Burning through water heater elements fast!

[albanetc]

I have an 80 gallon water heaters on my boat. Four weeks
ago I lost hot water. Both elements in the heater were burned out, so I replaced them and the thermostat. The new elements burned up after two weeks. I put a zinc in place of one of the element, then ran the unit with one element/ one zinc. Six days latter the element burned up and the zinc was considerably worn down. I noticed before losing hot water each time the breaker on the dock would start tripping a lot, which never happens. Power in is 208v / 50Hz constant, controlled by an Atlas power system.

Anyone have an idea what maybe causing this???

 

[Bilgediver]

Could you be more specific....Burnt up!!!!!! do you mean the element has failed or the heater appears physically damaged as well.

What heaters are you using...B and Q or marine....Yes there is a big difference.

Why 208 volts?

 

[Anonymous]

I started to get through elements very quickly as soon as we arrived at Almerimar (Spain). It is a well-known problem with some water types. I spoke to the local Leroy Merlin and they recommended polyphosphate crystals for all hot water systems in the area. I bought two 'big blue' filter housings, one with polyphosphate crystals the other with our normal watermaker 5 micron filters, which I put in line with our filling hose, and since then (three years) we have not lost a single element. Most of the super yachts in the Med seem to use these crystals. I did a lot of research and found that food grade polyphosphate is completely safe for drinking water and is used in vending machines and the food industry (we drink only tank water, via a General Ecology filter so that is important).

Maybe you have a similar problem?

 

[Moonchild]

How old is your water tank? may be if it is old you have a build up of limescale, this is common problem in household water heaters.

 

[albanetc]

The heater is a everlast ev-80, made in 2007. The stainless steel lining of the tank looks new. Elements are the only issue. It looks like the elements have been touched by a welding torch and the burned spots on the elements are no more then one inch. Burger (boat manufacturer) had the Atlas system (power regulator) set to 208v from the factory, don't kown why they didn't go with 240v! The boat is in the Med. definately going to give the polyphosphate crystals a shot thanks for the tip.