Milky white hot water

[davidpm]

I've been running the hot water for some time and it keeps coming out milky white.
Why is that?

This is standard simple setup. 5 gal tank with engine loop and 110 volt connection.
Standard freshwater pump.
The cold water looks clear.
The tank is clear.

[T37Chef]

Have you filled a glass with hot water from home? Probably will look very similar...

My guess...lime scale.

I always remind my cooks and students, there is only two places we ever use hot tap water in the kitchen, the hand sink and pot sinks, water used to cook with should always be cold tap water

[itsaboat]

It could be lime scale, line deposits of another sort, or aeration. If it is air, it will clear up over time. Easy enough to tell. Let it set overnight and see if anything settles out. If it is lime scale it should produce a sediment overnight, as calcium minerals are mostly insoluble.

[dacap06]

Milky white hot water? Put it in a glass and let it sit 5 or 10 minutes. If it produces bubbles and turns clear it is aeration and is harmless.

[travlineasy]

A couple of thoughts come to mind. First, if you allow the water to cool in the glass does it clear? If not then it's not lime scale or tiny bubbles that can sometime form when water is overheated.

Their could be a contaminant in the tank that does not show when the water is cool or cold, but appears when the water is heated. Run some cold water into a cook-pot, heat it up on the stove and see if it changes opacity. If it does change opacity prior to boiling, bring it to a rolling boil and see if it clears at that point. If it clears while boiling it is likely a bacterial contamination. If it doesn't clear when brought to boiling, then the contaminant may be in the form of oil leaking into the system from the engine.

This is a difficult problem to diagnose without seeing it first hand. As a last resort, you can take a sample of the water to the local health department and have them analyze it for you. More often than not there is no charge for this service and it only takes a few days to get the test results.

Hope this helps,

Gary

[poopdeckpappy]

I don't think you would get oil in the system unless both the heater and heat exchanger were failing.

Maybe a faulty heater or just a hose off the heater is sucking air causing some aeration

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by T37Chef

Have you filled a glass with hot water from home? Probably will look very similar...

My guess...lime scale.

I always remind my cooks and students, there is only two places we ever use hot tap water in the kitchen, the hand sink and pot sinks, water used to cook with should always be cold tap water

Why not use hot water to speed up cooking something like spaghetti or, well, whatever? Serious question (one of my few). I assume it changes the taste???

Brian

[SimonV]

Water from the hot water tap is a known source of bacteria.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by SimonV

Water from the hot water tap is a known source of bacteria.

and lead contamination leached from pipe joints. Not so much in cold water.

[sea_hunter]

If you let it stand in a glass and it goes away, change your aerator and check for leaks from sucking in air (between tank and pump).