I have a school with a five year old vortex water heater...said they had brown water and smelled to high heaven...had to be the anode rode right?...did not smell like that.removed factory drain and put full port ball valve with hose adapter on it.blew out the most nasty slide like crud and pure brown water...heater was set at 110 so jacked it up to 145,reheated ,let it set then drained again...even after a week the water is not clear...what if I super chlorinaet will that clear the tank? Can the sludge kling to insides of the tank?will it ever clear...don't want to replace but what ever

dan, are you saying that if you draw some water out of the tank drain it is discolored? or is the water at the faucets discolored? or both?

Everything is still a tanish color but no smell..yes at both ends.



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How did it wind up being set for 110*. It's a breeding ground for Legionella. I find that kind of unsettling.

If you know someone with a mini-jetter, you might be able to run it through the drain hole and blast the crud off the inside, then chlorinate and let it sit for an hour or so and flush the system. Is the water before the tank nasty too?

No its city water..do think by cranking it up I killed the germs?

They die pretty quickly at the higher temps. Is there a thermostatic mixing valve in place?

I can understand why the water heater was set at 110. They have no mixing or tempering valve and keeping the heater at 110 prevents a child from hot waters. That falls on the school administration, wanting to protect the kids.
Unless you can get a camera inside the tank... you might have to isolate the tank, fill it with "iron out" and let sit overnight and then flush it several times to removing anything that is clinging to the tank. Reconnect and once on line, you can test and see.
I would also suggest that a tempering valve be added to the system and set the heater at 140.

Best Wishes