Phoenix WH passing water out of the condensate drain when off

JUGHNE

Have a HTP Phoenix PH 199-119 that locked out with the F09. Worked for 7 years without a glitch.

The condensate drain was partially plugged. When opened it drained out a full flow of water and then continued to dribble.

It has had a small flow of water for 2 days, without firing. When turning on the WH,

the fan starts and the water flows quicker. It will fire though.

So it seems the internal fire tube has a pinhole somewhere.

This is right at 7 years old. Has anyone else had this type of bad luck?

Commercial warranty on tank only 3 years.

Any other brands recommended

Larry Weingarten

Hi, What is the water quality like? Softened? Maybe going with glass-lined is a good direction. 🤔

Yours, Larry

hot_rod

is it in a heavy use commercial setting? What temperature does it run?

Sounds like a weld or metal pinhole

Even glass lined, high btu tanks don’t last-long in high demand systems

pedmec

Don't feel bad. Its very common. That's why i don't like commercial water heaters. Short warranty periods and short life spans. Just changed a 2 year old cyclone water heater. It made the warranty period by 2 days. A lot of our hotel chains use PVI water heaters.

JUGHNE

Water quality is excellent, no chlorination, no softener.

SS tank. 140 is max temp.

Nursing home, one tub and 20-30 seldom used hand sinks….so light usage.

For my area AO Smith is just about the only other option.

Thanks for the input.

Larry Weingarten

Hi @JUGHNE , One last thing I'd check is pressure. Does it vary much, or spike? I use a fun diagnostic tool; a recording pressure gauge. It gives me a chart of pressure over 24 hours. At a minimum, using one of those gauges with the red pointer that tells you the highest pressure, might give you some useful info. 🤔

Yours, Larry

JUGHNE

Static pressure with no water flow is right at 40 PSI.

Opening the T&P for a few seconds it drops slightly and comes back up.

There is an expansion tank on the system.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, It sounds like the conditions are good for a long-lived tank. I think I'd go with a glass-lined tank, but only one that you can add a second magnesium anode to. Also, make sure the anode it comes with is magnesium rather than aluminum.

Another load the tank may be seeing is recirculation. That can add a significant load, particularly if the line is underground or poorly insulated.

Yours, Larry