How to properly drain a hot water heater.

You should know draining a water heater is only only needed before installing a new water heater.   Flushing the water heater is what you do as a part of yearly maintenance.  Draining and flushing the tank are different.   Flushing the water heater uses the houses water pressure to push the dirty water where ever it needs to go; out the garage, door towards the street, in a washing machine drain, or even up off the floor and out an over head basement window.  Draining the water heater in a basement however will also need a motorized pump to accomplish draining it without carrying dozens of buckets of water.  To learn some inside tips how to drain a water heater from a basement I will be posting a story on it very soon.

Before you drain and flush your hot water heater you must perform these following steps first!

Turn off power to an electric water heater. Do this by turning off the circuit breaker or fuse powering the heater.   (If you don’t you will blow out your heating element when the water level drops below the element)

Turn gas pilot control valve to “pilot” setting.

Shut off water supply to water heater.

Open nearest hot water faucet.

Attach hose to bottom drain valve.

Connect a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank.  Make sure the end of the hose is long enough to either get to a sum pump,floor drain, out a door/- in a safe area away from people pets and children as the water is likely very hot and can scald quickly close the shut off valve on the cold inlet to the water heater. If your water heater tank is located in a basement, and you don’t see any way to get rip of the water, you could empty it in a washing machine drain if their is one, or by bucket.
After you have the hose hooked up and laid out in a safe area, carefully open the temperature/pressure relief valve at the top of the tank by lifting the lever.  This will allow air in the tank, which will allow water to drain out of the bottom. Leave the valve open, then open the drain valve at the bottom of the heater allowing the water to flow out through the garden hose. If the sediment is clogging the drain valve then try closing the temperature/pressure relief valve and turn the cold inlet valve back on to “power flush” the sediment out.
In some cases the sediment hardens into large chunks that can block the drain valve. If so, then wait until everything cools down, remove the garden hose from the drain valve, remove the valve if necessary, and use a long screw driver to break up the clog. This can be a very messy job. When the garden hose runs clear you are finished.
Close the drain valve at the bottom of the tank and remove the garden hose.
Close the pressure relief valve at the top of the tank if it is still open, and turn the cold inlet valve back on.
Open a hot water faucet in your house at the highest faucet in the house, (bath tubs are best because you will be getting some dirty water back up threw the pipes at first, and the bath tub won’t clog up like a faucets air-orator could) and let it run until all the air and bubbles come out.

Turn the heater back on by flipping the circuit breaker back on, and if you have a gas water heater turn the gas knob from pilot back to a hotter setting. If the unit doesn’t re-light automatically you will have to re light the water heater. There is instructions on the tank just above the gas control on most heaters.If  the water heater in located in the basement you will want to read this.
How to drain a water heater in a basement.  `

If you need help with your water heater and live in Connecticut just give contact us a call and we’ll be over in an hour or so!

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We provide top quality plumbing information about services, free estimates, installations and repairs on all Rheem, Ruud, Bradford white, State, and A.O. Smith electric, gas, propane, Bock, Thermaflow/Everhot oil fired hot water heaters, Navien, Rheem, Noritz, and Takagi tankless water heaters, Ruud, Bock, and lochinvar oil fired water heaters, SuperStor storage tanks, Peerless, Laars, and Crown tankless coils, and repairs on all hot water heater throughout the state of Connecticut including Bridgeport, CT- Bristol, CT- Cheshire, CT- Danbury,CT- Derby,CT- East Hartford,CT- East Haven,CT- Enfield,CT- Fairfield,CT- Hamden,CT- Hartford,CT- Meriden,CT- Orange,CT- Middletown,CT- Milford,CT- New Britain,CT- New Haven,CT- New London,CT- Norwalk,CT- East Norwalk,CT- Norwich,CT- Putnam,CT- Shelton,CT- Southington,CT- Stamford,CT- Stratford,CT- Southport,CT- Torrington,CT- Wallingford,CT- Watertown,CT- West Hartford,CT- West Haven,CT- Westport,CT- Wethersfield,CT- Willimantic,CT- all shore areas, and surrounding Connecticut areas.

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