Water Heater when draining leaks into trailer

Get a 1/2 inch piece of pipe oh say six inches long give or take an inch or two (exact length matters not) remove plug and immed insert pipe and screw it in.

Alt

Now I have an atwood so no metal plugs.. I got a CPVC to Brass adapter then put a quarter turn valve on that, And I screw the pipe in BEFORE I open the valve .

wa8yxm wrote:
Get a 1/2 inch piece of pipe oh say six inches long give or take an inch or two (exact length matters not) remove plug and immed insert pipe and screw it in.

Alt

Now I have an atwood so no metal plugs.. I got a CPVC to Brass adapter then put a quarter turn valve on that, And I screw the pipe in BEFORE I open the valve .

I understand adding length to the drain plug, but 6 inches? How will he put the outside cover back on? And, are you saying leave the extension in there all the time? What about the anode rod if he has one.

Also, if you are suggesting pulling the plug and anode rod and then inserting the extension, he's still going get water draining in the bottom of the metal frame (pan), and it's still going to drain inside the camper while he pulls the plug to put in the insert.

It's a noble idea, but I just don't see how that would work. ????

1/2 inch is for Atwood.
Suburbans are larger. I think they are one inch.

DutchmenSport wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
Get a 1/2 inch piece of pipe oh say six inches long give or take an inch or two (exact length matters not) remove plug and immed insert pipe and screw it in.

Alt

Now I have an atwood so no metal plugs.. I got a CPVC to Brass adapter then put a quarter turn valve on that, And I screw the pipe in BEFORE I open the valve .

I understand adding length to the drain plug, but 6 inches? How will he put the outside cover back on? And, are you saying leave the extension in there all the time? What about the anode rod if he has one.

Also, if you are suggesting pulling the plug and anode rod and then inserting the extension, he's still going get water draining in the bottom of the metal frame (pan), and it's still going to drain inside the camper while he pulls the plug to put in the insert.

It's a noble idea, but I just don't see how that would work. ????

It works very well in my case. I have a 6" piece of plastic pipe with an elbow on one end. I loosen the anode rod and as I remove it I insert the pipe. Very little water will come out if the relief valve has not been opened until the pipe is screwed in place. A rag will catch that water. I have the elbow so I can drain the water into a bucket for use in the yard.

The Eternabond will probably work but you might want to go higher up the sides with it. I have replaced the Suburban water heater on my trailer before and the proper installation includes caulking between the galvanized door / wall flange and the galvanized water heater flange. This keeps both water draining from the tank and rain water leaking around the door from leaking between the flanges into the interior of the trailer.

I noticed on the old water heater that the caulk was clear and although still flexible was too hard to be silicone. I contacted Northwood to find out what they used when they installed it in the trailer and they said they used clear Proflex RV caulk. I found that the local Ace Hardware store had a tube and purchased it. After sealing the two flanges together I went ahead and reinstalled using beautiful butyl tape is Northwood did.

That is no big deal if you have a tube of self leveling dicor handy.

Way I did mine.

How does he put the cover back on..

Simple. after draining the tank he removes the pipe (I lay mine on the bottom of the compartment, or rather I did when before mod) and puts the nylon plug or anode rod back in.. You only screw in the pipe while draining the waterheater

Oh you want it COLD not hot, and screw it in quickly.. You may get some water inside, but only a small amount.

Another option would be a half pipe.. try 2" sawed in half under the outlet while you screw in the extension.