Ask Me Help Desk - Draining Hot water heater.

How often we should drain the hot water heater to get the best result. We have been in our house for about 6 yrs and have not done it yet. Has the water heater still good if I drain it or has it come to point where it might help no matter how much I drain it?

Hey coldwater , You may not need to drain the water heater only flush it.this should be done regularly Im sure our resident experts here can give you a more exact time frame. I do mine once a month, but then I'm on a well. After 6 years I would say yours can definitely use a flush. Why were you considering draining it are you having trouble with it? If so post back with a description of your problem and we will try to help. I have tried to insert a link to an older post that might help answer some questions for you for flushing instructions read Speedballs response. If you have any other questions post back GOOD LUCK, AC

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/plumbi...er-202059.html

AC steered you in the right direction for sure! Follow the link and then follow Speedball1's information on flushing tank.

Do you want to really increase the life expectancy of that water heater you have..

Then after 6 years, I want to recommend that you change your ANODE ROD. See the picture below of old VS new anode rod. This is probably what your anode rod looks like. The anode rod is a sacrificial rod that is attacked first and protects the water heater tappings from breaking down... when it is wasted, then water heater tappings get attacked next.

Anode rod is usually under a nut on top of heater. If interested I would direct you to look up anode rod information online, and then get back to us if interested... may increase life of water heater by 5 or more years... ;)

Let me know... Mark

They make a flexible anode rod (see other pic.) that replaces this if solid rod too long to slip new rod in place.

AC101 is correct, you don't want to drain the tank. Flushing the tank works best by opening the bottom boiler drain valve while the supply water is still turned on. Mosr folks connect a garden hose to the boiler drain so they can direct the water to a sump or floor drain. If you are on city water twice per year should suffice bit as AC points out other factors may require more frequent flushing.

Mark, you beat me by one minute. Your typing is getting faster but your memory is as bad as mine, you forgot the pic again.

You know it Bob... Actually.. I hit post instead of go advanced... *&*##@%!

I fixed it.. ;)

You won't need to flush your tank if you have soft water, so it's only necessary if your water is hard (calcium & magnesium build-up).

If you DO have soft water, simply REMOVE the anode rod and cut it off at the nut, then replace the nut.

This will void your warranty but triple the life of the tank.

Just so you know I'm not talking through my hat, I am a Certified Water Technician.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullet777

You won't need to flush your tank if you have soft water, so it's only necessary if your water is hard (calcium & magnesium build-up).

If you DO have soft water, simply REMOVE the anode rod and cut it off at the nut, then replace the nut.

This will void your warranty but triple the life of the tank.

Just so you know I'm not talking through my hat, I am a Certified Water Technician.

What the hell is a "certified water technician"? Does that mean that you're a Culligan Water Softrner salesman. Lop off the anode rod to save your water heaterand triple its life? Perhaps with the old timey water heaters but now days the boilers are glass lined. Besides most folks around here install a softener AFTER the water heater so your advice would simply void the warranty without benefit. Now on to the care and feeding of a water heater.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by FLUSHING NOT DRAINING on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white or yellow grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures that are affected . Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back together the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my answer. Tom,

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullet777

You won't need to flush your tank if you have soft water, so it's only necessary if your water is hard (calcium & magnesium build-up).

If you DO have soft water, simply REMOVE the anode rod and cut it off at the nut, then replace the nut.

This will void your warranty but triple the life of the tank.

Just so you know I'm not talking through my hat, I am a Certified Water Technician.

These kind of answers make me want to throw up my hands and quit even trying to help! At least I know now not to trust certification any more (as if this is the first time HAHA :rolleyes: ). And don't trust me either, you don't know if I've ever touched a pipe because I'm not 'certified'. (You mean water runs DOWNHILL?? ) However I'm not certifiably wrong like the above quote.

Most water heaters are made of steel, which is mostly iron (Fe). Even distilled water will oxidize any iron that it comes in contact with. The sacrificial anode is there to slow that process down. Following bullet's logic, the anode rod is the problem. Once the anode rod is gone, the tank should stop deteriorating. Even in soft water I have never seen that. If you remove the anode rod in your hot water heater you are setting yourself up for problems. The water heater manufacturers know what they are doing. They wouldn't put them in if they didn't have to. They cost money.

I cannot easily explain the physics of the process. Read this for an understandable explanation of sacrificial anodes. Sacrificial anode - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Here is another. Sacrificial Anodes: What keeps water heaters from rusting out. If you still aren't convinced, do an internet search for "water heater sacrificial anode" and read some more.

Please people, if you are posting a question, do some farther research if you don't understand WHY an answer that you get is right or wrong. I have gotten corrected here when I was flat out wrong (breaker trip points), I researched the correction and found I was wrong. I disagree with some answers given here even by long time posters (outdated practices), but I usually withhold criticism unless they rise to a level of possible damage like the above post. This forum is best used to give clarification on details and some troubleshooting expertise, not to give anyone the go-ahead to do something that they really aren't qualified to do.

Speedball,

I wasn't thinking of you when I wrote that about longtime posters. If I see you have replied to a thread, I usually don't add my $.02 except when I think clarification might help. The other thing that enters into this is location. Things are done differently in different areas. Remember that thread on well piping?

Thanks for your work trying to keep bad advice from propagating on this forum.

EPM

Quote:

I think clarification might help. The other thing that enters into this is location. Things are done differently in different areas. Remember that thread on well piping? If I see you have replied to a thread, I usually don't add my $.02 except when I think clarification might help.

And I agree. I have a California plumber that can't seem to catch onto that and your "two cents" are most certainly welcome anytime! Regards, Tom