West of the lakes
Water Heater Repair in St. Louis Park, MN
Hard water leaves a layer of grit in every tank. Here is how to keep it from shortening yours.
St. Louis Park pumps its water from nine deep wells, some well over 1,000 feet down, drawing on four different aquifers. The city reports hardness at about 19 grains per gallon, or 330 parts per million.
That is very hard water. Whatever else is going on with a water heater in St. Louis Park, sediment is usually part of the story.
Water heater repair in St. Louis Park neighborhoods
St. Louis Park covers ZIP codes 55416 and 55426, with a small piece of 55424. Its neighborhoods run from Aquila to Shelard Park, land the city annexed from Minnetonka in the 1950s, to the older blocks near Walker Street and Lake Street where the first downtown stood. The West End is mostly offices and shops.
The city's Building and Energy Department handles plumbing permits. Its plumbing permit application has a line for counting water heaters, and the plumber doing a swap in St. Louis Park fills it in along with the rest of the job.
On 19 grain water, a large share of water heater calls here involve sediment. Gas tanks pop and rumble, lower elements get buried and burn out, and tankless units scale up within a couple of years when nothing softens the water first. Plenty of calls are replacements of tanks that went too long without a flush. Leaks behind finished walls are the usual emergency.
How sediment builds up
Calcium and magnesium stay dissolved in cold water. When the tank heats the water, some of that mineral drops out and sinks. Over months it forms a layer on the tank bottom. Over years that layer can be inches thick.
On a gas tank that layer sits between the burner flame and the water. Water trapped under the crust boils in small pockets, and you hear popping, crackling or a low rumble when the burner runs. The steel under the sediment also runs hotter, which wears out the tank faster.
On an electric water heater the lower element can end up buried. It overheats and fails, and the tank starts running out of hot water quickly.
Flushing, and when it is too late
A yearly flush keeps the layer thin. Turn off the gas or power, close the cold valve, run a hose from the drain valve to the floor drain and drain until the water runs clear. Opening the cold valve in short bursts while draining stirs up more sediment.
A tank that has gone ten years without a flush is a different story. The sediment may be packed too hard to come out through a small drain valve, and the old plastic valve may clog or refuse to close. A plumber can sometimes swap in a full port valve and break the layer up. Sometimes the honest answer is that the tank is near the end.
If you have a softener, keep it running. It stops most of the mineral before it reaches the tank.
The houses in St. Louis Park
Much of the city is postwar and midcentury housing, with full basements and the water heater near the furnace. Many of those basements have been finished over the years, which makes leaks costlier.
If your water heater sits behind a finished wall, put a drain pan under it if there is room, and keep the area around it clear. Check the floor around the tank every few weeks for dampness or rust spots.
Once a tank is past saving, look at replacement prices on the page for water heater repair across the Twin Cities before you call.
Tankless units and electric elements on hard water
A tankless unit on 19 grain water with no softener can scale up in a year or two. Signs include water that swings between hot and warm, overheat codes and a unit that gets louder. A descaling flush through isolation valves restores it if the scale has not gone too far.
Electric elements in hard water grow a white crust that makes them run hotter and burn out early. When an element fails on St. Louis Park water, look at the old one when it comes out. Heavy scale tells you the tank needs flushing and the other element may not be far behind.
Ask about low watt density elements when one is replaced. They tolerate hard water better for a small extra cost.
Questions from St. Louis Park homeowners
How hard is St. Louis Park water?
The city lists it at 19 grains, or 330 parts per million. That is very hard.
Why is my water heater popping?
Sediment on the bottom traps water that boils in small bursts when the burner runs. A flush often quiets it if the layer is not too thick.
How often should I flush on St. Louis Park water?
Once a year without a softener. Every year or two with a working softener.
Can sediment cause a tank to leak?
It can speed things up. The steel under the sediment runs hotter and the anode wears faster, and both shorten the tank's life.