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Odd smell in our house. Antifungal agent for drainback system?

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  • Odd smell in our house. Antifungal agent for drainback system?

    Hi, the house I bought last year has an old drainback solar water heating system installed 30 years ago. It still works. However it is the dead of winter in Wisconsin and my wife is complaining of a smell that seems to be collecting in one area on the second floor of the house (in the middle of the house. the water storage tank is in the middle of the basement). I'm pretty sure this is related to the solar water system. I went in the attic trying to find any water problems...no leaks or anything I can find there or in the basement or anywhere. The smell is definitely there and can be described as rancid/fungal. I can't really detect the odor myself in the basement. Perhaps a very slight smell when I unscrew the storage tank refill cap, and perhaps this just collects in the second floor and is more prominent there.

    Since I've owned the home, I've never put in any antifungal anything into the tank. I imagine that in the warmer months this isn't needed because the water temperature is 140+ degrees. But right now the tank is < 100 degrees.

    Is there any recommended antifungal to add to the tank? Perhaps this antifungal product for fish tanks? http://www.amazon.com/API-Pimafix-An.../dp/B000256ESA

    As a side note, honestly I'm tempted to just not bother running the system anymore, and either just draining the tank somehow or even getting the whole system removed. In the summer I believe it gets too hot and causes my basement dehumidifier to work hard (because water definitely evaporates/steams off). I have to refill it at least once a week in the summer months. It used to have a water panel in the return duct of the furnace, but that is no longer hooked up. So right now it is just heating water (and yes, it is quite effective when it isn't the dead of winter). I wonder if I'm really saving anything though, given the offset of the pumps and dehumidifier.

  • #2
    Be careful, what you are describing has the potential for breeding legionella which can be very dangerous. You need to either drain it completely, add biocide or possibly investigate a UV system to treat the water.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by peakbagger View Post
      Be careful, what you are describing has the potential for breeding legionella which can be very dangerous. You need to either drain it completely, add biocide or possibly investigate a UV system to treat the water.
      Yeah, I ended up finding talk of legionella after more Googling. This weekend I'm going to tear apart the insulation and figure out how to drain it. I have no idea what biocide to add. Finding information on this stuff is very very hard. Our local solar contractor only deals with photovoltaics.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by ppg677 View Post
        Yeah, I ended up finding talk of legionella after more Googling. This weekend I'm going to tear apart the insulation and figure out how to drain it. I have no idea what biocide to add. Finding information on this stuff is very very hard. Our local solar contractor only deals with photovoltaics.
        Just be careful and wear a filter mask. Mold and certain bacteria are air borne. You might get lucky and find the problem or worst case need to call HAZMAT.

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        • #5
          Good old household bleach will kill just about anything, just be careful where you dump it if you have a septic system. Once you have it cleaned out, its doesn't take much to keep it from growing back.

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          • #6
            Any chance it smells like Jack Daniels? That's what the glycol smells like when it's gone acidic. I know that WI now requires glycol be added to drainback systems as a just in case protection, the original installer may have done it back in the day. And who knows what they used for antifreeze back then, there was some crazy experimenting going on back then. Get a pH test strip and test the water, if it's acidic, it is likely eating the pipes. You should not be losing that much water, you may have a pinhole leak somewhere if it is acidic. You should check the setting of your controller, there may be a high temperature limiter on it to keep it from getting too hot in the summer. After 30 years, that may be failing.

            I assume the 100F is a preheater, and it is feeding into a backup heater that is heating it to 140. That should address and legionnaires concerns.

            Don't add anything to the water that isn't designed to run in over 200 degree water. Who knows what that fish tank stuff does at those high temps.
            Solar Queen
            altE Store

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Amy@altE View Post
              I assume the 100F is a preheater, and it is feeding into a backup heater that is heating it to 140. That should address and legionnaires concerns.

              Don't add anything to the water that isn't designed to run in over 200 degree water. Who knows what that fish tank stuff does at those high temps.
              The paranoia over legionella in the US is cute. Same for mould! If you read the government sites you are expected to fall over dead daily from exposure to xxxxxx.
              [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Amy@altE View Post
                Any chance it smells like Jack Daniels? That's what the glycol smells like when it's gone acidic. I know that WI now requires glycol be added to drainback systems as a just in case protection, the original installer may have done it back in the day. And who knows what they used for antifreeze back then, there was some crazy experimenting going on back then. Get a pH test strip and test the water, if it's acidic, it is likely eating the pipes. You should not be losing that much water, you may have a pinhole leak somewhere if it is acidic. You should check the setting of your controller, there may be a high temperature limiter on it to keep it from getting too hot in the summer. After 30 years, that may be failing.

                I assume the 100F is a preheater, and it is feeding into a backup heater that is heating it to 140. That should address and legionnaires concerns.

                Don't add anything to the water that isn't designed to run in over 200 degree water. Who knows what that fish tank stuff does at those high temps.
                Smell has dissipated (and we have a new theory that may not be related to solar system...animal instead). So I'm holding off on tearing apart the storage tank for now. We're above freezing today, I may run the pumps a bit. We haven't seen the sun in a few weeks.

                If there was a pinhole leak, I guess I would expect to see water on the basement floor as I don't think there is a drain under the unit.

                As far as adding bleach, I wonder if that would harm any plastic fittings? There is a plastic water tube used as the water level meter.

                There is a back-up normal natural gas water heating. I assume that heats to 140, as then it goes to a thermostatic mixing valve to drop the temp back to 120-degree faucet water.

                It does seem like I should take off all the insulation covering and take a look inside this old contraption.

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                • #9
                  If you are adding water there is a leak somewhere. Drain back systems have a closed loop piping system, water should only be added at the initial startup.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by LucMan View Post
                    If you are adding water there is a leak somewhere. Drain back systems have a closed loop piping system, water should only be added at the initial startup.
                    evaporation or steaming it off when water reaches 140+ degrees?

                    if there is a leak, I have no idea where the water is leaking to.

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                    • #11
                      Exactly the point. If it is evaporating, it is going somewhere, not being contained within the closed loop. You should not have to add water to a closed loop drainback system.
                      Solar Queen
                      altE Store

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