Any plumbers in here?

[Nxcoupe]

Have a very unusual issue happening in my house. When we bought the house, the hot water would scald you if you weren't careful. One day I was home working and heard a really wierd girgling sound. It was coming from the water softener. I turned on a faucet and there was no water. Turns out the water main in front of our house broke and it was creating a backflow that sent the plastic filter media from the softener thruoughout the plumbing. After a few weeks of taking things apart and cleaning them, I finally got all the faucets and toilets functioning when the hot water heater quit working. I bought a new electric water heater, I installed it myself. I hooked up the supply line and soldered it all, and I closed off the inlet valve that goes into the heater so I could turn the water supply on for my pita wife to use water for something. Damned if I didn't hear water coming through the hot water pipe that is supposed to be the outlet from the tank. Again, this was not connected, so it was backflowing cold water TOWARDS the hot water heater. I had to shut off the water until I had it connected. I thought it was wierd but didn't give it another thought until we realized we don't get really hot water anymore, unless you flush a toilet. It still comes out pretty warm but in our hall bath that has a mixing valve for the fawcet, it is lukewarm and wife and daughter freeze in the shower. All other faucets have a separate hot and cold handle. I'm at a loss as to what happened. Again, if you flush a toilet, the water will scald you coming out of the hot side everywhere but their tub faucet.
Sorry for the rambling post but this is super irritating, she can't even use the dishwasher because the water isn't hot enough to clean the dishes. Same with the laundry.
Thanks in advance. It seems like the cold water is tainting the hot water system, and yes, I have the inlet and outlets correct on the heater.

 

[1967coronet]

Not a real plumber but....I think you need to re clock the scald guard in the shower they use, the one with the single handle.
When you cleaned it out it got set more to cold.
When you flush the stool it robs cold flow from that shower mixer , that's why it's hot then.

 

[1967coronet]

Thar same faucet mixer is what let the back flow happen to the heater.
I think your washer and dish washer mixers still have crap in the valves.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Agreed. Any fixture that allows you to select "how hot", has a mixer in it. Basically a bleed from hot side to cold side. One of them, is stuck open.

Easy way to test your water heater, is open the purge drain at the bottom and see how hot the water is, coming right out of the tank (you should drain your water heater once a year anyway, to remove deposits from the coils).

 

[Nxcoupe]

Dishwasher doesn't have a mixer, it's hot only. So that leaves washer and the shower. I looked at the shower faucet, and there is no adjustment for the blend. Usually there is a small valve that you can turn one way or another with a wrench to get it hotter or colder, but not on this one. I'd have to take the tile out and cut the board behind it to get at this faucet.
But you guys have mirrored what I was thinking. Thanks!

Edit, to test this theory, I'll turn off the cold to the washer and see if our hot water operates as it did before, if not, then it is the shower faucet that is letting cold flow into the hot side. Seems like a pretty crappy design.

 

[SlingLow]

@Nxcoupe if you're dealing with a tiled-in shower valve, sometimes you can get to it more easily from the other side of the wall without having to replace/repair tile.

 

[Nxcoupe]

@Nxcoupe if you're dealing with a tiled-in shower valve, sometimes you can get to it more easily from the other side of the wall without having to replace/repair tile.

You are correct, but in my pos house, the other side is another bath with tile and faucet. I'm half tempeted to crawl under the house and install a one way ck valve in the hot water pipe to that faucet. Won't help the girls but it'll fix everything else! Lol

 

[Moms68]

Is there an expansion tank installed?

 

[Nxcoupe]

Is there an expansion tank installed?

No.

 

[Moms68]

The water heater should have a pressure reducing valve/ backflow preventer on the supply side. An expansion tank will balance the pressure and prevent water leaking from the T&P valve. These are both common practice and code in most areas.

 

[cr8crshr]

No.

Required pretty much in all installations nowadays!!! I just went through a whole replacement of my H2O heater as it was 16 years old and at the end of its life span. The heater box went kaput!! Talking with the installer plumber, he said that in the majority of homes he has encountered, many did not have one. I fortunately did so my unit was what the industry requires. Also just a note, he also said that gas vs electricity has a long life span because electricity creates static electricity which attracts impurities in the water and will amass around the heating element. Even with a water softener the salt used to soften the water, will eventually also coat the heating element. If you can go with gas, do it as it is a far more reliable source than electricity. You lose power and not hot water...cr8crshr/Bill

 

[hunt2elk]

I'm not a plumber either, but can't you access the mixer by taking the front cover off?

 

[Nxcoupe]

I'm not a plumber either, but can't you access the mixer by taking the front cover off?

This one does not have an adjustable mixer valve.

No, I can't get a gas heater unless I go propane. We don't have natural gas in my area.