My problem is similar to the problem posted below, except that my rattling is constant, even if there is no water running anywhere. My 80 gallon AO Smith electric water heater is two years old in Seattle. I can stop the rattling for less than a minute if I let a little water out the pressure release valve.

Does this pin down the problem or is it still dip tube or nipples as with the below problem posted earlier?

Thanks.


"I would like help on how to fix rattling sound in the water heater. We live in an upstairs condo and everytime we turn off the faucet in the kitchen, bathrooms, or bedroom, there is that rattling sound in the water heater. It doesn't matter whether we use the cold or hot water. Is there any way I can fix this? Thanks for the help!!"

 

I don't have a clue, I could tell you if this was only happening if water was running in the house, but with nothing running, I don't know, without hearing it for myself.

Things that is could be:

After use of hot water, when the tank needs to recover the lose of hot water, and the elements or burner kicks in, this could make noises inside the tank.

Try and flush the tank out, see if that will resolve the problem.

Plumber2000

 

Thanks. That certainly has to be a good first step.

DJ

 

Sediment, as suggested by Plumber 2000 is possible. Is it the tank rattling, or the pipes? You say the tank is 2 years old -- how old is the house?

 

The house is only 31 years old and I am pretty sure that the rattling is only at the hot water heater.

Our pipes are copper.

Thanks.

 

Like Plumber 2000, without hearing myself I can only guess. How hot is the water heater set for? Should be 120 to 130 degrees. If it's up, say 160 or 170, that might cause what you are describing. If you're not running out of hot water, maybe the lower thermostat is bad, keeping the lower element hot. If you don't demand a lot of hot water at one time, you might not notice that you have less than 80 gallons. In that case it might be the upper element that is constantly on. Like I said -- I'm guessing. Might be worth the cost of a service call to have a pro swing by and check it out if you can't come up with anything.