Does anyone drain the HOT water heater . . . .

[IHnutz]

. . . . when not using the trailer? The Shop Foreman at the dealership suggested that I drain the water heater whenever the trailer was going to set unused for more than a couple of days. His reasoning was that the "crud" build up from hard water deposits would be flushed out more often and could extend the life of the heater. I've not done that before, usually waiting 'til I winterized in the Fall, with any of the other units we've had. I replace the anode rod every 2 or 3 years but other than that have not had any issues with any of them. What are your thoughts?

[4x4van]

ppine wrote:
There is a bacterium that lives in hot water that creates H2S, hydrogen sulfide. Drainging the tank will take care of it.

How did it get in there to begin with?;)

Does anybody drain the water heater in their stick & brick house when they go on a 3-4 day trip? How about a week long vacation? Shop foreman at the OP's dealership sounds like a fruit loop to me.

[ppine]

There is a bacterium that lives in hot water that creates H2S, hydrogen sulfide. Drainging the tank will take care of it.

[mr__ed]

I had to drain mine while parked at an RV park in Hendersonville, NC due to the advance of winter, and My RV was going to be unused during that season. I'm glad I did it because it was a bitterly cold winter.

[Hammerboy]

I'll drain if I'm not using it for a few weeks, too often when I don't I end up sanatizing it because it ends up smelling like rotten eggs.

Dan

[CavemanCharlie]

I didn't read this whole thread. I never drain mine until it's time to put it away for the winter. I am just a weekend camper and draining it every week would be too much work.

[ppine]

I installed a hot water heater bypass and rarely ever use it. If we need some hot water to wash dishes, we just heat it on the stove, rather than heating 5 gallons at a time.

[fj12ryder]

Hey, talk to George Carlin, he was the one who started the whole "Hot water doesn't need heating" thing. 🙂

[TurnThePage]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
All these clever remarks about hot/cold water heater, etc. so enrich my RV experience. How could we be so stupid to refer to it as a "hot water heater".

Yes, I'll have to sip a soda/pop/coke and ponder that. 🙂

As it turns out, I just checked the water heater as it's been about 5 weeks since our last use of the trailer, and it reeked of rotten eggs, totally over powering.

Under the right conditions it's a REAL phenomenon. Would love for some of the snarky doubters to come on over and enjoy a wiff.

[Jayco-noslide]

All these clever remarks about hot/cold water heater, etc. so enrich my RV experience. How could we be so stupid to refer to it as a "hot water heater".

[2oldman]

I drained mine today and glad I did. Anode rod with lots of pits and some white gunk on the socket it goes in. Flushed 'er out good.

[ncrowley]

We drain the hot water heater once per year when we sanitize the fresh water system. We do not need to winterize it since we live in a warm climate and it is stored in a garage.

[SidecarFlip]

Oooooh...another good thread.

My last unit a Lance TC had an Atwood with no anode rod, my present camper Palomino has a Suburban with an anode rod.

I drain mine prior to winterization and leave the anode rod out, all winter. In the spring, I flush the unit out with a spray nozzle and install a new anode and always a Suburban magnesium anode rod, never the cheaper Wally World aluminum rod. The purpose of the anode rod is to protect the tank from internal corrosion and that takes magnesium, not aluminum. Besides, the genuine rod is cheap. The HWH isn't cheap to replace. Some people use teflon pipe tape, I use copper Never-Sieze on the threads. Just my personal preference I guess.

[ppine]

I installed a by pass and rarely use the water heater. We heat small amounts of hot water on the stove for cleaning and washing. Left over habits from camping days. I fill my propane tanks less than once a year.

[4x4van]

30 years of RVing, 3 motorhomes...have never drained my water heater, nor bleached my fresh water tanks.