My hot water tank gurgles, it may gurgle when I turn on the hot water, or gurgles even when I turn on cold water. It’s more confusing it does not gurgle all the time maybe 25%.
The tank (75g, gas) 5 years old, operates just fine, house water pressure regulator, set appx 60psi, I’ve adjusted the regulator + or – the pressure does not effect the gurgling tank.
No harm, just a noisy mysteries tank, thanks TimS

fredg

HI,
This sound might be air inside the tank, in the coils. Have you drained it lately?
You might try this:
Connect a water hose to the bottom connection of the tank. Then, turn on a hot water faucet somewhere nearer the tank, like a bathroom? or where ever. Then, open the faucet under the tank, letting the water drain out through the water hose. Let it continue draining until it runs clear or runs out of hot water.
Then, turn off the hose at the bottom, and let it fill up completely. Turn off the other faucet in the bathroom or where ever, and hopefully, it has gotten rid of the air inside the tank.
Best of luck.

TimS

fredg

i'm in the process of draing the tank, let you know if this works.

From the beautiful Ohio River, wv
thanks, TimS

speedball1

Hi Tim,
Fred gave you good instructions on how to flush your tank. However since there are no coils in a hot water tank and air raises to the top if there were air in your tank it would spit out the first time you opened a hot water faucet.
Although it won't solve the noise problem, let me show you how to flush your heater, If you do not flush,(not drain) your heater on a regular basis it will build up mineral on the bottom of the tank. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run untill the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. You might want to consider cleaning the screens on your areators if you have a high mineral buildup. As for the noise, my guess is that the sound is being generated at the cold water inlet. Try this. At the cold water shut off valve turn the handle clockwise about half way closed and see it that helps. To be truthful there isn't a one of us who will be able to pinpoint your problem. It's like the smell questions that we get. Ya gotta be there to check it out!! Let me know if cutting back the cold water shut off helped. Regards, Tom

TimS

speedball1
I did flush the tank first as you suggested, and i decided to drain the tank, i do this only once a year, will now flush monthly. there is not much to see, as you know, i do my own plumbing, and this one has me puzzzzllled. Confused mostly because it also occurs when you turn the cold water on.
valve turn the handle clockwise about half way closed will try,
thanks tims