AO Smith Water Heater making loud noise?
Question:We`ve had our AO Smith water heating unit for about 3 years now. It`s just started making this horrible noise everytime the air conditioning is turned on. About every hour - 2 hours, it`ll make a real loud sound (like someone pulling a table across a wooden floor) for about a minute. Then it will go quiet again. Is this something that can be fixed?
Answers:
It could be a mineral buildup on the bottom of the tank. When it heats up the minerals on the bottom of the tank , the clumps of minerals pop apart. You only would hear this when the heater is heating up. It may be a coincidence that it is happening the same time as the ac is on. You could try draining the heater to see if this helps. You may see white colored pellets coming out in the water. If this doesn't work you could try turning off the ac for a little while to see if the two are connected. If it is a mineral problem you could check the anode rod in the water heater. It is designed to attract the minerals and it may be eaten away and that's why they are building up in the water heater. There is also a different anode rod for well water.
The AC being turned on may cool down the Water Heater causing it to turn on to heat back up to its desired temperature. But I cant think of any reason other than that why the two would be interconnected. The loud noise may be caused by mineral build-up in the bottom of the tank and the minerals being pullled apart when the heater heats up. I would drain the tank & replace the anode rod. Jim the Plumber also said the same thing I see.
Will - Plumber/General Contractor
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