Plumbing Question

I have a 3 year old WH that has a white crust on the hot side at the male/female coupling between the copper pipe and the brass fitting going into the WH. When the plumbers installed the WH they specifically said that they were using a brass fitting so that there would not be a metalergic reaction between the copper and the galv. steel at the tank fitting.

It appears the the white crust may be corrosion. What could be causing it? I thought brass was compatible with copper for metallergic reactions. No leaks yet.

I was going to call the plumbers that did the installation to have them check it out. My guess is all they should have to do is replace the brass fitting.

What's a WH?

water heater I think. Don't have an answer for the crust other than the solder/flux reacting with moist air?

Worth a shot.

Wes

Wes Bischel said:

water heater I think.

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Maybe use a wire brush and take the white off and see if it stays off, or returns. Possible a very fine pin hole allowing calcium in your water to build up?

Matt - you might be on to something. We do have hard water so this may be a very very very slow leak at the threads.

Its not corrosion per se, its hard water, or mineral depsits. If it really bothers you sight wise, you can wipe it off easily with CLR, a type of cleaner you can get at any store. Or you can try vinegar. That will clean it up as well. I am not convinced its a leak from what you are saying. It sounds like your water heater is in a basement or wet location possibly? If that is the case, it sounds to me like normal oxidation of brass. White crust often appears on copper or brass fittings if the humidity is pretty high, or other conditions are right. (Where I live, this close to the ocean, my copper roofed cupola got white crust on it pretty quickly...like within a few weeks.)

Of a greater concern however is what that build up is doing inside your tank. I would think you are safe for a few more years but I would pull out the elecrode after 5 years or so and replace it. That mineral deposits will make your electrode less effective and end up costing you more money in electricity to get the same amount of heat into your water. Assuming of course, its an electric hot water heater. If its a propnae or natural gas water heater, you might want to het a burner tech to service it at the 5 year mark, just to keep the crust from causing ineffeciency.

You can get elecrodes at any Home Depot or any hardware store, and they are very easy to replace. A 5 minute job if you know what you are doing, and maybe a 15 minute job if you are a complete novice. Its really an easy mainetance issue/fix.

Travis - great explanation. What's weird is it is only on the hot side and only on one side of the fitting.

I'll look into replacing the electrode in a couple of years.

Mike Gabbay said:

Travis - great explanation. What's weird is it is only on the hot side and only on one side of the fitting.

I'll look into replacing the electrode in a couple of years.

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IMHO, Travis is pretty much dead on with the Often and Necessary maintainance.... Your last statement tends to go back to the leaking problem, if it was a climate related problem then it would be all over and not limited to a single area, so go with the leakage and tighten the fittingor apply the seal. Isn't the WH installed with unions? Or did the plumber install with hard fittings so they have to return to do any adjustments. Also, If it is a leak from "Their" installation, then they should repair at their expense, call and ask. If they are reputable they should correct the problem for you.

An update

The plumber came this morning. He looked at the joint and basically said that it might be a very slow leak. However, since it was more than a year since the installation it would not be under warranty. Surprising right!!! Oh, and to have him replace the fitting would be $250!

After he left I brushed off the calcification and will see if it redevelops. If it does, I'll replace the fillting and go buy a tool for $250!

So I should have been a plumber!

Install a softner just after the water comes into the house. It will pretty much take care of all of the problems that have been discussed. It it is a leak, get it fixed or fix it yourself.

You will love soft water.

It will pay for itself in reduced maintenance costs and cleaning product savings, and spousal frustration with cleaning the residue of hard water off surfaces and clothing.

Just my .02 worth......

Matt Dunlap said:

Then.........

I got to thinking of some of the stuff a plumber has to deal with, like sewage, leaks, and backed up plumbing.

I think I'll just stick with carpentry and count my blessings I don't have to deal with sewage.

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Matt,

It's not quite regular plumbing, but I did learn a lot about septic systems, pumps, PVC pipes and underground wiring....and aroma

I did svve a few hundred, though.

On the "Should have been a Plumber" note.... my cousin just lost his shirt in the plumbing business. He bought the business, did the research and had his sons as plumbers and kept the master-plumber on until his sons finished their apprentiship. Problem is, he tried to run the business as a friendly family company and doing the work the way you would expect. Free callbacks, proper warrantees, etc. Although one would expect that that sort of operation would succeed, He lost his shirt because the free repairs cut into the profits, and the insurance killed him.

There is a reason plumbers hard plumb in all services sweating in stead of fittings, never use a union because anybody can replace and repair, et. They make it as difficult as they can for repairs so you have to call them back.
H
Just today I replaced my M-I-Ls Waterheater. sawed through the old pipes, replaced the hard couplings with fittings and flex pipes for easy replacement (although it will last longer than she will live there and I don't expect to be the next guy to replace it.) I did this when I replaced my WH 10 years ago and this past summer when it went into the "tank" (so to speak) use of unions made the whole job a slide-in/slide-out task. (cleaning up from the ruptured bottom was another matter)

Aside from cleaning the muck and crawling in the mud & mire...

It seems I know about as much about plumbing as I do electricity.
At one time, I had contracts with HUD, FmHA and private holders of mortgages to manage foreclosed properties. Part of my duties were to winterize the homes. Instead of paying for this, I did it myself. (destruction takes less talent than construction ) I had to go into basements and crawl spaces to disconnect, or break, the pipes at the lowest points. The pipe joints I saw, virtually ALL had corrosion and lime build up around them. I mean EVERY joint in scores of houses. I came to think this was normal. Since this thread began, I have looked at the pipe joints in my own home. None have this condition.
I'll venture guess a why the joints on my managed properties leaked like that. They were all homes built to government specs for HUD/VA, etc. I'll betcha the plumbers rushed through the jobs to maximize profits at the expense of quality. Just a guess.

Yep, what Travis said.
The hot water side is the usual culprit with calcification and corrosion. The heat accelerates the process. If you pull pipes out of an older house, it's the hot water pipes that are calcified to the point where there's not much of an opening any more.
Good thing too. If the cold lines deteriorated as quickly as the hot, the entire water distribution system in any given town would need constant rebuilding.
Paul Hubbman

Matt Dunlap said:

I got to thinking of some of the stuff a plumber has to deal with, like sewage, leaks, and backed up plumbing.D

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Funny story...

I was working on my house tying in the new bathroom to the existing sewer system. Anyway my earthwork contractor and I were trying to locate the existing pipe via a shovel, rather than the excavator to keep from ripping up the pipes. The pipe we were after was only a few inches down and one good stab with the shovel, cut the pipe and the resulting hit slung poo right into the guys face.

I said "that's the reason why I am a machinist."

He looked at me all mad like and said "Well its not like I wanted to do that!"

You had to be there, but it was pretty funny.