About a month ago, our water heater started leaking. It had lived a long and satisfying life, so we took it to a nice farm where it could run and play with other appliances, and had our plumber install a brand new, spiffy on-demand system. It was said to be extremely efficient, which I could tell right away because it was insanely expensive.
From the day it went on line, the hot water it produced had a mephitic/phenolic odor when the hot water began to flow. The odor would abate after about a minute, only to begin anew next time hot water was demanded.
Our plumber assured us that the system would clean up its act, but it’s been over a month now, and seems, if anything to be getting worse. Any ideas or similar experiences?
Do on-demand heaters even have a heating element? They are gas powered, surely. At any rate, mine is, and I have never heard of an electric one (and I shouldn’t have thought electricity could heat quickly enough).
I do not have any explanation or informed advice for the OP though. Sorry.
Thanks for the replies; I thought this had slid into obscurity.
By “phenolic,” I meant exactly what Nametag described; fried electronics smell. However, the stink is coming from the water, not from the heater itself (which is gas-fired).
I doubt it’s something actually burning, however. After about a minute of flow, the odor abates. If there were something burning, I would expect the smell to get worse with time, not better.
Next time I use the faucet (say, an hour later), the smell is back, making me think that something is leaching into the water as it sits in the heater; pipe dope/sealant. perhaps?
Have you tried contacting the manufacturer and asking them about it? Or your area’s water district to ask if anybody else in the neighborhood has the same issue or about possible testing options?
I have an electric on demand water heater, which we got for a good price online. It never had a strange smell, so something is wrong there. It does give a low flow, but continuous- and has a buzzing sound when it is on.
If you are able to turn it off, you could run the water until the smell goes away, let it sit for an hour and then run it again. Whether the smell is still there would determine whether it is the operation of the heater or something just in the heater that is causing the problem.
Two seconds of googling shows that electric on-demand water heaters exist.
Draw some cold water and heat it in a covered, not sealed container. The microwave with anti superheating precautions might be best. Smell it. If it stinks, the problem is your water.
Have you told the plumber the problem hasn’t gone away? Tradesman hate call backs, but good ones take care of them. If poor response, yes, contact the manufacturer.
“They’ll do that” is a bullshit answer. Fact is, they don’t do that unless something is wrong. Call his ass back and have him make it right, even if it means replacing the unit.