One of the things on the to-do list at daylight savings time was to drain the hot water tank. Here is what I did:
1) Shut off the electric breaker to the hot water tank
2) Hook up a hose to the drain valve
3) Shut off the cold water inlet
4) Opened the drain valve with the hose attached to it and drained it into the shower
5) Hit the relief valve a few times with a can to catch the water
6) The tank drained for some reason not looking too dirty
7) Closed the drain valve and removed the hose
8) Cracked the hot water faucet a bit
9) Turned on the cold water inlet
It didn't seem to be filling anymore that what the faucet was calling for and shutting off the faucet seemed to stop the flow of water into the tank. I didnt' think it filled back up so with the electricity still off, I repeated steps 2-4 and no more water came out. Can anyone please tell me what might be wrong or what steps I can take at this point to verify there is water in the tank?
2007-03-16 13:45:58 · 6 answers · asked by dja_vu 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Tony, as you may have imagined I am sitting on this question. Water does come out of the pressure relief valve!
2007-03-16 13:58:05 · update #1
dlmrgnk, your tip worked also. I think I dare to put the breaker back on. What I meant to say was that it didn't seem to be filling anymore than what the faucet was calling for. It didn't seem like the air went long enough to fill a 30 gal tank.
2007-03-16 14:05:35 · update #2
flip the lever at the tp valve [relief valve] a couple of times if water comes out then ther is water in the tank
2007-03-16 13:52:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you open the cold water valve inlet to the hot water heater and open and hot water faucet (with the cold water off) and water comes out of the faucet, there MUST be water in the hot water heater. The inlet to the tank is way below the outlet so air is expelled first.
I don't understand your "It didn't seem to be filling anymore that what the faucet was calling for" comment. Air will come out of the hot water faucet until the tank is full and then you'll get water.
2007-03-16 13:54:25 · answer #2 · answered by DelK 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If water comes out of the relief valve, there is enough water in the tank to protect the elements. But run the hot side of a faucet for a while anyway.
By the way, I've worked with water heater since 1972.
Concerning residential heaters, --- the best thing you can do for them is put them on a softner.
Draining them from time to time does nothing.
Taking the elements out onced a year and cleaning them as the manufacturers suggest isn't worth it.
They only cost $4.25 wholesale.
I charge $11 for a element when I sell one.
2007-03-16 15:11:52 · answer #3 · answered by rangedog 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The first two guys have you covered for your question. But going forward, you don't need to drain the tank just to bleed out the mineral deposits. Use your hose like before, but leave the breaker on, the water on, no need for anything fancy. (You don't need to crank the drain valve wide open either, just enough to get a good flow.)
Normally its a good idea to do this quarterly, but it really depends on the quality of your water. Some water is really hard and might benefit from monthly, better water 6 months, but try not to wait a whole year.
2007-03-16 14:18:16 · answer #4 · answered by KirksWorld 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
shutoff the cold water supply to the heater.. open the hot on the faucet. and water pressure? turn on the cold supply to the heater. do you hear the hot faucet running? if you do its full.
2007-03-16 15:14:08 · answer #5 · answered by hometech02 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
turn on all of your hot water valves to bleed out the air because you possibly have some air traped in line somewear and unsrcew your facuet aerartors so you can get rid of some of the sediment in your lines
2007-03-16 16:21:01 · answer #6 · answered by Frank F 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋