing it as the harder you pull the more it widens. I wasted nearly a day fighting that junk.
A corroded anode rod could certainly allow for Hydrogen gas bubbles to form. However 'pure' hydrogen gas has no odor and the gas bubbles could be mistaken for air.
Worth checking out, but my suspicion is OP has leak somewhere in the suction side of the system (since he said the system holds pressure).
So principally....anywhere from the pump up to the holding/pressure tank. Most likely in the drop piping/connections.
So I am not a plumber, but to me that means hot water tank functioning correctly and may be preventing the air bubbles from entering the hot line. That’s good, I think.
From there I would suspect chasing the water back the line goes to pressure tank and then to well pump. Do you have any faucets/taps between the pressure tank and hot water tank inlet? If so does that also have the bubbles? (That would tell you air entering before or after hot water tank). Not sure that helps much.
Seems like it is either pressure tank or well pump?
I rented a house near a landfill for 6 years.
The well was deep ~500 feet.
Intermittently, 'air' would come out of the spout when the faucet was turned on.
At one point, the landlord was compelled by the Health Department to test my water.
Tech came out, and before sampling, he flamed the the spout.
WHOOSH! With blue flame.
Turns out, the 'air' in my lines was actually methane, a by-product of bacterial metabolism.
[The pressure tank/pump system in the house was ancient.]
Just a consideration.
-Paul
The well was deep ~500 feet.
Intermittently, 'air' would come out of the spout when the faucet was turned on.
At one point, the landlord was compelled by the Health Department to test my water.
Tech came out, and before sampling, he flamed the the spout.
WHOOSH! With blue flame.
Turns out, the 'air' in my lines was actually methane, a by-product of bacterial metabolism.
[The pressure tank/pump system in the house was ancient.]
Just a consideration.
-Paul
Quite the mystery with lots of interesting possibilities. I hope we all get to learn the source of the gas, whatever the bubbles turn out to be.
Speaking of @armylifer's well and setup, I would have expected a cistern or holding tank in addition to a jet pump before the pressure tank. This is how my well is set up but as mentioned earlier it's not currently being used. The idea is to pump water from the well when the kW h cost is low to fill up the cistern, and then to pump water from the cistern to the pressure tank as needed. Perhaps this system is more important for a deep well rather than a shallow one.
I sure would like to have one of those wind mill pumps sitting over the well but from what I can gather, 550 ft is a no go for those iconic things.
Speaking of @armylifer's well and setup, I would have expected a cistern or holding tank in addition to a jet pump before the pressure tank. This is how my well is set up but as mentioned earlier it's not currently being used. The idea is to pump water from the well when the kW h cost is low to fill up the cistern, and then to pump water from the cistern to the pressure tank as needed. Perhaps this system is more important for a deep well rather than a shallow one.
I sure would like to have one of those wind mill pumps sitting over the well but from what I can gather, 550 ft is a no go for those iconic things.
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It is a submersed pump. I thought that one of the check valves was in the pump itself. I could be wrong about that but that is what I thought I was told. I don't know where the other check valve would be. I am going to check out all of the suggestions that involve above ground plumbing before I crack the well head. That will be the last ting I try.
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How many years would an anode last? The hot water tank is just 7 years old. I have never replaced an anode in a water heater before, and the water heaters typically last about 18 to 20 years before they have failed.
Is your piping teed off at the well head that you’d be able to run water directly out of it before it gets in the pressure tank and you might be able to do some troubleshooting to figure out if it still has the problem or not from there? mine is set up that way.
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If you have some way to make some type of air chamber before the water enters the pressure tank you might be able to see if the air would separate out of the water as it entered from the pump. I suspect that somehow air is being entrained into the water as it is being sucked out of the earth. Then it has time to rise into your piping system and get into the pipes/valves of the house.
Since you have something similar on the hot water perhaps you can just add something similar to the cold water tank??
Since you have something similar on the hot water perhaps you can just add something similar to the cold water tank??
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Yes, the piping comes directly off the well head. In fact, the outside hose bib in the front of the hose feeds directly from the holding tank without going through the whole house water filter.
That jogged a thought that I am going to try immediately. There is a bypass valve that allows water for the whole house to bypass the water filter. The thought just occurred to me that the problem may be coming from the whole house water filter since there is no air that comes out of the front hose bib. Maybe my whole house water filter is failing. I hope so at least. That is the easiest thing to replace, also the cheapest.
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I have received a lot of great suggestions in this thread and I am grateful for all of them I thank all of you for your time and the suggestions you all made.
The life of an anode rod depends on the water, some will last only one year and some can last ten years. Mine needs changing every three years. It is best to pull a new rod after one year and then make a judgement on life expectancy.
Removing the anode voids warranty, but they work fine without them…some pull the rod as bacteria can grow on them which creates a sulphuric (rotten egg smell - more noticeable if water not being cycled through regularly, like after a long vacation or something) smell.
I’d still politely question why fooling with the hot water heater if not trouble with hot water? Comments were cold water only, no?
I’d still politely question why fooling with the hot water heater if not trouble with hot water? Comments were cold water only, no?
armylifer
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I certainly cannot answer @GrumpyFarmer or @McMXi questions. Maybe someone on here can. I am more than interested in knowing the answers to those question.
Most manufacturers ship their water heaters out with anode rods wrapped in magnesium. While magnesium works well with softer water, they aren’t the best option for the harder water that would come with a private or community well system.
In locations with high sulfate levels in the water, these magnesium anode rods have been known to create hydrogen sulfide gas, which can lead to hydrogen bubbles within the tank and in your water lines.
So, if your anode rod is made with magnesium, it could be the reason you still have air bubbles coming out of your fixtures. You’ve also probably already noticed a smell or different taste to the water.
In locations with high sulfate levels in the water, these magnesium anode rods have been known to create hydrogen sulfide gas, which can lead to hydrogen bubbles within the tank and in your water lines.
So, if your anode rod is made with magnesium, it could be the reason you still have air bubbles coming out of your fixtures. You’ve also probably already noticed a smell or different taste to the water.