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Hydrophobocity

Inside your your tank.
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There are more than thirty hot water tanks on this property. Many of them have sat defunct for eight years now. I am able to replenish most of them by replacing elements, flushing out the rust, and I'll get maybe two or three years out of them so that the rooms they service can garner enough revenue to afford replacement of the tanks.

so...

...why is there no a heat resistant/hydrophobic coating to the inner surface of every water connection on every hot water tank?

...and would it it extend the life of your hot water tank if you were to un-thread and paint the inner working of our tanks this way before filling them with water?

Do any of you realize just how much rust damage I deal with on a daily basis?

Why is the tank fine but the water connections rusted out?

I'm gonna try it on the next one I have to replace.

Might take a while before I have evidence.



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       If I'm right it will unfortunately be many years before I have any evidence.   

       Good luck
Voice, Mar 25 2025
  

       //Why is the tank fine but the water connections rusted out? //   

       That's where the ions flow maybe? Would a zinc coated connector help?
Voice, Mar 25 2025
  

       Curious as to what a hydrophobic chemical would do in your body...
RayfordSteele, Mar 25 2025
  

       Try to get out? "Help, help; it's 70% water in here!"
pertinax, Mar 26 2025
  

       Can you fill in some details? Rust, I presume is iron/steel, what parts are made of what? Initial cost is, unfortunately, the main driver in the US. Steel tanks are a LOT cheaper than copper, and they will have been coated, this will break somewhere, probably at a threaded joint and then corrode from there. In water, different metals will have Galvanic corrosion issues, many hot water heaters have a sacrificial Zinc anode, that most don't know about and no landlord in history has ever replaced.
bs0u0155, Apr 01 2025
  

       Just learned about those cleaning anodes myself.   

       Wait… did you say you’ve got 30 water heaters?
doctorremulac3, Apr 01 2025
  

       Yep. My wife and I bought an abandoned village square and are bringing it back to life.
30 room motel plus our suite. An rv park with public bathroom/showers, a laundromat, a pub, and a handful of other assorted office spaces.
  

       It's been five years since I first got here and I'm close to the finish line.
The pub opens in May.
  

       I spent an entire winter within the laundromat tearing apart every 1984 machine. Replaced every bearing and belt needed. These 'prior to programmed obsolescence' machines don't seem to know how to die. They just need some love'n and they awaken.   

       The laundromat is about two weeks away from the opening of the pub.   

       You should check it out.   

       I've worked out an hb friends and family discount with my wife.   

       ...   

       Just so you know, it took some doing.
She's like; ''What? Random internet strangers?! egtc. etc.
  

       ...   

       It took some doing.   

       If you find yourselves in the area you are welcome, just mention the hb and you're welcome.   

       Oh shit!   

       Give me a second we're negotiating because she doesn't remember that previous agreement.   

       give me a bit.   

       According to the actual boss, (truth be told I'm just the grunt who can rebuild all this crap while somebody understands and deals with finances, aka my better half), the friends and family discount fluctuates depending on time of year and now you understand why I am not in charge of that department.   

       Book ahead.   

       //discount fluctuates depending on time of year//   

       It's OK; I used to rummage around in hotel databases as part of my job: it's a low- margin industry (unless your hotel is also a casino), so I understand the need to be both agile and disciplined about rates.
pertinax, Apr 02 2025
  

       If my finances improve I'll definitely be over. No idea whether.
Voice, Apr 02 2025
  

       //Replaced every bearing and belt needed//   

       They're not complex. Outside bearings and belts, I'd have thought the only other failure points would be water control valves, those little clockwork timer control things and heating elements. Or rust.   

       I've often thought a laundromat is an excellent, and likely worthwhile opportunity for a heat exchanger. The laundromats I've seen simply dump the exhaust from the driers straight outside.   

       //weeks away from the opening of the pub.//   

       I'll need to thoroughly evaluate this establishment. I have extensive opinions on the general subject.
bs0u0155, Apr 08 2025
  

       /Replaced every bearing and belt needed//   

       They're not complex. Outside bearings and belts, I'd have thought the only other failure points would be water control valves, those little clockwork timer control things and heating elements. Or rust.   

       I've often thought a laundromat is an excellent, and likely worthwhile opportunity for a heat exchanger. The laundromats I've seen simply dump the exhaust from the driers straight outside.   

       //weeks away from the opening of the pub.//   

       I'll need to thoroughly evaluate this establishment. I have extensive opinions on the general subject. — bs0u0155, Apr 08 2025 [delete]   

       Cool. I just left all of the above intact if that's okay.   

       Um. When I got here the buildings would rain inside for at least two days after it stopped raining outside.
I turned the inside of the pub into the worlds largest self flushing toilet by shunting all of the incoming water into two garbage pails with float-valve sump pumps, so some of the equipment has been rusting for eight or more years now.
  

       Because all of these machines are from 1984, or so, they were built before programmed obsolescence and can be stripped down, cleaned up, re-lubricated, re-built. Maintain the damn things and they'll get another 40 years before they need another cuddle.   

       We swapped out the clockwork gears from one machine to fix another and then programmed an arduino to give the defunct one a computer brain and it now has far more functions than the 'fixed' original.   

       ...   

       I also thought that the waste heat from laundromats and restaurants, and well... everything, is a hugely wasted resource.   

       ...   

       I'mna show'em how it's done son.   

       Shoot me a line. My email is on my page.   

       Waste heat is a hugely wasted resource?   

       Have you no grasp of distillation? ;-)
normzone, Apr 10 2025
  

       Congratulations and please let us know when you are open!
sninctown, Apr 11 2025
  

       Still many hoops to jump through and bureaucrats to placate, so cross your fingers, but, I'll let you all know one way or the other.   

       It ain't called the Long-Shot Pub for no reason...   

       ...let it ride!   

       Daddy needs a new pair of First-To-Invent shoes...   


 

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