Domestic H2O tastes like it is coming out of hose

Kevin_10

manufacturers of Kitec tubing visited my house today and investigated the water problem. It turns out that the water supply is the main problem and recommended a reverse osmosis system. They did see a possible problem for cross contamination from the heating system and we rectified that problem. I was very impressed at their interest and knowledge.

Their hydronics specialist also came along and told me my heating system is a mess. He said I have a space age boiler system with a stone age distribution system. I thought I had a guy to fix it, but I think I have been put on the backburner. We'll see.

Kevin_10

Domestic H2O tastes like it is coming out of hose

I know this is a hydronic heating forum, but hopefully someone will guide me to another forum or can answer it. My domestic water, both hot and cold, tastes like it is coming from a hose. I have an indirect hot water heater with infloor radiant system. Thw water supply is a public system. Plumber used Kitec for water lines. Is this the problem?

Thanks.

Steve Ebels

How

is the boiler seperated from your domestic water on the cold side?? Is there a backflow preventer? I don't know about Kitec being approved for potable water supply, maybe someone else does for sure. I think I remember seeing it stamped as approved but my memory is only good for about an hour or two these days. Also, is this a new phenomena or has it always been this way?

steve gates

yes Kitec is approved

for potable. Blue for cold only. Orange for both.

Steve_35

Is this a new problem?

Is the boiler a new install and this problem just crept in or is this a new home or new home to you? Well or municipal water?

Steve_35

Is this a new problem?

Is the boiler a new install with an existing house and this problem just crept in or is this a new home or new home to you? Well or municipal water?

Kevin_10

Newly built house

as of last summer. Water is municipal water. The boiler is a new install with a new house. the system was installed all wrong, but I was not sure if this was part of it. Problem occurred at beginning of summer. Now that I think about it, it started occurring at the same time that I disabled the heating and put DHW on priority with a buderus control thatI have with a Buderus boiler. Could they be related? In an answer to a previous post on whether I have a backflow preventer. Don't know.

Steve_35

A backflow preventer would be upstream of the fill valve. Look for where the domestic water connects into the boiler. You should see a couple of devices in the line before it goes into the boiler line. Read the label of the one that is closest to the house side. To be honest it's mostly a belt and suspenders tpe of thing. Unless there's something drastically wrong, the pressure in your boiler is always less than the water pressure into your house. There are a few instances where there could be a problem w/o a backflow preventer.

If the problem occurs at every tap I would try pulling some cold water off as soon as it comes into the house. Let it run for several minutes first. If it still has the "rubbery" taste/smell it's an issue with the incoming water and you may want to look into activated carbon filtration...after you call city hall to complain.

Kevin_10

There are no devices in the lines.

The water supply comes through the meter and then through a T. One part of the T goes to the main domestic cold water line. The other part of the T goes directly to the bottom of the indirect hot water tank. I cannot tell where the water enters the boiler. It does occur at all taps

Steve Ebels

Has

The pressure relief valve on the boiler ever "relieved" itself all over your floor? If this occured it would be hard to miss.

What kind of indirect tank do you have?

Kevin_10

No that has never occurred

The pressure relief valve has never did that. It is a Buderus indirect tank.

Steve_35

FWIW, I'd try an activated carbon filter before I went to the expense of an RO system. We run into odd tasting water fairly frequently. Carbon filtration takes care of the vast majority of cases at a fraction of the cost. In addition RO removes ALL TDS. Your water will likely be fairly flat tasting.

Cuno makes several different systems. I would recommend a whole house filter like an AP102T with AP117 media. The AP102T holds two filters which you'll need because the AP117 filters have flow limiters allowing only 3 gpm per filter through. If you find that this works you may want to look at an AP-DWS750. This is a taste/odor/chlorine/sediment unit that also has significant lead and cyst reduction. Then just put AP110 5 micron sediment filters in the whole house unit. You'll have about 1/3 to 1/4 the investment that you would with RO and end up with better tasting water IF the experiment with the AP117 media works for you.

Feel free to e-mail me directly if you have any questions.

hot_rod

If the smell is being

delivered to your home, I would go to the sourse. Any neighbors having the same problem?

I think I would call a water treatment pro and determine exactly what you have going on, before you start throwing money at it. I agree with Steve in that a RO may be way over kill. In addition to being expensive, for this capacity, they use a lot of water. Some versions will use 3 to 4 gallons (down the drain)of water to produce 1 gallon of RO water.

Odor is pretty easy to handle, generally. However if it is being caused by an iron bacteria or other causes, you really need to identify and correct this. It may be starting at the well head, storage facility, or in low flow main lines.

Best not to guess with this type of problem. Check your yellow pages or ask around for a water treatment company. Also find them online, most can work from a mailed in sample. Or via the local health departments. Try local universities for testing sites also.

hot rod

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