2 EASY WAYS To Flush/Drain WATER HEATERS! (Pro Plumber Tips For Flushing Your Water Heater GAS/ELEC)

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THE ECO PLUMBERS
4691 Northwest Pkwy
Hilliard, OH 43026
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ECO PLUMBERS UNIVERSITY
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Homeowners should flush/drain their conventional tank water heaters at least once a year. This short video from The Honest Carpenter and Brent Clifford of Eco Plumbers in Hilliard, OH, will show you two easy methods for flushing your water heater!

2 EASY WAYS To Flush/Drain WATER HEATERS! (Pro Plumber Tips For Flushing Your Water Heater GAS/ELEC)

A good, modern water heater can reasonably be expected to last up to 12 years if properly maintained.

But the biggest detriment to water heater lifespan is SEDIMENT BUILDUP.

Drinking water contains minerals, such as CALCIUM, POTASSIUM AND MAGNESIUM. When water sits undisturbed in a tank water heater for hours at a time, these heavier minerals will gradually fall to the bottom of the tank.

Down here, the minerals collect into a hard slurry. This slurry dampens the effecitveness of the heater, and the minerals also eat away at the walls of the tank.

The ANODE ROD in the tank water heater is meant draw some of the minerals, but it can't get them all. So, it's a good idea to flush or drain the water heater tank at least annually!

There are two easy methods for doing this...

POWER FLUSH METHOD: Simply hook a garden hose up to the boiler assembly drain line at the bottom of the tank. Leave the cold water supply on, turn the 360 ball valve on the drain line, and let the hot water in the tank slowly be replaced with cold water form above. The swirling action of the new water in the line will stir up sediment, kicking it out through the spigot at the bottom. Then turn off ball valve, unhook and rain hose, and you're done.

GRAVITY DRAIN METHOD: Shut off the cold water supply, and turn the heating element off (electric), or dial down to pilot, away or vacation mode (gas). Hook up a hose to the valve at the bottom of the unit, and open the valve. (Lead hose somewhere outside or into a functioning drain.) Turn on several hot water taps in the house to allow air into the system. The Unit will slowly drain, flushing out sediment. When it is finished, turn off the lower valve, unhook the hose, turn on the cold water supply. When the tank is full again, turn off upstairs faucets, and switch back on the heating element, or turn the gas dial back up to desired temp.

Thanks for watching!
The Honest Carpenter

[michaelginsburg]

There is always one major problem with flushing/draining a water heater and that is the acutal drain valve used for above purpose. They are typically a hose bib type of valve and these all have a small orifice (about size of your pinky finder nail), This makes it very, very difficult to flush or especially drain the unit. This is especially true for older units that have a lot of built up sediment. As a retired GC whenever a new water was installed I had the plumber replace hose bib type drain valve with a 'full port ball valve' which provides a full 3/4" diameter opening for flushing/draining. Every 6 months I flush into blue 5 gal bucket a couple of times and thats it. If you wait a few minutes for sediment to settle in bucket you can see how much sediementf is removed.

[bugmandu]

Done this before but, this video is a GREAT reminder of how to do it. Thanks. Sure miss my Dad. He always came and showed me how to DIY!!!

[LarryB-inFL]

I always power flush into a white 5 gallon paint bucket, watching the sediment, emptying it, repeating until I stop getting sediment. If you prefer, one can hold the discharge end of the hose and feel the outflowing stream; you will feel the particles hitting your fingers.

[Ryan-jupn]

For the gravity drain, another video showed a good idea I think. After the tank is empty, open the inlet valve for 10-20 seconds to agitate the sediment and then drain it into a bucket. Repeat until the water in the bucket appears clear.

[billyoung]

I always remove the aerator from the faucets to avoid any possible sediment clogging them up. Also, using the bathtub hot side open works really well.

[ikenosis]

This year marks the 30th year (thirtieth) year of my hot water heater cranking out hot water and it was installed when we moved in. It may be 40 years old. She rocks super hot water everyday.

Thanks so much for this video.

[HyperactiveNeuron]

Gray presentation. I had to do a flush for a client a few years ago and it was bad. I went to do a gravity flush, relieved the pressure in the system but nothing would come out of the drain. I was afraid the drain itself was broken. So I took a length of copper wire from some scrap Romex and fished it into the drain and it was completely clogged with sediment. We have a ton of limestone here. I managed to free up enough to slowly drain the tank. Once it was drained I removed the heater elements and they were covered in sediment stuck a flashlight inside and I could see about 1½ inches of sediment so I stuck a shop vac hose in a sucked out out. The tank was still in great shape so I replaced the valve and the elements and it's been working great since.

[wayneyadams]

I've never heard of the power flush before. I will definitely use this because the stirring of the sediment should result in a more thorough cleaning.

[amerlin]

During flushing process, pulse the cold water supply off and on several times to disrupt and wash out more sediment. If partially or fully draining tank, it would be a good time to extract and check the anode rod. I've also heard that using a garden hose (attached to cold water supply, obviously) with a spray nozzle to spray down into the top of the emptied tank while the anode rod is out can help flush out the sediment.

I've had problems with using garden hose to drain because it gets clogged with sediment -- especially a very long hose to take the water out of a walk-out basement. I may look for a way to transition from garden hose thread to a discharge hose (like blue pool discharge hose}.

[arthurbrands]

This often forgotten procedure not only preserves the heater, but insures your energy costs, gas or electric, go toward making hot water and not toward making rocks. Thanks, Ethan!

[candeffect]

The biggest cause of heater failure is expansions and contractions from setting the temp too hot. Cracks form in the protective coating and rust rapidly destroys the tank.
My 1989 heater, in hard water CA, works as good as new because I keep the temp low enough to not need much cold water to mix.
Also, I never replaced the original anode rod.
I flush it, with water supply on, every 2 to 3 years. I replaced the small plastic drain valve with a 3/4" ball valve.
I replaced the original inlet tube about 3 years ago.
If the tube breaks you'll get a very short amount of hot water because the incoming cold water quickly mixes with the upper hot water.
Never drain the tank because incoming oxygen will quickly corrode weak spots.

[Bossmanrocks]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This was the easiest method I've seen by far. I love how you explained at the end to keep the hot water valves open while you're refiling the tank to get the air out of the system. So many other videos either skip that step or want you to mess around with the air pressure valve, which I am afraid to do as I heard too many horror stories about that.

[woodworksbygrampies]

Hola! 🖐 Excellent video, very useful information. I replaced my water heater about 6 - 7 years ago. The old one WAS SO HEAVY due to all the sediment that had settled, I had moved in shortly before the water heater went out. I now make sure to drain this one every six months, we have some really - extra "hard" water where I live (Southern California). I hope that a lot of people see this video and put this on their calendar just like changing batteries in smoke detectors, replacing filters in the refrigerator, etc. Take care and have a good one, Adios! 👊

[dmtycn]

Just clean a Electronic tank, I take out all the heat core, and you will find the lower hear core hole is big enough for a 1/4 pvc pipe, first put some acid into the tank, wait 15 minutes, I connected a curved pvc pipe to shop vac and start to vacuum all the stuff on the bottom, it's pretty efficient and works well. It's a 2006 tank and after clean out and change the rod & heat core, it works perfect now! Cost: Rod $30 + 2 heat core $34

[janetyeoman]

Best to remove bathroom tap aerator screen before flushing. Scale and sediment will be broken loose and clog screen after refilling tank .Don’t use kitchen tap to vent, refill as they are more difficult to service.

[stevenallen]

Appreciate the post. However... (here it comes) you didn't pull the annode and check condition. (Amazon has flex replacement annodes for under $30 bucks.) Have rental properties and this step is a MUST DO for tank longivity. Amazing how fast these will corrode away to nothing and then the tank rusts/leaks. (I swear, the makers of these tanks are counting on this.) Down side to this extra step is the first time you pull the annode you'll need a 1/2 inch impact. On super tight from the factory. Breaker bar w/ pipe extension won't work because the tank will want to turn with the rotational force needed to break the annode free. No way to hold it in place to apply force.

[garyallman]

I installed 3/4" full port ball valves on the drains of my water heaters, for a much more vigorous flush. Some of the drain valves that come with the tanks have a very small opening, where any sediment larger than about 1/4" will clog it and stop the flow.

In my area, once a year flush seems to be plenty. Anode rods here last about 5 years before it is best to replace them -- I doubt that 5% of owners ever replace an anode rod.

[kersi-sandiego]

I use method one. Just FYI on one point. I save the flushed water in a garbage can and use it later for plants. One more question - what are the pros and cons of each method? Thx for an excellent video.

[kurtminges]

My water heaters outside in a closet, , , instead of wasting the water down the drain I'd water my bushes and trees with the flush water and did it often this way I wasn't wasting it going down the street or the drain (its an Arizona thing ) but before I invented that , ,i would flush it onto a used furnace filter this way I can see what's coming out and how much and when it stops coming out, this way I can monitor it

[ac_tv]

Looks like the power flush is the best method and easier to do. Thanks!