Smell in hot water

[tbear711]

During our recent camping outing we noticed a very strong rotten egg type smell when using the hot water. I drained the hot water tank and it did improve but still slight odor. What can I flush out the system with?

[oldmanAZ]

You could do your routine, seasonal sanitizing with bleach as you normally do. That should take care of it.

Did you fill your fresh water tank with the same water? If so, get rid of that too, before you sanitize.

We've been using a carbon water filter for years to rid campground water of bad taste etc. You might want to consider looking into that for future trips.

[Iraqvet05]

A guy I met on our last trip had the same issue and he used swimming pool shock to get rid of the smell.

[hankstone]

I've had this a couple times, I just drained the hot water heater and it was fine.

[DocBrown]

Once that bacteria starts growing in the water heater you need to do a complete sanitizing.

Use your on board water storage tank. Fill it, depending on size add some bleach, I use about a half cup. Be careful that it is plain bleach and not scented. Run the pump and allow it to fill the hot water heater. Open all faucets and valves just like when you run antifreeze through. Let it sit overnight with full pressure. Drain, including the water heater. Do it again but use baking soda instead of bleach. The smell will be cleaned out.

After every trip, drain the water heater. Should not be a problem again.

[skids]

What oldmanAZ said. You have to remember that the tank is on its side with the spigot not at the bottom. This means that there is always some water in there and it gets very stale. If I havent camped in awhile - even if the water was drained - I put some water in the fresh tank, turn on the pump, open the spigot over the sink, and the drain at the tank, and let it rinse. It it has been less than two weeks, I then close the HW tank, fill the fresh with some chlorinated water (3 tsp for my system), run it through the systems a bit and am good to go.

If it needs the full treatment like in your case, I would go for the full bleach treatment to kill germs and viruses. Be sure you use the original chlorox and not the “color smart” stuff! Let it sit over night and then rinse the system a couple of time with fresh to remove the bleach smell.

[10yearsbehind]

In the plumbing world, a deteriorating anode rod will cause a rotten egg smell from the water heater. An anode rod is a metallic rod in a water heater that is selectively attacked before the water tank and will coat the tank to protect it from rusting/corroding.

I think the Atwood brand water heater does not have an anode rod. In my Jayco manual, it shows how to inspect the anode rod.

I don’t know if an RV anode rod would produce a smell when expiring, I am guessing it would be a similar type rod as found in a home WH. If your camper WH has an anode rod, it might be worth a look. Good luck.

[RetiredOne]

A concern of mine was water sitting in the water heater between trips, "fermenting" and growing who knows what. So I always planned on draning the tank when it's sitting idle, put it was a pain to try and remove the plug each time.

So, I took the plug out and I installed a short piece of braided hose and a valve, which makes draining the tank a snap. Then, just before going out I fill my water tank and flush out the water heater again.

So far, so good.

[tbear711]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

A concern of mine was water sitting in the water heater between trips, "fermenting" and growing who knows what. So I always planned on draning the tank when it's sitting idle, put it was a pain to try and remove the plug each time.

So, I took the plug out and I installed a short piece of braided hose and a valve, which makes draining the tank a snap. Then, just before going out I fill my water tank and flush out the water heater again.

So far, so good.

is this like a water line hose that can be purchased at a Home Depot?

[RogerR]

I was camping for 10 days and then stopped at a relatives for 2 weeks without draining the water heater or fresh tank. Got back up in the Rockies at a park that did not have water and mine smelled really bad. Dumped the hot water heater right there and gave up on hot water for the rest of our stay.
Got home, rinsed hot water heater, sanitized, refilled, heated it up and it was all good. Now we drain the hot water heater every time we are not going to use it in a very few days. 6 gallons of water not worth the mess and frustration.

[damammel]

Atwood does explain the process on how to sanitize the hot water tank if there’s a rotten egg smell. The process uses vinegar. Once the hot water tank has been sanitized and rinsed it should be fine for the season. I use a flush wand to rinse out the minerals at the start and end of the season. Camco makes it. I have had no issues during my camping seasons and I don’t ever drain the hot water tank between trips.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by tbear711

is this like a water line hose that can be purchased at a Home Depot?

Exactly what it is. A braided faucet feed hose and standard shut-off valve. I bought them at Depot. If you do it, make sure you use a nylon nipple in place of the plug, and not a galvanized or brass one. The water tank is aluminum.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by damammel

Atwood does explain the process on how to sanitize the hot water tank if there’s a rotten egg smell. The process uses vinegar. Once the hot water tank has been sanitized and rinsed it should be fine for the season. I use a flush wand to rinse out the minerals at the start and end of the season. Camco makes it. I have had no issues during my camping seasons and I don’t ever drain the hot water tank between trips.

A couple of things...
- After sanitizing, water might be fine for the season unless you get a batch of bad campground water. Use a carbon water filter to avoid this surprise.
- That Camco rinse wand cleans my water heater AND, when filling our fresh water tank, it sticks into the filler a ways and has a handy on/off valve.

[Wagntwister]

I just drained my 1999 Eagle water heater for the first time. I've only had it a few months. By the way the water looked and how easy the plastic plug came out I'm sure he kept up on it. I'm curious to know how you made the drain up. Double male ,1/2" nipple then just supply hose with the valve?

[harryjr]

Peroxide will also work to neutralize the odor. Be sure to flush before washing your hair.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Wagntwister

I'm curious to know how you made the drain up. Double male ,1/2" nipple then just supply hose with the valve?

Exactly.

Double male NYLON 1/2" nipple (same as the plug material, to eliminate dissimilar metals), then regular braided supply hose (12" I think) and straight stop.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by damammel

The process uses vinegar. Once the hot water tank has been sanitized and rinsed it should be fine for the season.

I wonder if it would stay fine for the season. A lot would depend on the quality of the water going in, and how long the rig sits between uses, with water sitting in the tank.

[damammel]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

I wonder if it would stay fine for the season. A lot would depend on the quality of the water going in, and how long the rig sits between uses, with water sitting in the tank.

I have had it sit a week and I’ve had it sit over a month. The only filter I use I’d the camco blue inline filter. We use the hot water plenty too with 4 people in the camper.

[pbois34]

I hade the same smell. Flushed the water heater w vinegar as the heater manual suggests and the smell went away. Now I drain the tank after every trip and have the issue again

[damammel]

Originally Posted by pbois34

I hade the same smell. Flushed the water heater w vinegar as the heater manual suggests and the smell went away. Now I drain the tank after every trip and have the issue again

If you don’t flush the tank the contaminants that caused the problem are still there. Draining it does not remove anything left at the bottom of the tank.