I have low hot water pressure throughout my house. Cold water pressure is fine. I am on city water and it is very soft, no calcium/ime problems etc. I have flushed the hot water tank and the water ran clear. When I connect a hose to the tank drain valve with the cold supply valve open, the pressure out of the drain valve is significantly lower than the cold pressure at my sink. I replaced the cold water supply valve, but this didn\t help. Above made me think problem is in cold water supply to the tank, either where it enters the tank, or between the tank and where the supply line branches of the main cold line. Does this sound correct?

However, I also did a back flush of my pipes by blocking the aerator on my upstairs bathroom taps, shutting off the cold supply to the hot water tank, and opening the hot water tap in my basement. The water ran clear, but the pressure was noticeably less than the pressure out of the cold tap. This back flush should take the water tank and water tank supply pressure issue out of the equation. Shouldn/t the pressure out of the hot faucet be the same as the pressure in the cold faucet in the back flush?

Anyway, any ideas as to what my problem is? I don\t want to replace the tank if the problem is in the pipes, but if it's in the pipes, why is the tank drain pressure low? I have read most of the threads on this topic. Any suggestions or ideas gratefully accepted.

Do you have heat trap nipples, (see image) installed? Let me know, Tom