Hot Water Heater Will Not Drain

[hacksawjimwagons]

I'm sorry i havnt been able to contribute to the site yet, but most of the questions presented in my field of expertise are answered more promptly and more accurately by HVACWHIZ, who seems to be much more knowledgable than i am...


However, i still need HELP!

My hot water heater is all electric, and about 10 or 11 years old. I'm just now moving into/remodeling this older home, so i havnt been around to preform routine drain maintenance.

Now, the drain just trickles out. I'm sure this could be and probably is due to sediment build up. When the bottom drain is opened, i'm lucky to get a few drops.

the water heater sits on the floor in a utility room(slab), which is not equipped with a floor drain. The drain valve is a plastic deal from the manufacturer.


i've heard several thousand different ways of pressurizing the pipes. Turning this valve on, this valve off, compressed air here, hose there.
Too many chiefs, not enough toolbags.


if i could get ONE expert to give me a step by step, i'm sure i could make this happen.

Any suggestions?

[HayZee518]

OK. being that the tank is now full of water, shut off the breaker feeding it. The hot water out and cold water in should be open. Go to the highest spigot in the house and turn on the cold first until you get water - no air. then do the same with the hot - water - no air. Remove the aerator on the faucet if there is one. Do this on all faucets. Do the shower/tub, lavatory sink, then the kitchen faucet. when you have all water no air coming out, turn on the breaker and let it heat the system. then after its built up some temperature go back and bleed the hot water faucets again with out the aerator in. when your are done clean any crap out of the aerator and replace it. As far as the heater sediment drain, when you have the time, shut off the breaker and close the hot water out and cold water in. like you say you got just a trickle out of it - that drain valve's gonna hafta come out. Connect up a short hose to the valve and open it and drain what you can into a bucket. keep doing this until the tank is empty. Then unscrew the drain valve. and shove a doubled back coat hanger into the drain. yer trying to loosen up the sediment. open up a little cold water to flush out the sediment. go and buy a new brass boiler drain with the correct npt thread for the tank - probably 3/4 npt. use teflon tape on the threads and screw it into the tank. then open the cold water line first and pressurize the system. go to the faucets as above and bleed out the air. then open the hot and do the same. once your system is full close the circuit breaker.

[jnaas2]

Leave the water turned on to the hot water heater and hook up a garden hose to the drain cock on the water heater and open the drain and see if it will blow the sediment out of the water heater, if it does open a path for water to flow drain the water heater and remove the bottom heating element and take a wet vac and tape a piece of 3/4 inch copper or pex tube to the vacume hose and you will be able to remove most of the sediment from the heater

[Redwood]

Leave the water turned on to the hot water heater and hook up a garden hose to the drain cock on the water heater and open the drain and see if it will blow the sediment out of the water heater, if it does open a path for water to flow drain the water heater and remove the bottom heating element and take a wet vac and tape a piece of 3/4 inch copper or pex tube to the vacume hose and you will be able to remove most of the sediment from the heater

Quite often I have sucess with this method myself.