Water Heater Draining Problem

[jd45]

Hello everybody! I just registered on this site this evening & am glad to be here.
Let me describe what's going on. I live in a mobile home park & the water is crap........between 700-900 PPM. The sediment is clogging up at the bottom of my heater, so that when I attempt to give it the once-a-year complete draining as advised, nothing will come out of the drain valve at the bottom. I've tried running a stiff wire into the open valve to get the water to flow, but no luck. I'd appreciate any advice, helpful hints, products on the market that'll dissolve the sediment, etc. Thanx for your time & hope to hear from anyone who has any ideas. Thanx again, jd45

 

[SHEPLMBR]

Good luck with this. Especially if the water is that hard. Might want to try flushing with vinegar. And just as a preventative, stick a whole house filter on.

 

[jd45]

I don't understand how I can flush it with vinegar if I can't get the water to drain from the jacket to begin with. That's the starting point.....getting the water to flow and the sediment buildup along with it out of the drain valve at the bottom of the heater. When it comes time to change the heater at the end of its life, it'll be too heavy to move if its full of water. That's why I need a way to break thru the sediment......Any suggestions.....anyone? jd45

 

[tanksnotanks]

You may have to remove the drain valve and break up debris with a screwdriver to get it to flow

 

[jd45]

tanksnotanks, thank you for thinking what I was thinking............removing the drain valve & poking in there to get the water to flow. I'll try that. jd45

 

[pasadena_commut]

. I live in a mobile home park & the water is crap........between 700-900 PPM. The sediment is clogging up at the bottom of my heater, so that when I attempt to give it the once-a-year complete draining as advised, nothing will come out of the drain valve at the bottom. I've tried running a stiff wire into the open valve to get the water to flow, but no luck.

How, exactly, did you try to drain it? Let's assume that you turned off the cold water supply and opened the valve. Nothing much will come out until you release the vacuum in the tank. Opening a hot water spigot elsewhere probably will not suffice because many (most?) hot water heaters now have one way valves on the hot water outlet. That can look like the drain valve is jammed when it isn't. Opening the pressure release valve should work to release the vacuum.

Anyway, if the drain valve really is jammed you can sometimes clear it by running water from a hose into the tank. To do that you will need the sort of coupler that attaches the outlet ends of two hoses - set you back a couple of dollars at any large hardware store. Push some water back into the tank, while tapping gently on the drain valve.

If that doesn't work remove the drain valve and replace it with a ball valve as described here:

http://waterheatertimer.org/Repair-water-heater-valve.html

When you back flush through that with a hose it can generate a lot of force and really stir up the junk on the bottom of the tank. This is all a lot easier to do if the water heater is located some place where spilled water isn't a disaster, like in the garage or on the side of the house. Our heater is right in the middle of the house and we have hardwood floors which makes any work on the water heater a disaster waiting to happen.

To treat it with vinegar you have a couple of options. One is to remove the pressure relief valve and pour it in the hole through a funnel. That is the route I had to go. Alternatively, if you do manage to drain the tank, you can hook a short piece of hose to the drain valve, raise it high, put a funnel in the hose, pour in the vinegar, then close the valve. Hard not to spill some on the ground through the second route. The second method is best if a small spill is tolerable - it isn't fun removing the pressure relief valve.