This is the last post . . I promise . . about the water heater/carbon monoxide issues.
Background:
This saga started before Memorial Day because it was the day after Memorial Day when our plumber came out.
At first, it happened about every other day. One of us would take a shower, the CO alarm in the bedroom would go off. In the water heater closet, there was a funky smell – Vince thought it smelled like propane; I thought it smelled like dust – like when you turn the heater on for the first time each winter. The plumber came out and, of course, we couldn’t make it do it. He made a few adjustments and we thought it was fixed. For about three days, we had no alarm. Then it started again. Then it stopped but by about mid-June, it was going off every time we took a shower so we’d take the alarm down, take it outside, keep the water heater closet door closed and the bedroom door closed and then before bed, we’d bring the CO alarm back in.
We called the plumber back and told him we wanted to replace the water heater and put in a fresh air supply line to the water heater closet. He’s very busy and it was Wednesday (two days ago) before he got out here.
The New Water Heater:
They replaced the water heater, put in the new fresh air line and now we’ve gone two nights with no CO alarm and no funky smell in the area of the water heater.
When they took the water heater out, the top of the tank, where the vent pipe was attached, all the plastic area had melted. Vince began researching about why/how that happened and found that it was caused by a downdraft due to lack of air flow and the hot air/gas was not going up the pipe but was hovering around the top of the tank and then dissipating into the room.
The Propane Guy:
Out of an abundance of caution, we called the propane guy to come out and check our regulators and make sure the appropriate amount of propane was going into the lines. He came out today and checked everything on the two propane tanks that supply propane to the house. The regulators were fine. He asked to look at the old tank and he looked at the bottom.
See the spider webs? Those tiny little vents are the ONLY way air gets into the tank for combustion and venting. Our tank sits in a tub that’s probably about 3″ high so there’s really almost no way to clean those little vents. This tank has only been in our house maybe 5 years. Because of the dust/spider webs on vents we can’t even reach, there wasn’t enough air flow to send the exhaust/gas up through the vent pipe.
It just seems like a horrible design . . a disaster waiting to happen. I hate to think what would have happened had we not had three times as many CO detectors as we need for a house this size.
Of course the exact same water heater is what we put in because we bought two when we bought the last one. We’re going to put sticky traps around there and hopefully keep spiders out of that area. It’s in an area that gets less dust than most of the house – no cooking, no flour, no baby powder, no hair drying with hair flying around.
Support:
I’m not going to say the manufacturer name but Vince called them multiple times and they suggested some of the most ridiculous fixes but NEVER mentioned checking the air intake vent on the bottom of the water heater. We didn’t even know it was there. It did have a little plastic screen type thing that went around the bottom of the tank and we have taken that off multiple times and cleaned it.
When Vince googled it after the propane guy told him, it’s obviously a problem others have had and I would have thought the first thing the manufacturer would have suggested would have been to check the very bottom of the water heater. Of course, I’m sure there’s something about it in the owner’s manual and even though it’s our responsible to read that, and obviously we didn’t, you would think that would have been something they would have at least mentioned.
The main solution the water heater manufacturer would have involved moving the water heater, which would have meant having to have new plumbing (on a concrete foundation), as well as running new vent and fresh air lines. Vince kept saying “It has to be something with this water heater because the house is 14 years old. We’ve lived here 9 years. We’ve never had this problem before! This water heater has worked fine for 5 years.” Knowing now that it was caused by the air supply intake being clogged . . it seems crazy to me that they didn’t mention that.
Our propane guy knew right off the bat what was wrong because he had the same problem with his own water heater.
It seems absolutely ridiculous to me that the design is what it is and that support from the manufacturer never ever recommended cleaning that vent.
I guess I should be happy that we survived this and stop complaining . . ok . . I’m done!
Dottie says
WOW! Makes one wonder if there’s going to be a recall on that particular water heater, at some point in time.
Liz says
Check the web for recipes on using essential oils as a spider repellent. I think most articles suggest using peppermint oil as a repellent. You would have to be careful about where you spray it since you are dealing with a water heater, but it may be useful around some areas like doors.
Nelle Coursey says
I am glad to know this!! I am going to check ours just to be sure it is not clogged! Thank you for telling me this! It could be very good information for the future!
Rebecca in SoCal says
Thank God you had enough carbon monoxide detectors.
I don’t know the set-up and why you can’t clean those vents, but could it be possible to put a screen around it? Otherwise, I like the essential oil idea, but you’d have to renew it, it seems.
Judy Laquidara says
It has a screen around it but I suppose it doesn’t sit tightly enough in the pan that spiders couldn’t get under it. Spiders are magicians around here. Vince bought the sticky pads and moth balls. I have voiced my opposition to the moth balls but we’ll see. I figured cotton balls with peppermint EO all around and I could refresh the oil as needed. Moth balls . . not inside the house!
Becky says
Your initial story caused me to immediately buy three CO detectors for our mountain cabin. It may someday save our lives! Thank you.
Judy Laquidara says
For a house with gas/propane, I would not be without them. The apartment in MO has one on the wall but I bought two more – one for each bedroom. I know they’re new and I know they work.
Susan Nixon says
Now that you know, maybe you can figure out a way to run a brush or something over that area, even though it isn’t easily accessible. I’m glad it’s worked out, though.
Daniel says
If the intake screen at the bottom was the cause of poor combustion that resulted in CO being produced, the ECO (emergency cut out) should have tripped and shut off the pilot light. I’m in HVAC and have to repair them sometimes and the design is terrible. The government made them redesign water heaters because of too many lawsuits with old design that worked fine for decades until too many people started leaving combustible products near water heaters. Wish they could’ve come up with better design, they’re a pain to clean those screens, even with good access.
Judy Laquidara says
We kept thinking there should have been some kind of safety feature to turn the thing off but it just kept on running and our CO detector went off every time we took a shower. The reading got up to a bit over 800, no matter how quick we were with our showers. I’m sure the next time we have to change it, we’ll switch to electric . . as much as I hate to do it. Thanks for the advice.
Susan says
This may be an old wives tale but try a hedge ball. We use them in our basement and I no longer have spiders in the basement where my longarm is located. Just replace them every fall.
Judy Laquidara says
I need to remember to do that. I don’t know where they grow around here but they’re everywhere in MO.
wanda jordan says
And that my dear is why I have all electric house. I’ve had 2 gas water heaters explode. One that singed my hair and daughter while giving her a bath. Yes the heater was in the bathroom way back in the late 50’s. Then the other was in the kitchen 3 years later. I came home from work water pouring out from under the house in front yard. Opened front door could smell something burning. Well it was the water heater. The pop off value popped and it had been running all day I guess. Burnt the whole front of water heater could have burnt the house down. We were in process of building a new house gas lines run and tested. I told hubby not no, but H_ll no to gas. I’ve never been sorry since.. You with free electrical now I would put in an electrical or even on demand electrical hot water heater . Just my opinion but never gas I don’t care how expensive electrical is.
Judy Laquidara says
I’ll always have a gas stove if I have my way but am probably done with a gas water heater, heat and dryer.