Hot water colored white. Maybe sediment, too.

[Padgett]

My hair used to be red and it has a more modern engine than a GL.

Just pulled 170 miles to south Florida and only issue was I need a better antenna for the rear view camera - was in and out - and enough "gravel" in the water system to block the kitchen faucet. Also the hot water flowed white for quite a bit. Anyone see this before ? Am now on city water.

[ShrimpBurrito]

White in the hot water could be powdered bits of the water heater lining. That is also a big source of the "gravel" caught in the faucet strainers.

Dave

[tentcamper]

Could be pieces from the anode rod in the hot water heater as it was dissolved.

[Padgett]

and the proper fix is ??? Water heater is working well. Would explain how the gravel got past the strainers.

[MarkoPolo]

I would think draining the water heater and installing a new anode rod.

[Padgett]

and this: "White in the hot water could be powdered bits of the water heater lining " -how does replacing the anode fix ?

[Bill]

In my experience, white in the hot water is often dissolved air in the water, showing up as billions of teeny tiny bubbles. The test? Draw some of the white water into a clear glass, and set it on the shelf. If the water clears within a few minutes, and there is no sediment on the bottom of the glass, it is air.

Why is air in the water? Some water naturally has a lot of air, but more likely it is the air trapped in the head space of the water heater. When you fill the heater, the water is cold, and so is the air above it. When the heater turns on and the temperature rises, the air tries to expand, but has no place to go. The increased pressure forces some of it into the water - just like making club soda.

Bill

[Padgett]

Does change to clear with a white scum on the surface. It much less than last night. Have plenty of really hot water though.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Padgett

and this: "White in the hot water could be powdered bits of the water heater lining " -how does replacing the anode fix ?

I think the water heater lining is there simply to prevent the tank from rusting. We all know what happens when water heaters rust out......

The lining I have seen is white on one side, and some sort of blue/purple on the other side. When you pull out the anode, this crud is laying on the bottom of the tank, and can be readily flushed out. Flushing it of course does nothing to fix the lining, but just prevents it from getting pumped through the trailer (and perhaps negligibly increases the efficiency of the water heater, but I doubt it).

If the white is coming from the anode, not sure there's much you can do about that. I've experienced the white/clouded water phenomena Bill described where air is dissolved in the water, but it's only temporary (less than a minute of running water), and then doesn't return until the water heater is drained and refilled (and even then it often doesn't return in my experience).

Anode rods come in 2 flavors: aluminum and magnesium. One is supposed to be for harder water, can't remember which one. I think aluminum is the stock version, but I switched to magnesium because I want to limit my aluminum intake. If the white stuff is a regular problem for you, you might consider switching over to whatever material you aren't currently using to see if that makes a difference.

Dave

[hillbillyhotel]

white rock it hot water heater,, it's called limestone man,
we are eat up with it around here in our water,