U When we lived in Oklahoma yes we had to and there would be several inches of hard white calcium like settlement in the bottom that he would have to dig out. It definitely wouldn't just wash out. He would remove the elements and check them for growth of the scale on them too. One really important thing most people don't do that they should is replace the sacrificial rod. It's there for a reason and you should replace it periodically. It gets eaten away instead of the tank, if it is eaten away then your tank is at risk. It just screws in the top. And you can get some that are hinged in case of a low ceiling so you can get it out and in.

We have not done it here this is our first gas one.

If you take the water out its essential to turn off the power to the tank because if the elements are not in water they will burn out. The elements need to be in water any time it's on.

Replace anode rod

I thought you were talking about yellow/mellow. In a drought situation, all we can think about is water.

We never flushed our water heaters over the years. We have a tankless now, and it needs to be flushed with some product, I think it's vinegar. We haven't done that, but I hope we can this summer.

The approach I've used with gas water heaters-

1. Turn the gas dial to Pilot
2. Close the valve on the cold water inlet pipe
3. Connect hose to drain spigot and take the other end to where it can safely drain
4. Open a hot water valve in the house (use a Hot only valve, not a mixing valve that has Hot and cold, like in a kitchen. If you open a mixing valve, cold water will run backward through the hot water pipe and into the tank, interrupting what you want to do).
5. Open the valve on the drain spigot and let it run until the glug-glug stops.
6. Perform the steps in reverse order and allow the water to run until the tank fills, the air is out, and water starts running out of the faucet where the hot only was turned on. ONLY THEN, return the gas dial to the temp setting you want. Make sure the drain spigot isn't dripping.

If you want to see what comes out, loosely fit a sock over the draining end of the hose. Secure it with a rubber band.

Raven, if it's a conventional (not a newish power vent) gas water heater, there's no electrical connection to turn off.

I've stopped doing this on our two water heaters because not much was coming out. Our water supply must be of the kind that small hard water precipitates and rocks don't much come down the pipes. I've heard say that periodically draining the tanks in places where gunk accumulates, like once or twice a year, can prolong the heater's life and, for gas heaters, makes them run more efficiently. I've never had anything but gas water heaters, but my experience is that they're good for about 15 years. How you do know they need replacement? They start to leak.

I did with my last one. It was interesting to see the crud coming out of there. I talk to a lot of people who never perform maintenance on their water heater, among other things. My current one supposedly is self cleaning, whatever that is so it doesn't require flushing. Not sure i buy that but I haven't flushed it out either. Guess I should see what's in there.

I did this once. Quite a bit a debris came out. I also replaced one of the elements at that time and replaced the drain valve with a full-bore, ball valve to make it easier to drain the next time. I also installed a water softener and a whole house filter before the water heater.

Although installing the softener and filter probably has extended the time before it would need to be flushed again, it is probably time now.

I can't remember replacing a (gas) water heater in our old house, but we must have done so since we were there thirty years! I know we have never drained a tank.

Our current house has two 50 gal. gas water heaters. (Yes, I know. Two people don't NEED this, but that's how it was set up.) One failed at age 13, but the other is fine almost two years later.

The first tank may have failed because our hot water circulating pump was on it alone. The city shut off our water for half a day, causing the pump to burn out. (City replaced it.) Shortly after that, the tank failed. We now have the tanks in tandem and a switch to cut electricity to the pump, just in case. I love having hot water *quickly* at every tap in the house, but wasn't aware of this potential problem.

We have a whole-house water purification system so only purified water goes into our water heater. I wouldn't think there'd be a whole lot of gunk in there.

We should, but don't. And I love our water heater--not something I would have said about one of those appliances previously. But this one is so energy efficient, and we have never run out of hot water, even with four back-to-back showers, and the washing machine running. You would think I'd take better care of him.

Do you have a anode rod in your water heater? We usually have to replace it every 5-7 years before it is completely gone. We even have soft water, but it still corrodes. That's when we flush it. It is amazing how much stuff comes out.

Happy happy joy joy! of not owning a home. I would love to suggest to the home owner where I live to give us two point of usage hot water heaters. One for the bathroom/clothes washer and one for the kitchen. I love tankless. I bet it'd be easier for flushing? I would think.

Gas appliances scare the crap out of me so I don't go anywhere near them. I should call Reliance who I rent my hot water tank from. I have had this tank for over 20 years and there has never been any maintenance on it. If I could afford it I would have one of those wall mounted water heaters installed. My water tank is behind my furnace and i don't go in that corner of my basement (scared of spiders) haha. I am such a wuss I even get my brother to change my furnace filter during the winter months. I have heard that it is a good idea to flush out your hot water tank

I don't remember my husband ever doing that to our electric water heater but a friend drained the air compressor a few weeks ago after he needed air in a tire and a LOT of rust junk drained out!

I remembered when living with my parents, our next door neighbor home blew up. The neighbor didn't realize that their water heater was old when moved in. It needed to be replaced. Since the water heater was located in the garage, everyone was abled to get out of the home safely.

So, when I purchased this home, that was the first thing I checked. A few years later when I needed to replace it, I checked out on waterless tanks. It was a new thing in the US at the time, and the system was expensive to install. I ended up getting one of those self-cleaning water heater as well.

Later when talking to a friend, I found out that in many countries, waterless tanks are automatically installed with new built homes. It's a common thing. Seems like, we're a bit slow in the US to embrace sensible products.

Haha, cute mistake. I don't think your appliance is waterless, if so it wouldn't do you much good. I think you meant tankless.

Tankless heaters aren't necessarily all that sensible. They're fine in small households when there's no hot water use for extended periods, either during the day or for days at a time. Or, when space is limited. As far as efficiency, it takes quite a bit more energy to provide X gallons of hot water using a tankless heater, than using one with a tank. They're also quite a bit more expensive to buy and have installed.

cherryfizz, you rent your water heater? I've never heard of that, that must prove to be very expensive over the years.

To flush a gas water heater:

1. Turn the gas burner control to "pilot". This will keep the burner from firing up when the cold water fills the bottom of the tank. If you turn it all the way off, not a problem, but you'll need to relight the pilot afterward.
   
2. Attach a hose to the heater's drain cock and direct the outlet to the floor drain or laundry tub. The hose needs to be secured at its outlet to keep it in place, else it will flop around. An assistant may hold the hose and should wear gloves because the first water will be HOT. If there is no laundry tub or floor drain handy, run the hose outside and secure the end of the hose.
   
   3. Open the drain cock increasing the flow rate as desired. Stop the flow when the water runs free of debris. Flushing is done.
   
   With this method, air is not admitted to the tank; The tank remains full of water at all times and at finish, it is ready for reheat.
   
3. Remove the hose and check for drips at the shutoff valve. This is a weak design area on many hot water heaters. It is wise to have a small container to place under the valve to catch drips if any. If drips persist, the valve can be capped with a hose cap. These caps are available at hardware stores and garden centers. The cap should have a rubber-like seal/washer in it that contacts the end of the shut-off valve.
   
   5. Return the heater control back to "on". The flame should fire up immediately because after the flush, the valve's thermostat will be cool and calling for heat. If the flame does not come on after a few seconds, the pilot may be out and needs to be relighted. Follow the instructions for your heater for relighting.
   
   Generic instructions for relighting:
   
   Place the control to "pilot". Remove the front shield/cover to gain access to the works. To start gas flowing to the pilot usually requires one to push down on the control knob (or whatever motion is required on your heater). You'll be on your knees. Manually start the gas flow and at the same time light the pilot. Its a reach to the pilot nozzle and I find that a butane grill lighter handy for this job. A long candle can be used in a pinch, but one has to mindful of where the wax drips go. You will need to hold the control in the initiation gas flow position until after the thermocouple heats. After the pilot has burned for about 20 seconds, heating the thermocouple, the control will stay on after you release it.
   
   Turn the control from "Pilot" to "on or run" and the main burner should immediately fire up (if there is cool/cold water in the bottom of the tank).
   
   Put the cover back on. You are done.
   
   

Yes, I meant tankless. Thanks for correcting me. This is what happened when typing while watching Korean dramas :) ... LOL

Your explanation is interesting. Still, tankless water heaters must be beneficial in some ways. Otherwise, why is it so well used in other countries?

I don't know Korea - but I hope to go sometime. I love what's represented as being authentic food at the Korean restaurants in my area.

I first saw tankless water heaters 30 years ago when living in Europe. You'd typically find them in older structures, where you could imagine that the addition of running water had been a modernization done on an existing older building. They'd be hanging on the wall in the bathroom, or in the kitchen, or both. What struck me was that in doing such a retrofit, only one water pipe (cold) would have to be run to where hot water was to be used, instead of two. Run one cold water pipe, run a branch up to the heater and then a short length of pipe (on the outside of the wall, not inside) to get hot water to the faucet or fixture.

My thought at the time was their popularity was because of space limitations (added to a building that didn't have a designated place for water heaters and they could be put on the wall) and installations in dwellings that weren't crisscrossed by hot AND cold water pipes as modern buildings are today.

An average size American house today, of say 2500 square feet or less, might have a forced air furnace of 60 or 80,000 BTU/hr. A gas water heater with a tank usually has the number of BTUs equal to the number of gallons x 1000. So, a 50 gallon tank would have a 45,000-50,000 BTU/hr burner. A tankless unit for the same size house might be 200,000 BTU/hr. Yes, it doesn't consume anything if the hot water is off, but it really needs to blast the cold water with a lot of heat as it runs though so that it's hot as it exits. In a household where hot water is used through the day, the tankless models are much more expensive to own and operate.

As Cherryfizz mentioned, our water heaters are rented by the majority of us in Ontario. The hydro company maintains it, and fixes any issues.

Tankless are becoming a little more popular but they take a long time for the hot water to reach the sink, tub etc. Large homes often need 2 of them.

I don't know anyone who has ever run out of hot water to warrant the price of a tank-less

Given how long they last (10-15 years), I hope it's not much more than $5-7 per month. Cheaper to buy in any event.

It's easy to run out of hot water - all you need is two teenagers trying to shower at the same time or in succession sourcing hot water from one normal sized tank. Or, one laundry load using hot or warm water or a load of dishes, plus a teenager's bath or shower. We have two units also - just some bathrooms on one, kitchen + laundry+ another bathroom on the other. We've never run out.

Well, I am glad I watched those you tube videos... but mine sure didn't work like theirs.

When I turned the cold water intake off, I got NO drainage at all. Even with the faucet turned on, like recommended.

Sooooo, I ran cold in, and warm out at the bottom for about 15 minutes and called it good.

Moni

Snidely I think I pay somewhere between $54-56 dollars including taxes quarterly. I am sure it is cheaper to buy one in the long run but I never have a large amount of money at once to buy one outright and I don't use credit cards. If there are any issues with the tank I just call Reliance and they fix it or replace it at no charge. A friend of mine bought hers outright and she already has had issues with her new tank and has had to replace it. She even had a gas leak from hers after it was installed which was very scary at the time because houses were blowing up from gas leakage.

Just my opinion:

Tankless also known as "point of use water heaters" are best used at lavatories and maybe the kitchen sink where small amounts of hot water is needed. Usually, these are small tank, electric heaters connected near the faucet of interest. Their advantage is quick response in delivering heated water to the faucet. The long wait while hot water flows from a remote heater through a long run of piping and the long delay for hot water to appear is eliminated. Savings result from less wasted water and eliminating heat loss in a long run of piping. However, these can not deliver a large amount of hot water in a short time. Also, electricity for heating is more expensive than gas unless subsidized. If you need to fill a bath tub or washing machine, a conventional hot water heater with a tank of 40 gallons or more is better. Small living quarters with one or two people can make do with a 30 gal unit if it has fast enough recovery time.

Tankless is a completely different animal from a point of use heater.

As you say, a point of use heater typically has a small (usually under 10 gal and perhaps as small as just a few) tank, is electric, and is often located under a vanity for light uses like handwashing in a commercial setting like an office's restroom or kitchen. Recycle time (to reheat a tank of cold water) is very slow, as with most electric water heaters.

Tankless water heaters are not point of use units. They're usually centrally located as with the tank units they're considered as replacements for and are usually gas fueled. Big ones can supply upwards of 10 gallons per minute of hot water indefinitely, depending on the temperature rise required. You could have multiple showers running for hours and hours and the things just keep producing hot water. When a higher flow rate is needed, they can be daisy-chained in series.

I remember with our first new house bought about 1970 that the instructions for the water heater included the advice to open the drain and run off about a bucketful on a monthly basis to keep minerals from accumulating in the bottom of the tank.

When one of our tanks failed, I asked about converting to a tankless water heater (from our two 50-gallon tanks) the plumber said it wouldn't be a good investment. The unit was expensive to purchase, and he would have to re-pipe for it. It would take years to recoup the expense.

I'm perfectly happy with the recirculating hot water pump. It's like being in a hotel: Hot water out of a tap in two seconds! Our tanks are in our basement. They keep pretty warm down there in winter, not far from the furnace.

The washer has run consecutive loads (live in a tri-plex, total of 4 adults in bldg). I know that I've showered when the washer is running. I'm also assuming that everyone showers daily. In all my life, I've never experienced running out of hot water.