Water heaters are the most common water heating device used by people all over the world. It is a common household as well as commercial equipment, which supply hot water to our daily needs. Water has to be heated in such a way that it is safe to use and its quality must not get deteriorated due to exposure to dust particles.
Let’s face it. Draining a water heater ain’t nobody’s favorite chore. But what if you could do it without having to mess with that pesky drain valve? Believe it or not, it’s actually pretty easy – as long as you know how! So keep reading, and I’ll show you how to do it step by step.
What is a Drain Valve?
A drain valve is a small fitting on the side of your water heater that accepts a garden hose to drain the impurities that accumulate inside your hot water tank. When this build-up occurs, you’ll need to do something to remove the water because it’s not safe to use. The drain valve has a small red knob on the top of it. This is what you’ll need to turn in order to open and close it.
Things you need to drain water heater without drain valve:
If you are struggling with the presence of a drain valve or wondering how to drain a water heater without it, then here is one more way.
- Garden Hose- 1/2″ in diameter
- Rope
- A 5-gallon bucket with a lid
Drain A Water Heater Without Drain Valve
Draining a water heater without a drain valve is a bit complicated but not impossible. So here, we will see step by step guide to drain a water heater without turning its Drain valve (knob).
Step 1:
First of all, you have to turn off your water supply valve which is located outside your house on the street. In most cases, it is a separate valve and not the one for your whole home. This valve will have “Water” written on the side of it.
Step 2:
Next, you should open up your hot water faucet in order to drain any remaining water that’s still in the pipes. It is important to do this because once you start draining your water heater, you don’t want any air to enter the system. If it does, you will end up with dirt and debris in your hot water tank.
Step 3:
After that, attach a hose to the drain valve of your water heater and put the other end of the hose outside or at least someplace where it won’t cause any problems. You should then open up the drain valve until all the water has drained out of it. Or, if your hot water tank isn’t too low, you can just leave this valve closed and pour some fresh water in to displace any sediment that has accumulated inside the tank.
Step 4:
Next, take off the hose from your drain valve and carefully turn the knob so that it is closed. After this, go to your water supply valve and open it up in order to flush out any sediment or debris that has collected inside of your home’s piping.
Step 5:
Finally, you need to refill your tank by turning on all of the hot water faucets until they are spouting water. Also, you should open the drain valve of your water heater so that any remaining sediment can get washed out of it. This will help prevent any problems from occurring at a later date.
Water Heater Installation
Step 1:
First of all, turn off your power or gas supply to the location where you will find your water heater. Turn it back on once the installation process is complete and you have a new unit ready to go. This part is pretty self-explanatory but if you are unsure how to shut off the mainline, call an electrician or a plumber to help you out.
Step 2:
After that, detach the water supply lines coming into your tank from the main line. Most of them are flexible hoses, but others can be rigid metal pipes instead. Be sure that you turn off the hot water first if you have to detach anything that’s still under pressure.
Step 3:
Next, find the drain valve of your water heater and open it up so that any residual water will get drained out. If you don’t have a drain valve, go to the bottom of your unit and look for the dip tube there. This is usually made from flexible plastic and can be removed without too much effort on your part.
Step 4:
After that, detach the wiring harness that links your water heater to its power supply or breaker box. Usually, these are just standard wire nuts which you can unplug by hand. If they aren’t removable, you will need a screwdriver to take them out of their sockets. Or if you don’t have one of these, you can just cut the wires instead.
Step 5:
After that, use a pipe wrench or an adjustable crescent wrench to unbolt and detach your water heater from its location. Make sure to put it down on a blanket or some other kind of soft surface so that it doesn’t get damaged by hitting something hard like a basement floor.
Step 6:
Take your new water heater and attach the flexible hoses to the corresponding connections on its sides. Also, hook up any wiring harnesses that you had to detach from before. Make sure that if there is a rubber gasket being used, it goes into position on one side first and then gets pushed into place on the other side.
Step 7:
Last but not least, give the water heater a good shake in order to make sure that it is seated properly on its base. If you hear any clanking or other strange noises, this means that something isn’t right and your new unit might be damaged. Take it back to where you bought it in order to exchange it for a new one.
Conclusion:
Your water heater is a big piece of your home’s infrastructure. It powers all those hot showers and baths, as well as the dishwasher, washing machine, and so on.
The last thing you want to happen when it breaks down is for an emergency response team to show up at your door with their truck, tools in hand ready to fix things…You can save yourself some time by reading this blog post! We hope that this has been helpful.
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