Electric Water Heaters

[ubowen]

I could sure use some helpful hints concerning our electric water heater.
How does one drain an electric water heater?

Since we are on a well, there seems to be quite a bit of sediment accumulating in the tank. When we tried to drain it some time ago, we flipped the circuit breaker to the tank, then hooked up the hose. However, there seemed to be very little pressure on the water draining and we did not see any sediment being discharged. The tank holds 40 gallons, but does not seem to have nearly enough hot water for a household of two. Obviously, there is something we did wrong. By the way, the tank is less than one year old.

Also, we are considering
a. an on demand water heater for our next project or
b. installing a filter at the water intake.

Which do you think might be a better idea???? Frankly, we are getting tired of replacing the water heater every 12 to 18 months!

We really would appreciate your take on our problems.

Thanks bunches,


UB

[Troy]

How do you know there is sediment in the tank? Where is the sediment coming from? If you know that there is sediment in the tank, then wouldn't the only way it could get there is through the intake? A filter should solve that problem, I would think.

[handyandy]

I am sure you have thought about this, but what is the temp setting for the water heater? Can this be altered to help at all? Also, could it be insulation of your hot water pipes? A lot of heat can be lost that way!

Have you drained your heater? Sometimes it can be necessary to do so as often as every six months due to sediment buildup.

Let us know what you find!

[8]

[handyandy]

This link might help:

http://www.chilipepperapp.com/flush.htm

[Todd]

When draining the tank, you need to open some hot water taps above or on the same floor to allow air in the tank for easy drainage. That may be one problem...Sediment blocking the exit maybe the other. I would keep flushing until I saw the sediment come out. Hope that helps and good luck.

Todd