Flushing Hot Water Tank

[DrRod]

Greetings,

I was brought up to flush the HW annually. Recently, a plumber told me that it isn't done routinely anymore. Do you do it or have you heard its not needed.

Also, the tray under the tank has a bit of water in it. I'm assuming this is from condensation. But how much is too much -- when does it indicate a leak or other problem?

 

[ultrarunner]

Tray should be dry after initial fill and fire.

Everytime I have found water in pan after the next day there was a problem.

My heaters all inside so can't comment if outside.

 

[ap0915]

I’ve heard some say it’s not necessary. Personally I still do, it’s easy preventative maintenance in my opinion and doesn’t hurt it.

If you have water in the tray it may be from the pressure relief valve, might want to have a look at it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Want to add that I have added brass hose bib caps to all hose bibs not in use where a leak would cause damage...

It comes from being a property manager and experiencing kids fooling around with water heater and washing machine hydrants...

Sometimes water heater flush hydrants will seep or drip after flushing...

 

[Roadworthy]

I would not assume condensation unless it's on the input line to the heater. Moisture doesn't tend to condense on a warmer surface than the surrounding air. I'd look for leaks or drips somewhere. The drain valve could be dripping. The input or output locations could be seeping a bit. The pressure relief could be another point. Less likely but still a possibility are the heating elements. Water in the pan is NEVER a good sign.

 

[nybirdman]

I flush ours every couple of years because we have very hard water;certainly is needed in our case.

 

[JJT]

I also have hard water and used to do a semiannual drain. I got lazy on the last water heater, never did a drain/flush and it was still working fine at 15+ years old, when I replaced it with a high efficiency unit. If the new unit is as good as the last one, I will be happy - 15+ years without replacing heating elements or anodes.

Two water heaters ago I did have a dripping drain valve after doing my semi annual drain. It slow dripped for a few days and then stopped.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I recently had to drain my water heater and there was so much sediment it clogged the drain. I ended up having to blow in compressed air and having it drain through the cold water side. Once the water level got below the dip tube it wouldn't drain any further so I unscrewed the drain valve and tried to screw in a straight piece of pipe fast enough to catch most of the water. Tried.

The reason I had drained it was the thermostat was covered in sediment and no longer maintaining temperature. With the drain out I was able to flush it, replace the thermostat and anode and I was good to go.

So don't do what I did. But frankly anode replacement is probably more important.

 

[Doofy]

My well water is filtered and softened prior to the water heater so there has never been a sand or sediment problem. I do have to change out the anode rod every couple of years though.

 

[jaxs]

I've dealt with hundreds of plumbers and amongest other things I've learned is they rarly give advice that help's you avoid hireing them.