Draining an Old Clogged Water Heater?
vgkg Z-7 Va
12 years ago
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woodbutcher_ca
12 years agovgkg Z-7 Va
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Broken Valve on Hot water Heater
Comments (3)Hi Bench, if you didn't see it that related thread is posted below. Please do return to let us know if you were successful, I won't be attempting to empty my old water heater for at least 2 weeks and welcome your thoughts and outcome. Thanks Here is a link that might be useful: Related thread.......See MoreDraining a hot Water Heater
Comments (3)To start, make sure that the power is off to the heater. You will burn out the elements quickly if you introduce air and the power is on. The normal thing to do is what you have tried, to open the drain and then open a hot water faucet to allow air in so that the heater will drain. What commonly happens is that the drain on the bottom of the heater becomes clogged with the same crud that you are trying to get out of the heater. Replacing it with a full flow ball valve can help... but that often gets into more than the average person wants to do. How old is this heater?...See Moredrain plug on water heater
Comments (2)Back in the late 70's or early 80's there was a strong movement to reduce standby energy losses from water heaters. Some engineering genius postulated that brass is s good conductor of heat, whereas plastic is a very poor conductor, therefore if they we to replace the brass drain valves with plastic valves it would reduce energy loss. IMHO I doubt if the amount of heat energy loss was significant enough to warrant the change but at the industrial wholesale level the manufacturers could buy a half dozen plastic valves for the price of one brass valve and the installation cost remains the same. When you consider how many thousand water heaters each manufacturer produces per year, financially the change was a no brainer. On the other hand, in the real world once a plastic valve has been opened for the first time it is highly unlikely that it will ever seal properly again. Ordinarily the simple solution is to go to your local hardware store and get a plastic hose thread cap, and simply screw the cap on the valve hose threads, however you stated that you tried to unscrew the valve and as is common to all NPT (National Pipe Taper) threads, if you managed to turn it, even slightly there is a strong likelihood that the threads are now leaking as well. Fortunately this is a very easy and relatively inexpensive problem to fix. Under the sheet metal outer skin of your water heater there is an insulation blanket, which is probably cast foam over a steel pressure vessel. The fitting on the pressure vessel is a standard 3/4" FIP (Female Iron Pipe) thread. On most valves with a MIP (Male Iron Pipe) thread the threaded section is not long enough to reach through the insulation and still tighten securely into the inner tank fitting. The now make a special water heater replacement valve that has a long shank on the threaded input to reach through the insulation blanket but from my experience those valves are a bit pricey for my taste. If you cannot find the long shank water heater valves or if they are substantially higher in price you can get a 3/4" x 1-1/2" brass pipe nipple and install a common hose bib with a 3/4" FIP thread. To make the change begin by turning the water heater cold water supply valve off then drain the tank. (Be sure to open a hot water faucet at the highest location in your house to allow air to vent into the lines so they will drain properly). Once the tank is drained you can use a pipe wrench to unscrew the old valve then apply some pipe dope to the threads and screw your new valve and /or brass nipple into the tank....See MoreClogged water heater?
Comments (6)Okay, I've been reading up on this, and want to know if I understand it enough to do it myself. First of all, this is in a condo. There is no floor drain in the room, however there is a big pvc pipe that the overflow pipe from the waterheater goes into. If the hose fits into that, can I use that to drain it? If it doesn't fit........can I just put the other end of the hose in a big bucket, or into a nearby toilet?? I didn't know if the hose had to be lower than the water heater. I've read that I should: turn off power, shut cold water inlet, attach hose, open a hot water faucet, and let it rip. But....nothing comes out, so I'm assuming its hard chunks of stuff in there. I've been reading that I can take a screwdriver (or maybe a small dowel rod), and break the stuff up through the the heater's drain. Then, I'm supposed to turn on the cold water and let that flush it out. Do I need to close the outlet? Have I got it right so far? One article says to keep the pressure relief valve open during this time. Is that right? Is this something I should be letting a plummer do, or is it something I could manage myself? I just don't want a million gallons of black water all through the condo! I know I should probably run a hose all the way outside, but I worry about it somehow leaking all over the carpet, so I was trying to deal with it all very closely to the utility closet. P.S. For the water heater drain, it doesn't have a faucet....but rather a place to screw on a hose, with a little plastic lever you pull up to open it. It was VERY hard to move this lever. I hope I don't break it off. I put dish soap around it, hoping that would lubricate it, but it didn't help much. Thanks for your help....See MoreUser
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