Is your water heater clogged with sediment and junk? Top drain it!

When their is no drain located on the bottom of your water, or it’s so jammed up with junk and the water won’t come out their is a couple ways you can still drain the heater.

To top drain/ or top draining is a term in the plumbing trade, specifically during a water heater replacement. The water heater needs to be drained during the replacement process, and in some old water heaters, and in areas with hard water problems it is common for the water heater’s factory drain to be severely clogged up with dirt and sediment which can not be cleared. To top drain a water heater, or top draining a water heater is way to by pass this problem, by draining a water heater from the top.

(This process is only necessary when the bottom factory drain is clogged, and can not be power flushed.) Top draining a water heater takes longer than any other normal process so it would be your last resort in order to drain it. .

Power flushing a water heater simply means; you have a hose attached to the bottom drain, and then open the water valve that fills the water heater. The pressure from the city, or your well will provide enough pressure to force the “junk” out. However this doesn’t always work, and when it doesn’t top draining the tank is pretty much all you can do.

How to top drain a water heater:

If you were to turn the water supply off to the water heater, get a bucket under the relief valve pipe, and empty enough water out that no more water comes out of the relief valve. (which removes all pressure of the tank) Once that’s done, disconnect your power, or gas supply from it’s water heater, then cut, or disconnect the water supply and return line. The adapter on the “hot” line must be removed in order to fit a hose in the spot, then a small (4-6 foot) hose (commonly a washing machine hose) and motorized water pump, and 2nd hose is needed. One threaded end of the small hose must be cut off so the hose can fit down into the top of the tank, and the other threaded end is attached to the water pump, and another hose is attached to the exiting end of the pump.
With this process the small hose sucks the water up threw the water heater, and pushes the water out the 2nd hose to a appropriate place for the water to go, all together bypassing the clogged bottom drain.

You will not be able to completely remove all the water, but you will be able to remove about 70-80% of the water, and at that point is should be light enough to handle/ remove if you are replacing the clogged heater with a new one.

Instructional pictures coming soon!

Note: Older tanks also acquire this problem despite frequent flushing . If flushing does not resolve the problem their could be another problem with the water heater’s dip tube. The dip tube is a plastic tube inside of the water heater on the cold water supply side of the tank that pushes the cold water entering the tank towards the bottom of the tank where it is hottest. It’s job is to take the cold water that enters the tank to the bottom where the heating source is, and not having one will result in a higher energy costs, and a lot less hot water. These things can break down over time, they are replaceable, but if you heater is more than 10 years old you should consider replacing the water heater as it’s is the best solution.

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.