Brown tint to fresh water

[Jfrano]

Noticing an occasional pocket of brown tinted fresh water coming out of the faucets and ice maker. Checked with the marina and no one else has had any issues. Not sure what the cause might be.

 

[ohioan55]

Sounds like rust. Does the brown appear at the start of water flow or later? How much later?

 

[Jfrano]

At the start. I thought maybe the hot water heater but it’s going to the ice maker. In addition to the faucets.
Ps additionally I put power to the water heater for the first time since the fall. Noticed the water pump would cone on momentarily once minute or two, with none of the faucets or ice maker on.

 

[knotflying]

Sounds like two different issues. The pump cycling could be a small leak. Brown water seems like sediment in water tank. Was tank conditioned with Clorox prior to recommission? I would think with more use it will dissipate. Also check to make sure your pump screen is clean.

 

[Jfrano]

I flushed out the non toxic antifreeze that had been used during the winter and then disinfected with about 24 oz of Clorox to the water tank, flushed a few times.

Spoke to Isotemp, they say the water heater is stainless steel. So doubtful the brownish tint, coming from there.
Puzzling.

 

[ohioan55]

I would follow all the plumbing and look for a fitting that could be at fault. Could it be the water you are using is interacting with a metal fitting that does not contain iron. When I lived in VA on the coast, the tap water always had a degree of salt in it, so that is a consideration. Bottom line is that something is interacting with something, and metals like brass can be subject to a chemical process with water containing minerals.

 

[knotflying]

I flushed out the non toxic antifreeze that had been used during the winter and then disinfected with about 24 oz of Clorox to the water tank, flushed a few times.

Spoke to Isotemp, they say the water heater is stainless steel. So doubtful the brownish tint, coming from there.
Puzzling.

24 oz of Clorox is very excessive. I would do a couple of flushes and see what happens.

 

[iggy]

Bleach is very hard on rubber parts. Two or three oz would have been fine.

Better still, stuff like these would work and no bleach. https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?n ... id=2243565

 

[tlkenyon]

Iron is present in almost all potable water, at varying concentrations. In your tank, the water is most likely anoxic, meaning "without oxygen." This is not unusual. In this condition, the iron is dissolved in the water and invisible. There is also probably manganese in the water...again not unusual and not harmful. Treatment with Clorox, which is an oxidizing agent (that's how it kills the bacteria) causes the water to become more oxidized and causes the iron and manganese to precipitate, causing it to become visible as rust. Using that much Clorox, which is a very powerful oxidizer, would probably oxidize all the iron in the water and give you the brown rust-like color. Again, it is not harmful and is more of an aesthetic issue, although iron can be a pretty good laxative. I am a groundwater geologist that deals with water treatment systems and if there is a Culligan Man on here maybe he can validate this.

 

[Jfrano]

That makes allot of sense, since the materials the water is in contact is poly and stainless steel, so not the likely source. The marinas water that I rarely use, since it’s just my winter storage site is likely high in some of those elements that further precipitated the reaction you noted . One new season issue resolved! As a year two Ranger Tug boat owner there is still a bit of the OMG reaction. Like anything, knowledge and experience brings confidence.


Thanks