Hot water tank draining

Open a hot water faucet.

-If used recently, allow water in tank to cool, after cooling
-Make sure pump is turned Off
-Open hot water faucet(s)
-Flip cock of pressure relief valve at water heater
-Unscrew anode rod (if part of your water heater)
-Drain tank

I turn on the outside shower to the hot water faucet and let the water drain that way.

chevman

Lift the handle on the relief valve. Just like at home.

After years of releasing the pressure relief valve on the heater, I forgot to this fall and also took a bath. You can also open a faucet like others have stated, but the valve works just fine.

I've done that to myself a couple of times LOL!

donn0128 wrote:
Lift the handle on the relief valve. Just like at home.

2X

It is right there when draining. When I am filling the first trip after having drained, I also open to fill the tank, once it starts spitting water I shut.

Why pull the rod at all if you are just draining to winterize. Easiest is to open low point drains, open taps and flip pressure valve. All the water will drain out of the HWH negating the need to remove the anode.

Cecilt wrote:
Why pull the rod at all if you are just draining to winterize. Easiest is to open low point drains, open taps and flip pressure valve. All the water will drain out of the HWH negating the need to remove the anode.

My experience is that the low point drain will not completely drain the water heater. Also if you use antifreeze, you would have to fill the water heater completely with antifreeze to pressurize the hot water system to get it through all the hot water pipes. Much easier to pull the rod and bypass the water heater with the antifreeze.

camperforlife wrote:

Cecilt wrote:
Why pull the rod at all if you are just draining to winterize. Easiest is to open low point drains, open taps and flip pressure valve. All the water will drain out of the HWH negating the need to remove the anode.

My experience is that the low point drain will not completely drain the water heater. Also if you use antifreeze, you would have to fill the water heater completely with antifreeze to pressurize the hot water system to get it through all the hot water pipes. Much easier to pull the rod and bypass the water heater with the antifreeze.

I just open the low point drain then set the bypass off and pump anti-freeze thru the system without filling the hw tank. I winterize and dewinterize several times a winter since we use our trailer about 10 months a year. Using the low point drain speeds things up because I don't have to remove the anode rod. There's never enough water left in the hw tank to cause any issues due to ice expansion.