Improving your water heater drain

[SHRED]

It was tricky but I replaced the plastic drain faucet that no longer worked. The faucet would not let any water out. Now I flush it on a regular basis. Comes in real handy for quick access to hot mop water.

OLD



NEW




And this is some calcified crystals I flushed out:



Fortunately the valve did not break off (they can and often do!). I had a wood plug I carved from a broom handle ready to drive in to stop the water if it did.


Just a successful DIY improvement I wanted to share that will increase the water heater's life.

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[canoeist52]

1. A job well done. Don't you love it when it all goes according to plan?

When a turn-off needs replacing, we like those lever faucet handles too.

[SHRED]

2. I do

If that plastic faucet broke off in the threads then I would've gone with Plan B.
Since it was full of water, Plan B was to emergency plug the hole with wood plug. Then have buckets ready to fill up with help from a few friends to chain-gang carry the water out the garage (no sink in garage).

I did have the top valves closed (cold and hot) and noticed that with the faucet removed the vacuum created did not let much water out. This gave me plenty of time to start the threads on my pre-assembled brass valve (with thread tape of course).

[pipoman]

3. Looks like it worked well..

the plastic hose bib probably didn't have a large enough orifice to let some of that stuff out. I would only add to be sure to turn your heater off before draining, and wait for it to refill before relighting.

[SHRED]

4. Thanks for additional safety reminders

And yes, that plastic drain caught those calcified chunks and would not let out any water after awhile. That is what inspired me to change it.

I would encourage anyone wanting to try this to search the internet for step-by-step instructions.



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