why is my water yellow

[Sunking]

The strangest part is we have 5 apartments on the property. All 5 are before us in the water line.

I would check the 5th apartment sewer line.

[FloridaSun]

I would check the 5th apartment sewer line.

funny you should mention that. My first thought on seeing "why is my water yellow" was.... don't eat the yellow snow.

[LucMan]

The easy solution is to switch to your propane fired WH for several days and see if the water is coming out yellow also. If so the problem is in the water or water line to the house. If not then the problem is in the solar water heater. I am not familiar with the solar tank that you have but it surprised me that it had a magnesium anode rod in a stainless steel tank. It may be of the Chinese variety that has quality control issues. Another issue is that most solar tanks are not rated for 185 degree water, 160 degrees is usually the recommended max temp. If you can achieve 185 degrees your array most likely is oversized.

[Paul Deel]

UOTE=steff503;83618]I have a direct, single coil tank with back up electric. The water comes out yellow. Is there any one thing that could cause this? We have flushed the tank but after it heats the water is yellow.
I have an other water heater, propane, same water supply it is not yellow. Although before we got this system the water from the propane heater was yellow.
I had the water dpt out they did not know what could cause it.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Steff[/QUOTE]Yellow water is usually rust. Iron bacteria can smell like rotten eggs. 185 deg F water rules out bacteria in my book. Is your Apt building plumbed with iron pipe? This could be the source of yellow water for both tanks. It doesn't have to be yellow all the time.
Your water heater has a stainless steel tank with a copper heat exchanger. If you have any iron/steel pipe in the tank piping this could cause corrosion problems. The manufacturer has included an anode rod. They say it is for water purification. Not sure how the Chinese came up with that translation. Magnesium rods are for corrosion protection.(rusting). The copper heat exchanger is probably what they are protecting against.
You can check the type of water coming from the utility by looking in your toilet tank. Yellow silt or yellow water in the tank is from the cold water system before it goes through the water heater. 185 degrees is really hot for any tank. Funny things start to happen when water temps exceed 160 deg F.
Does the yellow water have an unusual taste or smell? Could a leaking heat exchanger with glycol antifreeze in the HTF (heat transfer fluid) be causing the discoloration?

[russ]

[QUOTE=Paul Deel;85832]Yellow water is usually rust. Iron bacteria can smell like rotten eggs. Thought that was sulfur

185 deg F water rules out bacteria in my book. Not at all and the color could be produced before they cooked

Is your Apt building plumbed with iron pipe? This could be the source of yellow water for both tanks.
How so?

If you have any iron/steel pipe in the tank piping this could cause corrosion problems. How so?

185 degrees is really hot for any tank. Funny things start to happen when water temps exceed 160 deg F. Sounds cute but what kind of funny things?

Does the yellow water have an unusual taste or smell? Could a leaking heat exchanger with glycol antifreeze in the HTF (heat transfer fluid) be causing the discoloration?[/QUOTEIf glycol let us hope it is propylene glycol!

[steff503]

Hubby built the place so we know there are no iron pipes.
No bad smell or taste.
Tank piping is only about 4 months old so any galvanized nipples should not have rusted already.

Interesting thing... We increase the town population in July and August by about 200%. The town opens a new well for summer. They have now closed that well, summer folks went home. No more yellow.

When we installed the new tank we ran hot water from it into the existing propane tank. Now follow my thought process here. IF there was rust eating bacteria in the new town well and the yellow is the result of said bacteria dying, then if my old tank was rusted the bacteria would have found a home and flourished. By connecting the two, bacteria could settle in the new tank. If the new tank was not fully flushed it might have harbored some bacteria. If there was never any rust in the system, like the other units, they have new electric tanks, then the bacteria would flow out the faucet unnoticed.

Not sure if that makes sense or not?

[Naptown]

Does the water come out clear and turns yellow after sitting a while?

[Paul Deel]

In reply to your response to my post. Yes rotten egg smell is sulfur which is found in all sorts of bad water, including iron bacteria water. Eastern states water may not have the sulfides our desert water has and may have a different chemistry than I am familiar with here however.

You are correct that the color produced by bacteria could have colored the water before it was "cooked out" in the solar tank. I would think that this would show up in the cold water also since it would have entered in the cold water side of the solar tank. A check of the toilet tank might give some evidence of this.

My question about the plumbing system is because steel water pipes are notorious for producing rusty water. Especially after the water has been turned off then on or if something else causes the rust to start moving. I once serviced an apartment house in the flight path of LAX. Every time a plane went overhead for a landing they would get a shot of rusty water. We installed a phosphate feeder.

The copper heat exchanger raises concerns for me if there is also steel in the system. Especially so if some of that steel is connected to the solar storage tank. Electrolysis is a law of nature that is oftentimes difficult to conquer.

Yes, lets hope the anti freeze is propylene glycol. Especially since this is not a jacketed heat exchanger. Some antifreeze mixtures do contain rust inhibitors though. The antifreeze I have seen is orange in color. I don't know if that is an industry standard for antifreeze.

Above about 160 deg F the chemistry of water in relation to steel pipes change. For example a galvanized steel pipe that would be the material of choice for low temp domestic water, is attacked by the zinc galvanizing and the pipe rapidly corrodes. This is why only black iron is used in high temp applications. Water heaters with high temperature uses, example: a commercial WH producing 180 deg F water for a dishwasher, will only last a few years and carries a very limited warranty. Though the 304 Stainless in this tank is rated for high temps; not all SS is recommended for Solar storage tanks.

You had good feed back questions. I'm a learner just like all of you are. I am as eager to learn as I am to share my insights with those who can benefit from them. I am curious to learn the real cause of this yellow water.

[steff503]

No the cold comes out clear but will yellow if heated.
The anti freeze is pink.


I too would love to find the source of the yellow.

[Naptown]

I had the same problem in a house I had years ago.
A water treatment guy called it clear iron.
Have a water treatment co test the water for iron content.
In our case it just went away
I am suspicious of that second well that runs during the summer if there are no issues the rest of the year.

[Robert1234]

Your observation about color being formed when heated may be key to understanding what is happening.

I suspect strongly that the 2nd well has an mild iron (or magnesium) content of around 1-3 ppm and as such it is being sequestered (treated) by the water company prior to distribution. Sequestering does not remove iron from the water, but rather binds it to other molecules (such as polyphosphates) to keep the iron in the soluble, colorless ferrous state. This treatment keeps the iron from oxidizing when being further treated with chlorine or when exposed to air which would result in iron oxide being formed and color being formed. Water companies do this because sequestering prevents discoloration of the water, staining of plumbing fixtures, AND it is cheaper than other treatment options that remove the iron from the water. A known issue with the use of sequestering agents is that the complex they form can break down at the high temperatures found in water heaters and thus color can be formed. While harmless, sequestered water still has a slight metallic taste because the iron remains in the system. Do you notice a metalic taste to your water in the summer?

The water company would certainly know if this is the case. If your goal is to prevent the yellowing at your house, you'll need to know the details about your water supply. Have you asked them about your observations and/or their recommendations?

[LucMan]

Another consideration for lower water temps in water heaters is thermal expansion & contraction. I like to keep water temps no higher than 140 degrees 130 if possible, it reduces the amount of expansion and contraction the tank has to go through when cold water enters the hot tank. The stainless tanks are usually a thinner guage than the glass lined tanks which have their own problems with thermal expansion ( the glass lining cracks and chips off eventually).
So keep in mind that the higher the water temperature the shorter the lifespan of the tank.

[steff503]

I think that is what is happening, I recall the word "seaquest" from the water dept when I asked them.
Yes I think my water heater is a bit too hot, dangerous if there were kids here.
Thanks everyone!!

[inetdog]

I think that is what is happening, I recall the word "seaquest" from the water dept when I asked them.
Yes I think my water heater is a bit too hot, dangerous if there were kids here.
Thanks everyone!!

If you are not worried about the color, you can deal with the safety aspect using a tempering valve on the outlet of the tank. But make sure you get one rated for the lowest realistic flow rate you will see. Somebody might let the hot water tap run very slowly (but hard enough to overcome the heat loss in the pipe). Then when the water is turned on full force at that outlet OR another tap, a slug of maximum temperature water will come through before the tempered water.

[huigmeinen]

yellow water..

I have a same problem, is ther any solution for this i try water filter but it doesnt work sufficently and it not working for long time.

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