*Sigh* Another off topic question.

[James Ascherl]

So I have a plumbing question that is not related to my boiler. I have well water that is actually very soft, but contains a lot of gas. It comes out of the tap with lots of bubbles that disipate almost immediately. My problem is that when I turn on the hot water in the guest bath or the laundry tub (the two faucets right above the hot water tank), they hiss and spit air briefly.
I have read up on this a bit and people say it could be everything from a poorly installed HW tank, to a bad anode, to a shallow well. The HW tank is 80 gallon, electric. The well is 212 feet deep. I have 60 PSI pressure.
My question: Can I install an air eliminator near the top of the HW tank? They seem to only be used in hydronic heating.

 

[stee6043]

I've never heard of such a thing. Very interesting. Do they make a brass or stainless air eliminator? I think the units we're typically using on boilers would not work on potable water supply due to material type. But I could be way off here.

 

[Fred61]

Not sure. That's a lot of pressure. Have you ever seen an air eliminator disassembled? They're like a carburetor float (if you're old enough to know what a carburetor is) that drops down and opens a needle valve allowing it to release the air in the pocket. The higher pressure on that air bubble will cause the air to compress to a smaller volume so more air would need to be present to make the pocket large enough for the float to travel enough to open the needle valve. Also not sure if the higher pressure will push back on the bubbles causing them to stay suspended.

Are you sure it's not hydrogen bubbles caused by galvanic corrosion of the zinc anode in the tank? Have you tried to light it with a torch?

Edit; I meant electrolysis.

 

[jebatty]

Sounds like there is an air leak on the suction side somewhere.

 

[ewdudley]

Can't draw water up more that 29 ft or so, well is 212 ft, so presumably pump is submersed.

But if there is a column of water above the pump and below a check valve there would be an opportunity for air to get sucked in between cycles.

 

[greynjaded]

if I may kick in 2 cents, well would cycle often if pressure from pump "leaked" or air was drawn in after the pump,
hot water generally isn't "consumed" so a purge,( I prefer 1" units bushed down to 3/4" because of their size) on either side of HW heater should eliminate slow build up.
We live over the Marcellus, and for that matter all the shale formations and gas, methane,and other nasties, are common in wells. Fortunately, spring water is also common and plentiful.
My only concern is a buildup in the heater reducing the water level to a point where the top coil is exposed and overheated.
It's generally something you can hear and pretty unlikely

 

[Fred61]

Do you know the static level in the well? Three or four years ago I had this problem at a commercial building I own. It turned out that one of the restrooms had a toilet that wouldn't shut off and had actually drained the well right down to the foot valve.

Bunch of office girls. Didn't make any difference to them that they could hear water running. Only made a difference when they didn't have any to flush with.

 

[bpirger]

Yeah, is it methane in the water? Has it been this way all the time or something new? Any oil/gas drilling/fracking in your area? If there is recent drilling activity, and this is a new problem, I'd say you want to find out what it is. Methane buildup in your water, venting into your house, can be dangerous.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Yeah, is it methane in the water? Has it been this way all the time or something new? Any oil/gas drilling/fracking in your area? If there is recent drilling activity, and this is a new problem, I'd say you want to find out what it is. Methane buildup in your water, venting into your house, can be dangerous.

I agree to what he is saying. They do make a copper hi vent, I put one in my80 gal preheat tank on my furnace. Can't have any air when doing thermosiphon.

 

[ktm010]

I have a methane issue in my water easy to test for, take your garden hose, remove any nozzle from hose, run water gently have a lighter next to it methane will gently flame off.

 

[James Ascherl]

Thanks guys for your input. This problem has existed since the house was built (1967). The pump is submersible one. I recently had the well people out due to a frozen line running from the well. They didn't seem to find any issues with the pump. My understanding is that the water has a lot of oxygen in it. I never tried the match test, but I don't think its methane. I planned on adding some of the anti-knock devices to see if that helps.

 

[Bob Rohr]

So I have a plumbing question that is not related to my boiler. I have well water that is actually very soft, but contains a lot of gas. It comes out of the tap with lots of bubbles that disipate almost immediately. My problem is that when I turn on the hot water in the guest bath or the laundry tub (the two faucets right above the hot water tank), they hiss and spit air briefly.
I have read up on this a bit and people say it could be everything from a poorly installed HW tank, to a bad anode, to a shallow well. The HW tank is 80 gallon, electric. The well is 212 feet deep. I have 60 PSI pressure.
My question: Can I install an air eliminator near the top of the HW tank? They seem to only be used in hydronic heating.

Most water heaters have a domed top and provide an excellent spot to collect and vent air.

Look for a vent that has a "discharge pressure" high enough. You can find small air vents with a rating up to 90psi. 40, 60, and 90 psi are the common pressure ratings for float type air vents.

The only glitch is any valve or device installed on potable water should be low lead approved, as of 2014.

Many of the water treatment "contact tanks" use air vents to remove the air after a venturi or compressor pumps air into the tank. The air "contacts" the water and will help remove iron or sulpher smell.

 

[jrod770]

Just by chance, are you running an air injection iron filter in the system? I have one and when mine needs cleaned, like now, it will violently blow air and water out of any faucet.