Smelly hot water

Jeff Delbuono

Jeff Delbuono

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2018
1,126
Edison New Jersey
Boat Info
1998 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer
Engines
5.0 efi w/ alpha 1 gen 2 drives
Guys, i replaced my hot water heater last year. This year only the hot watter it is starting to smell like rotten eggs If i do not use it for a week. I added the water chemicals and ran all the hot water valves till it was cold. But then next time i used it it had a smell again. Have any of you used bleach, chlorine or hydrogen peroxide in their water? Just want to get rid of smell short of having to drain the HW evrytime i go out. Any suggestions
 
I put a cup of bleach in beginning of every season during first fill up.
run it through all faucets hot and cold.
I always use the hot water side of the faucet even if the water isn't hot to circulate the water through the heater.
Mine is original 18 years old still going smell free
 
Rotten egg is a result of Sulphur in the water and it is being reduced by bacteria. As noted by cdf bleach is good. If you are using a city water it will have bleach in it. It could be the water at your marina is dirty or the hose you use to fill the boat. Bleach flush a few times. If you get or got salt water in the system plankton in the water will do the same thing.
 
Thanks. Its only the hot water that smells. I normally turn off fuse to hot water tank when i leave the boat and normally just let motor heat it up. Could that be a thing too? Its only a 6 gallon heater and thinking it just goes from hot to cold to hot to cold when i run the boat. Do you normally leave hot water fuse on even when not at boat?
 
You just need to treat the water. I always put a cap full of bleach in tank when I fill it. You don't even smell it, but the water never smells. You might have to do this a few times to flush it out.
 
The smell is caused by Iron Bacteria in the water that thrives in hot water. Toss a couple of small chlorine tabs in the water tank or if you use dock water source add a decent sized filter inline at the dock and keep a chlorine tab in the filter case.
I have this issue at home due to our well water. I went to an on demand water heater and the bacteria does not grow any more in my system.
Carpe Diem
 
I was planning on making a filter for the hose at the dock. Saw other posts about that. Im at the end of my dock that is about 120 yards from the parking lot. I normally run wTer for a bit before filling boat but sure not long enough. Thanks for all ypur help. Going to put bleach in tomorrow and flush e - 4 times
 
Jeff Delbuono said:
I was planning on making a filter for the hose at the dock. Saw other posts about that. Im at the end of my dock that is about 120 yards from the parking lot. I normally run wTer for a bit before filling boat but sure not long enough. Thanks for all ypur help. Going to put bleach in tomorrow and flush e - 4 times
Click to expand...
I use to have this issue a lot in my camper, it helped to drain the system to get rid of th bacteria causing the smell.

On the boat, I do a cup of bleach for 70 gallons to start the season off and run through the faucets, the. I use 2 cap fulls of bleach in the fresh water tank every time I fill up. Not been an issue since then
 
You don't need a lot of bleach in the water, but that is the fix. Start by flushing the hot water tank by fully emptying your water tank and the hot water heater (open the valve on the tank and run the pump till empty).

Then refill yor water tank with water and about 1/4 cup bleach. and fill the hot water tank and run all taps for a bit. THen close it all down and let it set for a day or so. Taking a boat ride to slosh it around in the tank is important too.

Then empty it all out again and refill with clean potable water plus 1-2 capfuls of bleach each fill. The ratio to purify water is about 1 teaspoon for 10 gallons. You don't need more than that. If you can smell the bleach in your water, you put in too much.
 
Long ago a bleach company put on their instruction on bottle how to purify drinking waster. I think it was 1 drop per gallon then let sit. The instructions are no longer there.
 
northern said:
Long ago a bleach company put on their instruction on bottle how to purify drinking waster. I think it was 1 drop per gallon then let sit. The instructions are no longer there.
Click to expand...
From the CDC guidance:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/emergency/09_202278-B_Make_Water_Safe_Flyer_508.pdf

They say 8 drops (1/8 of a tsp) per gallon to purify water. If the water is already potable and you just want to keep it fresh while it sits in the tank, I think you can go with less.
 

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If the problem is only on the hot water side of the system, you should check the magnesium anode in the tank. Once that has done its job and is used up, you can get the sulfur smell. If the cold water smells as well, it is likely the water supply you are using. A small amount of bleach in the water cures that ill. Do not, as was suggested earlier, add "lots of bleach" to your tank. This will damage the seals in your VacuFlush head which are expensive to replace. Bleach works well for disinfecting water systems, but it takes a very small amount. Once you have a clean system, try to fill it with a municipal supply source that is chlorinated and cycle that water frequently.
 
We have a watermaker on the boat go for a week or two without using city water. So far we have had no smell problems or got sick. We fill up with city water every chance we can and in some small places you can smell the bleach.
 
Also, check and clean the screen on your fresh water pump. Sometimes gunk builds up on that and makes the water smell nasty.
 
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