A gas hot water heater is a valuable appliance that every home should have. And because it is expensive and indispensable, it is only wise that homeowners maintain and take care of it consistently. Among the maintenance measures that you can implement include the timely replacement of its anode rod; habitual inspection of its parts; insulation of its supply lines during cold winter days and of course, consistent draining of its tank. If you are not yet familiar with proper draining, read on and learn how to do it the right way.
1. Shut down the power supply of your water heater. Do this by turning the thermostat to pilot configuration. Attach a hose to the water heater drain valve which is found near the thermostat. Turn off the appliance’s cold water supply so that it won’t refill with water.
2. You have to remove any leftover hot water in your plumbing lines. Turn on one of your hot water taps to do this. This will not only dispose the hot water but will also avoid the formation of a vacuum in your plumbing lines while you’re draining your tank.
3. As hot water flows out of one of your faucets, open the water heater’s drain valve. Ensure that the other end of the hose, which you attached to the valve, will be draining somewhere safe. Be very careful to prevent scalding. As you know, the temp of the hot water is as high as 125 degrees which is enough to burn your skin in seconds!
4. When water is no longer flowing out of the hose, turn the cold water supply back on. This will flush out sediments that have accumulated at the bottom of the tank. Wait until the water flowing out of the hose turns clear. This means that particles have already been flushed out and the tank is cleared for refilling again. To fill the tank, you have to turn off the hot water tap that you turned on earlier.
5. Remember that the heating element of your hot water heater may blow if there’s no water in the tank. So fill it up fast. Check your heater’s user manual to make sure that you won’t do anything that will harm or damage the system.
6. When you’re done refilling the tank, turn the heater’s power supply back on. Wait until the temperature of the heater is back up then check on its T & P valve. Turn on one of your hot water taps and make sure that it is supplying hot water. In case of a problem, refer to your heater’s user manual or call a professional to help you out.
We hope that you learned how to drain a gas hot water heater through our blog today. Should you need assistance with water heater installation or repair, just hire a reputed Broward County plumber, Douglas Orr Plumbing delivers exceptional yet affordable plumbing services in Broward County including water heater service, repiping, gas piping installation, kitchen remodeling and many more! Call us at (305) 240-6731!
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