I found a large amount of air in my home water line. No explanation in that there has been no outside utility service. I have two gas hot water heaters. Each covers approximately half of my home. 1/2 of my home covered by one water heater had no air in the lines. I checked all faucets thoroughly and there was no air. At the same time the other half of my home covered by the 2nd water heater had a tremendous amount of air in the lines. I opened up all the faucets, including the lowest faucet in order to clear the air out. Now it seems to be functioning normally. I first noticed the problem when I flushed a toilet and heard a really loud thumping noise in the tank. I removed the lid and the tank was filled to the very top and the pressure of air in the line had blown the hose attachment to the fill tube off of the fill tube. The water in the tank was milky white rather than rusty brown as I usually see when clearing air from a water line after service.
I turned off the water to the tank and reattached everything as it should be. After clearing the air at all locations, I turned the water on to the toilet tank, it filled to the very top of the filler tube, rather than 1/2 inch or so below it, which is the way I have had it set for years. Don't know how it got out of adjustment, but I corrected it. The fill valve is the current model Fluid Master 400A with a screw to turn to adjust the tank water level.
Here is my question: If the adjustment to the fill valve got out of spec and allowed the tank water level to get up to the top of the fill tube, would the overflow create a vacuum such that air would be sucked into the water line? If the answer is no, where did the air in the line come from? I can find nothing wrong with the water heater in terms of leak. The water heater gas valve is working properly. Even if there had been service to the water line at the street, the air introduced should have affected both sides of the house and not just the side where I recognize the problem. That’s why I suspected the water heater or the toilet as the culprit. Also, even though the faucets affected spewed expected rusty brown water, why was there milky white water in the toilet tank?
Water usage after the event is normal, so a leak doesn't seem to be the explanation.
Thanks for any thoughts.
I turned off the water to the tank and reattached everything as it should be. After clearing the air at all locations, I turned the water on to the toilet tank, it filled to the very top of the filler tube, rather than 1/2 inch or so below it, which is the way I have had it set for years. Don't know how it got out of adjustment, but I corrected it. The fill valve is the current model Fluid Master 400A with a screw to turn to adjust the tank water level.
Here is my question: If the adjustment to the fill valve got out of spec and allowed the tank water level to get up to the top of the fill tube, would the overflow create a vacuum such that air would be sucked into the water line? If the answer is no, where did the air in the line come from? I can find nothing wrong with the water heater in terms of leak. The water heater gas valve is working properly. Even if there had been service to the water line at the street, the air introduced should have affected both sides of the house and not just the side where I recognize the problem. That’s why I suspected the water heater or the toilet as the culprit. Also, even though the faucets affected spewed expected rusty brown water, why was there milky white water in the toilet tank?
Water usage after the event is normal, so a leak doesn't seem to be the explanation.
Thanks for any thoughts.
