Hot water heater has lumps of clear slime!!

[chilly81]

I just drained my water heater for the season and it had lots of small lumps of clear to brownish slime or gelatin like substance. You could smoosh it and it would disintegrate. It didn't seem to have any solids in it (like some insect eggs might).

I did suffer from the rotten egg smell, if it's related. Although they didn't seem to have a harsh smell themselves.

This is a suburban type tank with an anode rod.

I don't think I'll ever drink from my water system again 😞 Here's a pic of some of them after draining:

[DSchmidt_2000]

It's from the aluminum anode rod. Our house WH used to do the same thing. Never had a problem with a magnesium rod.

[Toyman1957]

I had this problem occur in my fresh water tank. Kept plugging up my metal screen pre-filter in front of the pump.

I ended up having to fill the tank half way and running a drill operated pump for an hour to cycle the water through two large canister filters to capture the goo and return the water back to the tank to cycled through again.

[chuggs]

Sounds like the algae that grows in the A/c evaporator pan in our central a/c system.

Bleach seems to kill it.

I would just do the sanitizing procedure twice per year to get a handle on it.

I wonder...have you used well water to fill your tanks at some point. Or did the algae come from a municipal water source..?

[bshpilot]

another reason i drain my water heater after every trip & before i put the coach in storage...makes my anode rods last longer & keeps the deposits outta my hot water heater too !

[Old-Biscuit]

rexlion wrote:
One person says it's from a magnesium rod, and to get an aluminum one.
Another says it's from an aluminum rod, and to get a magnesium one.

Advice: you get what you pay for! 😄

Never 'said' it was from a magnesium rod.......ASKED IF OP was using one because of his statement about smelly water.

Hard to tell what problem really is without ALL the info.

From 'links' posted it does appear to be due to aluminum hydroxide formation.....IF OP is using an aluminum anode rod.

[chilly81]

My fresh tank and all lines are perfectly clean and clear and I sanitized it this summer.

I think smkettner nailed it. I read some of those links and searched around more along those lines. I do have dreaded New England well water and a softener. I must have an aluminum rod - because I get the stink as well as the Al Hydrox. Sounds like a Al-zinc rod would have less smell, but would still gets the the slime. So I'll probably get the magnesium one - I'll take the smell over the ick any time. I'll be full timing next spring anyway - so water shouldn't sit long enough to stink anyway.

[rexlion]

One person says it's from a magnesium rod, and to get an aluminum one.
Another says it's from an aluminum rod, and to get a magnesium one.

Advice: you get what you pay for! 😄

[DiskDoctr]

Would this also affect Atwood aluminum/non-anode hot water tanks?

In which case, adding a magnesium anode would then be a solution...or not?

[time2roll]

A few clicks and it appears to be Aluminum Hydroxide formed from the anode rod and can vary depending on water quality. Solution is a magnesium rod.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Troubleshooting/Tanklets/jelly.html

http://www.hotwater.com/lit/bulletin/bulletin14.pdf

http://www.google.com/patents/US4789407

[Wayne_Dohnal]

I had the same thing happen with my home water heater. Never did figure it out.

[ScottG]

I had the same issue with some pink antifreeze I left in over the winter. The water filter and many of the lines were packed with clearish gelatin by the end of the season. It took lots of flushing and sanitizing to get it all out.
I never used AF again after that.

[time2roll]

I would try to determine if the lumps were created in the water heater or brought up from the fresh water tank. When was the last time the system was sanitized?

Could send a water sample to a lab. Include some of the lumps.

[Old-Biscuit]

Do you have a magnesium anode rod...they can react with microbes in water and result is that rotten egg smell.

Flush/rinse.......new aluminum rod...good to go.

[dclark1946]

I see that kind of stuff on the anode rod every time I remove it. I drain our water heater and clean the anode rod by wiping it with a paper towel after each camping trip and have never had any issues with smelly water.

Dick