How to Drain and Flush a Water Heater

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THANKS,  RON!!!!!  YOUR TIPS ARE JUST “DEVINE”!!!!!!  ASKED GOD FOR A ‘‘MIRACLE”  AND HE SENT YOU.  YOUR NEWS LETTERS ARE A BLESSING.  JUST GOT THROUGH LOOKING AT “HOW TO FLUSH A HOT WATER TANK OF SEDIMENT ,ETC.  TRULY OUTSTANDING.  YOU ARE A PERSON WE ALL CAN BE PROUD TO KNOW!!!!!!
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AKAIK you’ve got the asnwer in one!

I’m in a small rented mobile home. I have even offered to pay for a 40 gallon outside water heater. Not everything, just 1 months rent. $350. Not accepted. I measured my kitchen sink and found that the heat was less than 5 gallons came out. Hard taking shower. My small water is under the kitchen cabinets. I tried to get the junk out of the heater and found that the valve was not closed. About 12 hours later. I did not know that the safety valve had to get pushed in. My house’s manager get permission to replace my water heater. I assisted and the 12 gallon heater was filled ? with calcium. So the plumber said what came out. We removed some cabinet’s back and put in a 20 gallon unit. The old one was 6 years out of warenty. Haven’t tried new one for a shower but hope. Get wet, turn off water, soap up, apply shampoo, rinse off. With hope bad memories.

Ron,  what about hooking a hose from the lawn watering system (which is before the pressure regulator) to the cold water inflow valve for the heater.  This would get rid of much of the sediment at the bottom of the tank below the release valve.

What is your feeling on tankless water heaters? Costs and efficency? I am due soon for replacement and your thoughts are appreciated.

Really helpful. Thanks to eveyone who added.
PT

Well done, this is very helpful! 

Thanks Ron.

I just think you are GREAT good going Ron!

To clean my water, I drain it most of the way, then close the shutoff valve.  Then remove the pressure relief valvle completely.  Pour in some some CLR, refill the tank about half way (this strirs up the CLR)  and leave it set for a couple of hours.  Then flush the tank.  Works great!

Great new video! In our previous home, we had a 40 gal w/h that lasted about 30 years with regular draining and flushing. We did not have a dip tube since it was before their time. Now I will double check to determine whether one in new one.

Thanks.

tanks Ron!!!! Great demo.

I have learned it is also a good idea to remove the aerators on the faucets used to bleed the air from the tank when filling because if there is still sediment in the water line from the tank to faucet(s) the sediment would clog the aerator(s) once the air is gone and the water pushes the sediment to the faucet

When I bought my first home (single wide) this was one of the first items I had to do each year,  problem was the electric tank had no valve,  what I did was, using a shop vac in wet mode, and carefully removing the upper element while catching any water with the vac, until it got below the hole, then from then on clear plastic hose to suck up everything. pain but needed.  Now with my new home I have a whole house softener, have not had to drain every year so far. But will check this summer. Great video just need to edit it.

Now that’s a much better revision, however, not for your do-it-yourselfer, unless you’ve done this before.  I never thought about bending the dip tube like that.  I like that, and replacing the drain valve with a ball valve is excellent.  Using the ball valve would make it much, much easier to flush the tank periodically.  Great job, Ron.

EXCELLENT revision!!!  We’re glad you’re humble enough to revise the video with our comments addressed.  I’m glad I was wrong about having to re-light the pilot light (or NOT having to re-light it, as it turns out).  That’s a pain to do!! 
Thanks Ron, and thanks for that extra info on the 90’s dip tubes.  My heaters were installed when the house was built in 1999, so I guess I should look into new dip tubes for my heaters (2 - it’s a double).  Hey, I just thought of something funny… new dip tubes for a dip stick!  HA!

Cleaning a gas or electric water heater is simlpe.  Disconnect everything,  turn upside down and shake a few times.

Ron,  This video raises more questions than it answers.  Please delete and redo covering every step from beginning to end.  Take special care to show sediment removal which I’ve been told in my area of Las Vegas is calcium & magnesium.  The issue arose that a water softener which replaces them with salt should allegedly clean out the water heater.  Is this true?  Please consider doing a video covering water treatment.  The best I can make out is that one needs a water softener for the hard water but then leaving salty water.  OK for household uses but not lawns (so don’t treat) but not human/animal ingestion.  This salt water then must be sent thru a Reverse Osmosis (RO) which may be under the sink for water that can be consumed.  Any way didn’t begin to comment just ran away from me.  Thanks for all your great videos and information.

My neighbor taught me how to rig a small piece of pipe or tubing to the hose of my shop vac and suck the sediment out of the bottom of the tank after the tank has drained. (remove the hose and go through that hole) Sometimes I use a metal hanger to get in there and scrap the bottom of the tank to loosen the sediment. Also remove and scrap the sediment off the heat eliments. Don’t forget to let the tank totally refill and bleed the air off by leaving other faucets running or you’ll blow your elements (on electric water heaters)

I call it a hot water heater because I extract hot water from it.

My parents water heater was in their house over 50 years. it was owned by the local gas company and leased. When they disposed of it, the sediment was half way up the tank and the weight was unbelievable!
I have tried numerous times to drain and flush my water heater, but like so many others, I usually only get a little bit of sediment before clean water comes out.. I like the idea of back-flushing like a swimming pool filter. Maybe the manufacturers will come up with a way to do this, but you have to remember, they would rather sell you a “new” water heater than have provide a means to prolong the life of your old one.
On the comment of warranties (I do warranty work for another product) manufactuers tend to put the longer warranty on their” better” products. it doesn’t make good financial sense to put a long warranty on an” inferior” product.. Hence, a 12-year water heater is designed to last longer than a 3-year water heater.

In answer to RWERNST: If you leave the water running while you are draining the tank, the water can come in only as fast as the valve lets it come in. The flow is slowed down, plus the water below the inlet tube absorbs a lot of the force of the incoming water. Thus there is not as much movement of the sediment as you might expect.
Also, some of the inlet tubes don’t have a hole at the bottom; they are sealed at the end and have holes near the bottom on the sides of the tube. This causes the water to swirl in a circular manner, but does not blast out the bottom into the sediment. I have taken apart many water tanks and have seen several different designed inlet tubes that never allow the water to flow straight down.

Oliver W.  Jim and I weren’t referring to running water through tank to faucets, we were referring to why not leave water on (and burner/electric off) when draining through the drain valve to help flush those deposits beneath the drain valved itself by stirring them up, vs. turning water OFF, and opening a faucet to allow air in while gravity drains the tank?

Ron, thoughts on this?

Why do people use the term HOT water heater? It is simply water heater. Why would you heat HOT water?

My nature gas hot water heater has an electronic igniter and does not have a pilot light.

I am 63 and I have drained every water heater we had, The first lasted 12 yrs the second lasted 15 years and the new one my son installed, I will do the same, since I believe an ounce of prevention, goes a long way,  my husband is challenged I do most of the handy work my self, and believe me this is a piece of cake. Good Luck!  Vi

I don’t want to jinx it, but I’ve never drained a water heater.  Neither did my parents.  Theirs lasted 30 years, and I’m going on 16 years with this one, knock on wood.  One of the reasons I haven’t drained this one is because it didn’t come with a drain valve, and so I don’t know how to connect a hose.

Hear loud knocks when using hot water for clothes washer or dishwasher.  Plumber came out and told wife to have me to drain 1/2 of water, add 3 gallons of vinegar and let sit for 3 hours to dissolve sediment, then drain and flush.  Haven’t done so as I )1 don’t know how to tell when it’s 1/2 empty (or 1/2 full) and 2) don’t know how I’m supposed to pour the vinegar in. Do I just remove the sacrificial rod or disconnect the water line on top and pour thru a funnel or what?  Does anyone know if this works?

This is to help Charlie read the text easier (hopefully). Charlie, on the menu bar click VIEW and then select TEXT and put it on the medium setting and see if that helps. I sometimes have to do this and other times I like to put it on the larger setting to make words easier to see but sometimes the larger size overlaps the words :O)

Hey Ron , Would this be ther same for an electric water heater ... the unit i have has 2 heating coils one upper and one lower .. now im not too sure if this has duel tanks or not, not thats the issue but do electric units need to be flushed out as well due to the positioning of the elements.

Thanks for the great TV show and newsletters

Colin

Why not contact the manufacturers and suggest they re-engineer these poorly designed water heaters.  Anyone ever hear of “built in obsolescense”?  Appliances are built not to last, rather than to last.  Let’s go to the origin of the problems, poor engineering.  Get these manufacturers to engineer water heaters that can easily be drained of sediment.  Com’on guys—we’ve made it to the moon and back.  Certainly a water heater that lasts for 50 or more years can be designed.

I live in a world of EXTREMELY HARD WATER.  There is no place to put a water softener.  The two heaters that were here when we bought the house had never been drained.  My first attempt to drain was a failure because the drains were totally clogged with limestone deposit.  I wound up twisting off the first valve:  replaced the heater.  Just plain replaced the other one.  I do not completely drain, just until the lime quits coming out of the hose, and I do this twice a year.

With the short life of most water heaters have, is it worth all the effort to drain the units??
There may be some energy savings, but I doubt any longer life cycle extension.
Perhaps some one has seen a study on the merits of draining to extend the life of a water heater..
Since the installation of a water heater costs over a $1,000, it would be great if this draining extends the life.  I doubt the savings in natural gas expense amounts to very much.
Good to be green, but the basic design of a water heater seems very inefficient, say vs. tankless water heater.

The above comments make this project sound like it is “too much” for me.  Would I need someone to help me with this?

To Jim & RWERNST.
The reason that running the water does not drain the sediment is two-fold.
The sediment is being stirred up, but because the valve opening is above the bottom of the tank and the sediment is fairly heavy, it just drops back to the bottom. Also, if the valve opening was a lot bigger so that the water could drain as fast as it was being put into the tank, the increase out-flow would carry more sediment out.

Weird. Why do so many of my punctuation marks get deleted when I post?  Example Given: apostrophes, triple periods, and more.  What is up with that (I can not use a contraction for “what is” because the apostrophe gets deleted).  Thx!

OK, so on the gas-valve comment I made I guess I was wrong (gee, there’s something new and different - or maybe not!). 

So, Ron, please, please, please, when re-shooting the video give some specifics on which gas valve to turn, and where to turn it to such that the pilot stays on.

I really think there has to be a better way to design hot water tanks such that sediment can be easily and fully flushed on a yearly basis by anyone with some basic knowledge - and safely too!. 

Also, what about that anode thingie?  The chubby guy on This Old Louse spoke of replacing that.  How?  When?  Etc?

Thanks for listening, and sorry about getting confused on the gas valve settings (gee, now there’s something new and diff—OOPS, already did that!).

No one answered rwernst’s question.  It’s mine too.  I leave the water supply on.  I do this on the assumption that blasting out near the bottom (as shown in you video) churns up sediment so it can drain out.  Why isn’t this true?

I also replaced the little spigot with a ball valve.  My water heater is in the attic so I leave a hose attached that runs into the same standpipe the AC drains into.  This makes for easy draining.  About every three months I open the ball valve for a minute.

Keep the info coming I look forward to reading them.  Its always an education and I always learn something!  Thank you!!

I removed the original valve and replaced it with a ball valve and added a
hose adapter and cap. The straight thru ball valve allows a lot more
sediment out and does not plug up like original valve. I added cap to hose
adapter for saftey, in case someone bumps ball valve handle.

Thank you everyone for your many good comments and questions.  Clearly, this video leaves a lot to be desired.  As soon as I can, I plan to re-shoot it incorporating the suggestions and information you have kindly provided.  Your feedback is very much appreciated.  Keep it coming.

As was stated and shown in the video, only the gas burner is shut off. All gas controllers have a PILOT position, so there should be no need to loose the pilot light, and relighting would not be required. Ron, I look forward to receiving your emails. The information you provide is top notch, and is very much appreciated.

Dale, you asked about draining your tank into the sump drain. I drained my tank into the sump drain, but was worried about the sediment damaging the pump, so I put a piece of screen mesh on the end of the drain hose to catch all of the largest pieces of sediment. It all worked out fine.

Worst article Ron has ever sponsored. This is not the best way to flush sediment from a water tank. First, if possible, you should use a high speed water pump and attach it to the drain.Turn off water coming into water tank. If you have no access to a pump just let it drain naturally. Keep a couple of faucets turned on to eliminate vacuum. This allows you to pump out the water at an extremely faster rate. After you flush out the water you can turn the water source on and off a few times for very short bursts. This stirs up any sediment you might have on the bottom of tank. You can also reverse the pump lines and force water back into the tank. Get the point? Now keep doing this a few times and watch what comes out of the end of the hose. Do this until you get nothing but clean water. If you just drain the tank you are simply pumping out clean water. Poor article to say the least!!

I understand how to drain the water heater, but how do you remove the sediment left in the bottom of the heater correctly, my heater is electric.  thanks

Just like Mike below, I removed the valve and looked into the tank and saw all of the sediment still lying in the tank below the valve. I found a piece of plastic tubing that fit into the valve opening and taped it on to the hose of my wet shop vacuum cleaner. Moving the tube around, I was able to suck out a couple of pounds of sediment.

Ron, I too want to know about leaving the hot water heater cold water valve on. Or turning it back on during the drain. Seems to make sense. ALSO: I was told that the only differance between the 6-9- & 12 year water heaters was the warantee and not unit quality. Is that true?

Ron:  Many good questions like never before drained older tank & hot water into sump.  Do you have answers somewhere that cover these & other questions from comments?  Thanks

I agree with other comments, one should turn on the cold water while the heater gas or electric is off to help flush more settiment out after draining heater completely. Also, on electic heaters, one should test and examine the heating rod for replacement.

...Seems to me, that the cold water inlet should be turned back on during the draining part of the procedure. The turbulence from the incoming coldwater would serve to suspend the minerals, so that they may be drained.

I have an electric HWH. I drain and flush by turning of the power to the unit and opening the water inlet after I have first drained the tank. A lot of crud comes out. The only downside is that with all the turbulence, these particles take so long to settle, that I invariably get clogged aerators on all of my faucets.

QUESTION - THE EASIEST WAY TO DRAIN MY HEATER IS INTO THE NEARBY SUMP PUMP HOLE. WILL DRAINING THE HEATER INTO A SUMP PUMP & LETTING IT PUMP OUT THE HOT WATER HURT THE PUMP IN ANY WAY?  THANKS FOR ANSWERING BEFORE I PROCEED.

I feel like I missed Part Two of this video.  You

showed us how to “Drain” the tank, but where is the “Flush” part?  My experience is much like “Mike’s” - a lot of sediment still remained…

Can you cover draining an older tank that has never been drained?

Love your videos!

I could not bring up/download the video?leaders87

i don’t see how this will get the sediment out, i have done this before and there was still a lot of sediment in the tank because the water valve that you hook the hose to is not directly on the bottom, its several inches higher than the bottom, In the one I was trying to get the sediment out of ( Oklahoma small town water) i took the entire valve and pipe off the heater after it was drained and shined a light in there..

  i could see Pounds and pounds of sediment that came all the way up to the valve.

  I tried flushing over and over ( i put the valve back in ) and i was checking my work by capturing the sediment in a bucket outside at the end of the drain hose, seemed to not be very much sediment coming out with each tank flush.

  I ended up taking the entire tank outside - removing the valve again and then laying the tank on it’s side rolling it back and fourth and lifting it’s top to roll the sediment back towards the valve hole when needed. also shooting a jet of water into the tank valve hole till the sediment was washed out completely.

No easy task - i guarantee that i thought of going to get a new heater many times as I did all this but i did save a load of money and the tanks still good to go after all this time.  if You are not a Big O Dude, you might want to have a friend or two help with this project if you do it this way. it really is some heavy work. :O)

  I love these Videos Ron!  Thanks for all you post!  Really appreciated and super professional.

Is this necessary for electric heaters given the position of element-not at the bottom?

I understand turning the gas/valve to pilot, but why not just let cold water run through the tank and out the drain?  I would think this would stir up the sediment and have it drain out better.  No?

You forgot the last step… turn the gas back on and re-light the pilot light… a step that can be difficult for anyone who may have some difficulty with kneeling on a floor (e.g., arthritis, etc.).  This video makes it look like the flush procedure is sooooo easy, and it is… IF you don’t include the pilot re-lighting step.  Besides the whole kneel-on-the-floor issue, re-lighting the pilot light MAY be difficult to do for anyone who isn’t familiar with the process, or who hasn’t done it before.  Maybe you should add that step here, or add a link to the video of the re-lighting procedure if that’s already posted on this website.  Thanks for listening!