Water heater goop

GW

What is this weird white goop that came out of the bottom of this old elec water heater? 

PC7060

I’d say there tank bottom had failed and the white bits are the broken up minerals that dropped out of solution onto the bottom of the tank during years of service. 

kcopp

Bradford white WH?
Its the reaction w/ the Aluminum anode rod. I have seen it pretty bad before (gallons)....usually its milky clear.

GW

Don’t recall the brand, this was a month ago or so thanks 😊 

HVACNUT

Nasty.
Are those OSHA approved sneakers?

ethicalpaul

Did you replace it with a hybrid?

GW

This was a rather large Viessmann boiler and Bosch Hp installation, we slid in a Viessmann indirect water heater

GW

HVACNUT said:

Nasty.
Are those OSHA approved sneakers?

LL Bean hiking shoes, I am waiting for LL Bean to get their stock in order, i need a new pair!

rick in Alaska

Pretty sure it is the anode rod. I have seen that on a lot of water heaters, and bad enough they did not want to drain. And I am just guessing on the rod.
Rick

Derheatmeister

Is this a jelly-like substance? It can also appear as grey, green or blueish beads or gel.
Municipal or well water ?
What is your PH level at ? 8 plus? We do NOT use bitumen strips to check PH as they are not that accurate.
How old was the Water Heater that was replaced?
Did you pull the anode rod to investigate ?
See it as the equivalent as finding metal shavings or a burned smell during a oil change..
Sometimes you may have to switch gears on your Anode selection. It could be Aluminum Hydroxide from the anode and you may need a magnesium rod instead.
It also occurs many times in areas with high chlorine/chloramines in the water supply.
It could also be a reaction caused by high pH water mineral content...As with any water that is being heated Minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium will drop out of solution ..In this case it will drop to the bottom of the water heater and will also deposit on the HX which will affect the heat exchange negatively
Even the 100 and the better quality 300 series Viessmann Water Heaters May not like this situation and it could void the warranty.
Maybe it is time to investigate.

GW

Yes we slid in a viessmann, I’ll check into the water quality. It’s a well. I don’t know how old the heater was, maybe 25 or 30 years or so. I didn’t yank the old rod. Thanks 

Campyman

Magnesium anode rod

Derheatmeister

If you installed the Viessmann 100 series they come with a Magnesium Rod.
The 300 series does not have one due to the Stainless construction.

GW

OK what's the newer EVIA??? I kinda lost track of Viessmann's water heaters. The 53 is grey but the 42 is white, not sure what that means