Forum Discussion

dennislanier's avatar
dennislanier
Explorer
Nov 03, 2015

Water heater bypass

I've been reading several "winterizing" posts, and something just occurred to me. If you are blowing out the water lines instead of adding antifreeze, is it even necessary to bypass the water heater?

I always drain the water heater and bypass it before blowing out the lines. Is there some advantage to bypassing the water heater that I have not thought about before?
Class C
  • dennislanier's avatar
    dennislanier
    Explorer
    Nov 04, 2015
    enblethen wrote:
    No advantage.
    I drain the tank, blow out the lines, then remove the plug to insure there is no remaining water.
    If you have a Suburban, it is good time to check and possibly replace the anode.
    If Atwood, good time to inspect the plug to insure it's corners are not rounded off and needs replacing.


    Good point about the plug. The nylon plug in mine came apart last year when I removed it. It is easy to overtighten them and I think that is what I did in the spring before. In any event they don't last forever so it is a good idea to check them closely when draining the tank.
  • dennislanier's avatar
    dennislanier
    Explorer
    Nov 04, 2015
    Old-Biscuit wrote:
    n7bsn wrote:
    Well, I would need 12 gallons as opposed to 2

    I understand that at least one of the water-heater makers recommend against RV antifreeze in the tank


    OP isn't using anti-freeze just blowing lines out


    I drain and blow lines only.

    Because of water in bypass line I do open bypass valve while draining (leave cold and hot valves open) so that section doesn't have any trapped water.


    Sounds like a good idea. I only use antifreeze in the traps and toilet so no danger of getting antifreeze in the hot water tank. Thanks for the suggestions.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Nov 03, 2015
    n7bsn wrote:
    Well, I would need 12 gallons as opposed to 2

    I understand that at least one of the water-heater makers recommend against RV antifreeze in the tank


    OP isn't using anti-freeze just blowing lines out


    I drain and blow lines only.

    Because of water in bypass line I do open bypass valve while draining (leave cold and hot valves open) so that section doesn't have any trapped water.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Nov 03, 2015
    No advantage.
    I drain the tank, blow out the lines, then remove the plug to insure there is no remaining water.
    If you have a Suburban, it is good time to check and possibly replace the anode.
    If Atwood, good time to inspect the plug to insure it's corners are not rounded off and needs replacing.
  • n7bsn's avatar
    n7bsn
    Explorer
    Nov 03, 2015
    Well, I would need 12 gallons as opposed to 2

    I understand that at least one of the water-heater makers recommend against RV antifreeze in the tank
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Nov 03, 2015
    Just to make sure there is no section of pipe holding water in between the bypass switch and the tank,I will drain the tank, blow air through it, then turn the bypass switch, and do it again.

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