Water Heater Draining

Hey all, stuck in a rut at the moment and need some expert advice.

Went to change out my elements, top was okay as I thought it fully drained. When I went to change the bottom, there was a TON of water left.

Now the insulation is wet.

What’s the best course of action here?

 

Did you crack the inlet and outlet connections loose at the top? I think you need to do that for airflow and for it to fully drain. I’m not a plumber though, just a hack that’s changed a few out over the years.

Also, how old is the water heater? Corrosion and sediment buildup can do things like this I think.

 

Yeah, connected the drain hose on the bottom and released the pressure valve up top.

Didn’t realize I still had half a tank of water left.

I think I’ll try vacuuming the water out then letting it dry…. Damn I’m gonna be out of hot water for a bit.

 

Purchase a dehumidifier and run it in there for a day or so to pull all that moisture out.

 

Here’s my method, shut the ball valve off on top of the water heater, open the drain valve, then re-open the valve on top of the water heater to try to purge any chunks out. If that doesn’t work I will spin off the drain valve and install a ball valve so I can poke a long screwdriver to free up the chunks. If that works then disconnect both supply lines and let it drain.

if that doesn’t work I had a three-quarter gas pressure gauge with a Schrader valve that I would put on the inlet. I would cap the outlet and hook up a small compressor to push the water out of the drain. Never touch the T&P valve. A good chance it won’t close properly, especially if it’s been installed on the heater for a long time. You may find that it will now drip.

If the insulation got wet, it is slightly compromised now but it should dry out from the heat of the water heater keeping your water hot. Hopefully it’s in an open air space with good ventilation.

 

^^^^ pro!

Completely agree. I worked at a service plumber shop where we were forced to do complimentary water heater flushes. I used the same methods and carried extra hose bib caps because the drain valves usually won't close once they are opened either. Crap gets lodged and they can't always seal again.

 

Hell yeah! And actually the compressor method works really well, especially if you don’t want to change the drain valve. But I’ve had some that were just too clogged up to clear with a compressor, and had to go to the ball valve method. I don’t know if it was a calcium buildup or the drip tube falling apart. Sometimes that stuff almost look like plastic.

I didn’t do a lot of water heater draining services as much as just getting it drained so I can replace it. We didn’t offer that free service LOL. But they could pay me if they wanted me to do it

 

Man, thanks for all the inputs, guys! Well for the most part, I screwed back on the bottom element and the insulation is slowly drying. Luckily it’s on the outside of my crawl space so there’s a good amount of air flow going through to get it dried out.

 

The offer was an ugly deception. Some guys would put a dark rag under the hose to catch all the minerals and push to sell a new heater before the existing one fails. Other guys would depend on something to leak and sell a repair. I never did that sort of shit. I warned them this valve will leak after, and I will cap it. You run the risk when you allow it to be flushed.

 

Good man! You and I are on the same page. I never did that to my customers either. Which is why they always requested me back. I even had them turn down my boss, saying I don’t know you where is Sean LMFAO

 

Is it safe to say that if you flush them regularly you lower the risk of debris getting lodged? I just had ours replaced last week and they recommend I flush it twice a year. The guy said that in his new house he was surprised by how much sediment his water heater had after just 3 months.

 

Funny, I’ve never done my own water heater. But depending on where you’re at and how hard the water is it could be very beneficial to do. I’ve had some so full of sediment that I just took them that way and didn’t even bother draining. Muscle it out to the front yard and hope some of it leaks out. If you flush yours out often, it definitely couldn’t hurt. I was always told once a year, but twice sounds like a good plan. Just water the yard with it. If you don’t want to mess with the supply lines and risk them leaking doing it so often, just open a hot side of a faucet somewhere and let it draw air that way. Just make sure when you turn the water back on you flush it through a bathtub first to make sure the chunks or debris in the line can go out that way first. Typically an unrestricted source like a hose bib. Then you might have to clear your aerators on your faucets. Good practice to check them out every so often anyways. I do.

 

I did mine a few months ago for fun. Even did the dark rag under the hose trick but didn't see much mineral. I'll probably do it once a year for fun.

Edit- once a year