Water smells like rotten eggs

S

SCORPIO

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RO Number
4810
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966
New to me '89 Sundancer with Attwood 6 gal heater, first time we connected to city water and opened faucets, we get a strong rotten egg smell. I read somewhere that either the anode is bad (if it has one?) or the tank is shot. Where would the anode be located to check? I cannot find it listed on the parts diagram.
 
Here's an oldie but goodie:

WaterHeatersmell.jpg
 
ok, sounds like good medicine, but how do you get the vinigar into the tank without pulling the water heater out of the boat?
 
the hot smells bad for quite a while when you run the water. the cold only smells bad for about 10 seconds. i'm assuming the water smell is in the lines and hot water tank, not the fresh water tank itself. the water lines are all pvc and the holding tank is polyethelyne. the hot water heater is a 5 gallon alum tank.
 
try a water filter on the city water before it enters the boat, sanitize the entire system with bleach, then flush/shock with vinegar to rid the bleach smell/taste. I had that problem with water at my marina, nothing fixed it until we connected to city water and now no more problems like before... long periods of lay up will affect the hot water also. Bugs and micro-organisms.
 
I had this problem on my previous boat and it went away after comissioning the water system by flushing with a bleach mixture (there's some detailed instructions that have been posted here a few times).

I started coming back after a few months and I just did the same process again.
 
An RV water filter on the fill hose works for me... I figure if I can filter out the critters before they get into the tanks they won't die and stink up the boat.
 
i have a dockside watersoftener/filter that i use to fill the tank. it still smells funky after about a week in the boat. the only way to make it better is to drain the system completely and put fresh water in each time you want to use the boat.
 
Can't see sugilbert's post. Sorry if this is a repeat. Ditto what hooks and others said. Had the same problem on Saint Max. A cup of bleach in 40 gallons is more than enough to flush the system. Taste the water coming out of all the faucets in both cold and hot modes until you get the taste/smell of bleach. It will NOT be a faint taste (DAMHIK). The hot is going to take longer because you have to displace the 6 gallons in there. After you are sure there is bleach in the lines, flush the system for about a couple of minutes with all faucets open. Close the faucets and shut off the water pressure pump. Go home and let it sit overnight. Leave the ice maker running. The next day, run the rest of the water out of the system. Make sure you remove the sink aerators. There will be a lot of crap in there. When the tank empties, refill it and continue to flush with fresh water until you get rid of the bleach taste. Mine took about another 80 gallons of water. The ice maker took about another two days to clear itself as the water is not a constant run.

I agree with a filter on the end of the hose prior to the water entering the tank. You can find them at an RV store a lot cheaper than a boat supply house.

HTH
 
Bleach is corrosive; vinegar is not. Both will freshen the water system. I prefer vinegar.
 
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