Mouse inside a water heater ???

Had a call from a tennant, he rents a commercial building for a home remodeling buisness. Says the hot water smells. The only thing he could figure is there may be a DEAD MOUSE in the water heater I told him how could a mouse get in, there is always water pressure, if there was a hole big enough for a mouse to fit in, their would be one heck of a leak. I believe the problem is calcium and the high sulfer in the water(one of the borough wells is near the river where coal was removed). I asked him if he uses any hot water, I think it sits to long without use. Drained the tank, it's less than 2 years old. This guy I would never have do a home remodel for me.

The heater is locked up in an old boiler room, when I drained the water heater, I opened the tpr valve to help the tank drain faster. He said their should be a pipe going to the floor on the tpr valve(that I know) but it's locked up where he can't get to it. If I put a pipe on the tpr valve, that would be an invitation for a mouse to go inside

Sounds like you're working with a real brain surgeon there friend.

I'm at a loss for words.

cabinover wrote:Sounds like you're working with a real brain surgeon there friend.

For a fellow that is in this type of work, ya think he'd have a clue He may be better with the paint brush. He once asked me to help with a project of his with a high lift he rented (I am keeping clear of that) later he said about a column he was setting that ended up dropping. Don't want anything to do with that

AA130FIREMAN wrote:He said ... it's locked up where he can't get to it.

I think you should put on couple more locks and a sign on the door saying "bare feet only" and spread some tacks around the heater. Just in case.

Sounds like this guy should go help Dan on that Church he's workin on--another friggin idiot to aggravate him

I never did see any of his work, not that I care too, as long as the rent is paid ,slow to pay. He did have some labors(cheap help) working for him, I don't think he does much, his van is parked alot.

I believe the problem is calcium and the high sulfer in the water

Is it an electric heater?

Wood'nCoal wrote:

I believe the problem is calcium and the high sulfer in the water

Is it an electric heater?

YES

Thanks for the honorable mention, Fred!
Code everywhere requires a pipe from the tpr valve to be no more than 6" off the floor. As I recall. I resurrected the gas hot water heater in the church house weeks ago. Bad thermocouple, typical and cheap and easy fix. The exhaust pipe had a 3" aluminum adjustable elbow to start, went up through the shed roof through an insulated double wall setup, and terminated about 6" from the rake board at the other roof. I extended and braced the pipe last summer to bring it at least 2' from the nearest roof line. Replaced that elbow with galvanized. Vacuumed out the mouse droppings from the inside bottom.

When I got the old inefficient heater fired up for the first time in 7 months, since the pastor left with her family, it started in with the crackling and popping sounds- must be a lot of mineral buildup on the inside. When a water heater starts doing that, it's either put up with it or replace it.

The church had the well water tested there, apparently potable, but I won't drink it, it has a distinct sulfer smell.

I would be absolutely skeptical about a mouse getting in a closed system, however, I found a mouse in the gas tank of my Jimmy when I took the tank down!!!!! At first I thought fiberglass fibers were clogging the fuel pump screen! It was mouse fur! My only conclusion was that it must have been a junkyard gas tank put in!

Dann757 wrote:Thanks for the honorable mention, Fred!
Code everywhere requires a pipe from the tpr valve to be no more than 6" off the floor. As I recall.

And the bottom end NOT be threaded.

AA130FIREMAN wrote:

Wood'nCoal wrote:

I believe the problem is calcium and the high sulfer in the water

Is it an electric heater?

YES

High calcium carbonate levels and other minerals dissolved in water seem to be responsible for foul-smelling hot water. At least that was the case here when I still had an electric hot water tank and no water softener. What had happened was the limescale and other deposits accumulated on the heating element and then fell to the bottom of the tank, eventually burying the bottom electric element in scale. The element cooked along in the muck and smelly water was the result.

I know the town water was bad when I lived there, drained my hw heater, would not drain(start and stop) because of all the calcium build up beyond the lower element.