Pipes rattling and muddy water

[Will B.]

I know the title seems strange so I'll try to explain the issue the best I can. The last couple days the water pipes in my house have been banging. Usually it's just when either the toilets are flushed or the toilet is refilling and the sink is being used after wards. Now it doesn't do it all the time, just some times. I've noticed that there will be some sediment in the bottom of the bowl after if fills. Also I noticed that there will be a brownish water will come out of the hole that fills the bowl back up. It doesn't do this all the time either. Some times its worse then others. And it does it at both toilets in the house. The only other spot that I have noticed the brownish water is when I did a load of clothes in the washer. It was just a small amount and then cleared right up.

Also I've noticed that when it does it there is almost a burning smell coming from the area around the water heater and the boiler for the base board heat. I've tried using liquid fire down the drains thinking it might be a draining issues but I'm not so sure about that any more. I'm almost wondering if it isn't a issue with the hot water heater. Should I drain it and try refilling a couple times?

[HayZee518]

your water heater may be giving up the ghost! most HW tanks are lined with a glass coating inside. when it breaks down, the lining starts to rust. the sacrificial anode's supposed to coat these breaks with zinc but it takes a while. so what you have in there is rust traveling with the water. air in the lines cause water hammer because there's n place for the surge to go. on cold water lines an air trap is installed. this is nothing more than a foot of pipe teed off the highest point of your cold water system with a cap soldered on. its a shock absorber for flow of water.

[Will B.]

Is there a way to check out if the WH is going bad? The heater is 8 years old which doesn't seem that old to me but I could be wrong.

[pushkins]

Open up the drain in the bottom of the water heater, if the water is coming out rust, dirty etc... then you have confirmation. You might have to connect the drain to a hose to get the water outside, try to drain the water into a clear canister, that way you will be able to get a good view of the sediment.
If your water is dirty and neighbors are not having the same problem then there is only one reason for the problem, your water heater.

[Will B.]

Open up the drain in the bottom of the water heater, if the water is coming out rust, dirty etc... then you have confirmation. You might have to connect the drain to a hose to get the water outside, try to drain the water into a clear canister, that way you will be able to get a good view of the sediment.
If your water is dirty and neighbors are not having the same problem then there is only one reason for the problem, your water heater.

I'll try that today. I cracked it a little just out of curiosity and the water that came out was clear. I'll do a full drain of the heater later on though.

Here is something else that was brought up. Why would it do it only when the stools are flushed but not when large amounts of hot water are being used like in the shower? Cold water is what feeds and fills the stools, not hot water. I get plenty of hot water out of the shower and faucets and it isn't discolored or have any type of an odor to it.

Edit: Also it does it when filling the washer with cold water. When it was filling the washer, I turned the cold water on in the tub to see if it would make the hammering stop or lessen. It did. The water would surge coming out into the tub. Could it be sucking air in some where?

[pushkins]

If you run cold water only into the tub, what happens and what color is the water ?
Remember the same water that goes to the toilet also fills the hot water tank.

[HayZee518]

Put a bucket under the t&p discharge pipe, then open it with the lever. Water will come out with force! It will be HOT! Look at the color of the water. Then, use a short length of hose on the boiler drain and open this wide - full force, just don't crack it. Look at the color of the water. If the water is clear in both cases then your problem is in the piping somewhere. If it is muddy looking then the problem is with the tank. If you want to get more sophisticated, find someone with a video camera and a boroscope.
When water fills the water closet, the ballcock is full open, its only when it gets close to full fill that it throttles back and shuts off.