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wildandblue · Apr 26, 2008, 09:53 AM

We have a weekend cottage with a small 5 gallon electric water heater that is I think 1800 watts. If we won't be there for a while I unplug it to save energy. There is a tap on the bottom to drain it Should I drain the water out as well? Will it do any harm to sit there unplugged but full of (cold) water until we need it the next time? Would draining it make it last longer or not? It's about 15 years old and has a few surface rust stains showing.:confused:

twinkiedooter · Apr 26, 2008, 09:59 AM

Just unplug it. You don't need to drain it unless you expect temps in the minus range. Keeping it full of cold water is okay.

Fr_Chuck · Apr 26, 2008, 10:00 AM

1. How long is "a while"
2.do you mean turn the breaker off not "unplug" since a hot water heater normally does not have a plug
But at 15 years old, it is time to get a new one very soon anyway

wildandblue · Apr 26, 2008, 10:06 AM

It actually does have a plug that fits a standard 110 volt outlet Hot Shot is the brand

speedball1 · Apr 26, 2008, 10:25 AM

Hey Wild, Good answers from Twinkie and Chuck.

Would draining it make it last longer or not? It's about 15 years old and has a few surface rust stains showing

Draining it wouldn't help much but flushing it would. (I'll show you how later.)
I have lived in a 54 year old house since it was built. There's a Caplan 30 gallon, single element water heater built into the kitchen countern that I've been babying along for the last 54 years and it's still doing its job. I flush it every month to keep the rust and minerals from building up. I realize that a heaters life is only about 8 years but I wanted to tell you not to replace the old heater just yet. There may still be a lotta life left in it. This is how I treat my 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. . Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps, Tom

wildandblue · Apr 28, 2008, 09:36 AM

Yours has lasted 54 years? Awesome! Wow can't believe all the sediment that was in there. Would flushing the tank with white vinegar like I do with our coffeemaker do anything?

speedball1 · Apr 28, 2008, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by wildandblue

Yours has lasted 54 years? Awesome! Wow can't believe all the sediment that was in there. Would flushing the tank with white vinegar like I do with our coffeemaker do anything?

I don't know if it would help your water heater but it would make you smell like a tossed salad when you got out of da tub. LOL! Tom

ballengerb1 · Apr 28, 2008, 11:44 AM

I would not bother with vinegar or CLR since flushing gets the loose build up out of the tank. Vinegar might get it shiney clean but its just the loose stuff that's a bother.

EPMiller · Apr 28, 2008, 03:58 PM

Wow Speedball, 54 years, amazing. Where I live the water is so hard you can walk on it... and it isn't a miracle. Most people figure a year or 2 beyond the warranty for the life of a unit if you don't have a water softener. When mine goes I am going to replace it with one that has an easily accessible sacrificial anode (3rd port). That way I can monitor it and (along with flushing) hopefully make things last a lot longer.

ballengerb1 · Apr 28, 2008, 04:27 PM

I recently installed a tankless heater and will keep you guys update with how it works for me. No anode, no tank and no 120 degrees 24/7.

wildandblue · May 9, 2008, 01:57 PM

I am definitely never making instant coffee using hot water out of the sink again. Hey I changed all our outside lights to low voltage LED's that turn on at dusk automatically and got compact fluorescents for indoors plus unplug the water heater most of the time. My electric bill is only about a dollar a day!

smearcase · May 10, 2008, 10:59 AM

We had a reg. size hot water heater that we turned off for a week or so while we were away. It was prob. 10 years old and when we returned home it had leaked all over the basement floor. I surmise that as it cooled and contracted it opened up a joint somewhere on the heater.

But I have installed timers on my hot water heaters for the past 25 years in which case the heaters were off for about 8 hours at a time with no problem with leaks.

I would try to disconnect it while I was there to monitor it for leaks, and make sure any valuables would not be in the line of fire if the heater did spring a leak.