Do you have to shut off the power to a electric water heater before you drain it ?

Hi Ckkendricks:

Absolutely YES! If you don't shut the electricity off it is very likely that the top element will burn out!

Why are you draining your water heater? Let me know.

Mark

[QUOTE=massplumber2008;2457522]Hi Ckkendricks:

Absolutely YES! If you don't shut the electricity off it is very likely that the top element will burn out!

Why are you draining your water heater? Let me know.

Mark[/QUOTe The reason why I'm draining my hot water tank Mark. Is because I had a guy do some sink repair for me so he asked me could he turned off the hot water valve side on my hot water tank and now I've been having low pressure every where in the house.So I thought about draining the tank to wash out every thing at the bottom of the tank. Mark I thank you for your help with a (Smile) Sincerely Ckkendricks

If he touched the shut off on the heater first start at the kitchen faucet and remove the AERATOR (see image) at the end of the spout... may be clogged with sediment.

Once the aerator is off, run water out the faucet to check pressure. If pressure is good, clean the aerator and reinstall. If that fixed the kitchen sink, check all the other faucets and clear them.

If you find that sediment is clogging the aerators you may also want to remove any shower heads and clear them of any sediment, too!

The washing machine valve usually has screens that get clogged as well... may need to remove the hoses and clear the screens to restore all back to normal.

Finally, if the aerators and screens aren't clogged pop back and let me know and we can discuss the next steps to take... OK?

Mark

If your removing sediment, the answer is no. You don't have to turn the heater off.

Sediment removal should happen monthly to yearly by draining whatever amount of water from the drain until the drain runs clear.

Since there is makeup cold water coming in it's no different than using a hot water tap.

If your removing water with the inlet shut off then power MUST be off.

I thought the question was potentially unclear.

Follow the advice given by Mark and KISS. Both make valid points.
However you don't DRAIN a heater ,( Yes you shut the power off if you do) you POWER FLUSH it. Let me show you how.

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