I'd even say you don't have to be all that handy. Are you able to turn the thermostat down or off? I'm sure you can. Can you use a garden hose? It makes things easier but not required. I wouldn't even worry about turning off the pilot light, just be sure it doesn't turn on, hence, turn the thermostat off. And don't leave it sit with an empty tank for a long time either. Want to ask me how I know? :) The above instructions are good but you could do it a little simpler if you like. Turn off the supply water to the water heater and hook up the hose or take two or three pails like I usually do, and start draining it into the pails. I usually fill them up, then shut off the water, dump the pails and you'll probably be surprised at the sediment in there. Keep doing this until the sediment is gone is ideal, but if you flush some of it out and come back a week or so later and take some more that's fine too. Once you're at the point where it's fairly clean, then the frequency depends on the amount of sediment in your water. You might try for every 3 months or 6 months but definitely at least once a year. If you leave the supply water on, it'll kick everything around in there and be much more inefficient at flushing it out. When I replaced my first water heater it fell apart outside and there was over 2 feet of sediment built up in the bottom of it. That's when I knew the importance of flushing a water heater. My new one however claims to be self flushing. I'm curious about that and the plumber couldn't give me a good enough explanation on it to satisfy me. Anyway, having the sediment in there makes it more difficult to heat the water, limits the amount of hot water and if you use quite a bit, obviously will cost you more to heat it so whether it would be noticeable on the bill, I can't say but whether it's worth doing, I'd say definitely yes. One little thing that will make some people panic, but don't let it worry you. If you've never done this, the drain valve might not shut off all the way when you've drained some stuff out of it. Relax. Just open and close it a few times and it'll work the crud out of there. If it's just dripping a little, leave it sit with a pail under it or the hose attached and come back in a while and try it again. The first time it threw me but there was no problem after it became a regular chore. Just so you don't get too nervous and think you wrecked something. It's not a big deal. BTW, when you start seeing a lot of rusty water being flushed out and there hasn't been a hydrant cleaning or something, it's time to plan for a replacement. It's a sign the heater is going.

If you paid for an install, it's on the installer to leave it in operating condition. Having said that, any valves that were turned off and aren't turned on should be in plain sight, starting with the valves that are probably right in the vicinity of the inlet and outlet lines on top of the tank.

I installed a tankless 6 years ago and will never install a tank again. I did it myself and will do it again if I am ever in a new house. I have a 120k Noritz unit that performs flawlessly. I just don't get it guys. Installing a tankless without recirc is like trying to start your car with a half dead battery. Really! "Your builder is right, it defeats the purpose of tankless" nonsense! I did not have recirc initially. I learned by experience you do not just replace a tank with a tankless. It is a bad result for hot water supply. Slow and inconsistent. Internal recirculation tanks might help but never having used one I have no opinion. But unless you circulate water and insulate your pipes to maintain the heat you are really missing the boat. Recirculating inside the heater means your pipes are cold and it takes longer to get to a tap because unlike a tank there is no pressure in the lines to radiate towards the taps. Why store water inside your heater when you need the heat in the pipes for faster delivery? That is just a limited solution to the issue in my opinion. How much does it cost to keep the lines hot. Depends on heat loss and vol. of water in the lines. Insulate!!! I would say my pipes take very little in cost to keep hot. Maybe $5-7 a month. I used 3/4 inch pipe for recirculation to store more water for start up and to feed 110 degree water into the heater. I do not have a timer to shut off recirculation at night so I could save a few bucks if I did that. Its a simple thing to lay out. You go to the last tap in the system and put a return to the heater from there. You need to have a cold water supply for the recirculation. A one way check valve between the recirc and the street supply prevents hot water from pumping back to the street as hot water pressure rises. A second check valve goes between the last tap and where the street supply feeds the recirc line to prevent cold water pressure from the street from back flowing through the hot water lines. Why any builder would not just put a return line back to the heater is beyond me. Its really not a lot of extra work. Especially with all the cheap Pex being used now. A small grundfos 1/25th hp pump is all that is needed in most cases. I use a Honeywell aquastat to trigger the pump. The pump engages maybe once an hour for maybe a minute to raise the water temp from 105 to 110. Heat loss? Did you insulate the pipes you say are losing heat from? You can lnstall a timer to turn off recirc in the night so you use no energy at all. You can do the same during the day when you are not at home. For some families you could have a daily timer that changes recirc to match your schedule. The hot water works with the recirc off, it just does not work properly as iz well known. Tankless is a superior technology. I did not think the endless supply would matter to me, its noticeably better. A tank cools as soon as you start using water out of the tank and cold water replaces it. The temp drops and drops the longer it flows. A tankless heats water on demand and it is maintained at the same temp. Its really is an advantage. But, as has been stated here by users, un managed hot water supply sucks and who cares if it costs a little bit of money to heat and pressurize your pipes so hot water is instant. Its way less expense than keeping 40 gallons of water hot in a tank. I would never heed the advice by someone on this thread that you don't need recirc. Have your builder install a true full house recirculation system. Don't pay attention to this "you don't need it stuff." If the builder balks or talks down to the idea get someone who knows what they are doing to come install it and over ride their obstinate attitude. Just do not listen to the talk of having a better system is not needed. You are going to great expense to have the best hot water supply you can have. Don't let someone with out your best interests in mind wreck your enjoyment of a great tankless system. Recirc all the way!!! Gee people, why would anyone not do this in new construction when its way easier to do.

quite obviously, you need another appliance with butter sounds . . . :) but, yes. I know how disconcerting this can be be. When I got to grad school, my family and I were temporarily housed in honest-to-goodness quonset huts, temporary GI housing from 50 years earlier. One of the two-dozen work orders we had to submit was "hot water heater percolates." Seriously, it sounded like an old coffee pot. And it was int he living room. It seems that over decades, the lime builds up into limestones, and the gas from the water boiling lifts them up. As they get to the top, it is released into the air, and they rattle as they tumble down the side . . . appliances should be seen and not heard , , ,