Smelly Hot Water

[Larry and Carol Schroeder]

Have a new 320 and have noticed that there is an odor coming from the hot water----not the cold. We put it on for 1/2 hour or so in the AM for routine dish washing, cleaning, etc. but probably never use the full 5-gal capacity. Spend weekends on the boat. Water even looks a little gray compared to the cold. Smell is not pleasant. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

Brand new boat?

You prob'ly didn't flush all the antifreeze out of the hot water tank (Hunter ships to dealers with all systems protected 'cuz they don't know how long the boat may sit at the dealer). Make sure the tank is off. Flush it out VERY thoroughly with a lot of clean fresh water...follow that with a gallon of white vinegar...let that stand overnight. Flush the vinegar out completely, and that SHOULD cure the problem.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

That vinegar really works

I had the same problem with a brand new Seaward hot Water Tank and took peggy's advice. Put a gallon of vinegar in, let it sit for a couple of hours (somebody even turned the heater on from the AC panel !). Flushed thoroughly, then decided to do a small dose of bleach treatment as the water tanks had not been done in over a year. All my water is now the way it should be: odorless. BTW, FYI I decided to take the easy way to get the vinegar in: I emptied a tank and dumped the vinegar in it, then turned the valve so the pump draw from that tank. Turning the hot water faucet on until the water smelled of vinegar told me that it had reached the hot water tank. I ran the pump until the tank was empty again, then filled with fresh water for flushing. Good Luck to you and thanks Peggy