My hot water heater is making a funny noise. Is something wrong?

Question

I walked down my hall and heard a swishing noise. I opened the hall closet where my hot water heater & furnace are and heard a funny noise coming from my hot water heater. I checked to see if the pilot light was on and it is. It is glowing orange and blue. And its making a funny swishing noise as though the wind is blowing through it or something. Could something be wrong? Its late. Can it wait until morning? Thankx

Answer 1

If the sound you heard is like drops of water landing on hot metal, there are a couple of possibilities:

If you just used some hot water and the bottom of the tank (where the cold water feeds in) is still pretty cold, when the burner lights, some water from the combustion will condense on the cold surface of the tank then drip down onto the burner and make a hissing sound. If this is the cause, the sound stops when the lower part of the tank starts to get warm.

The other possibility is the tank has a small leak and drops of water are dripping onto the hot burner making a similar sound. If it is leaking it will make the noise all the time that the burner is on and it will probably get worse!

I'm not certian if this is the kind of noise you are hearing or not; just an idea.

Answer 2

I have seen this happen when the heat traps in the nipples where the water lines connect to the heater stick in place. The heat trap is a little ball that only lets water in on the cold side, and only water out on the hot side. So when the pressure builds up from heating the water, the stuck heat trap finally gives way and causes a popping sound. Not all water heaters have these, but if yours does, it could be the cause of the problem. It can be solved by removing the existing nipples and replacing them with regular galvinized nipples. I usually do this when I install a new water heater to avoid problems down the road.

Answer 3

The yellow flame indiccates air in the combustion chamber. Was the wind blowing outside?
Check the vent pipe and see if wind is blowing down the pipe.
You can light a match, blow it out and hold it next to the vent pipe where it sits on top of the tank. The smoke should get sucked up the pipe,

Answer 4

If there is no water leaking out, if the safety release valve hasn't popped open, odds are all is fine. Sometimes when cold water enters a water heater, it makes sounds like you describe, especially if there is sediment at the bottom.

Answer 5

Is it very windy outside wind might be blowing down the vent pipe and you hear that

Answer 6

try to burp it with the drain valve on the top also put your hand under it

Answer 7

it sounds fine, go to sleep!