How to Drain Your Water Heater, and Why?

Essential to lengthening the lifetime of your water heater, draining your water heater will also help it to run better. First, you have to determine whether your Berkeley water heater runs on gas or electric.

 

In many cases, the label will not specify the type of heater. Nevertheless, you can search for a label that shows a small flame, or you can look for a pilot light that will be located towards the bottom of your water heater.

If you see the pilot light, that shows your heater runs on gas. You can also ask a professional or check the product manual.

Getting Started

With gas heaters, they will require the additional step of cleaning the ports and the burner. When starting, you will first shut off the water to the heater.

You will look at the top of the heater, and you should see a water pipe and a water shutoff valve. Turning this valve clockwise, it will shut the water off.

Before starting, you have to shut off the power. You will find this in the circuit breaker box, and the correct fuse should have a label. A failure to shut off the heater risks burning out the element.

Attaching a Hose

Next, attach a hose, but be certain you have chosen a hose that is not worn out because this can cause leakages. Place one end of the hose into the basement floor drain, and attach the other side to the spigot towards the bottom section of the water heater.

Next, you will turn the spigot counter-clockwise. You have to exercise extreme caution when doing this because the water from the tank will be extraordinarily hot, and you want it to cool before draining the tank.

Towards the top of the water heater, you should see a pressure release valve. Opening this valve will cause the water to flow out of the tank. Be patient because this can take up to 30 minutes, but it depends on how full the water heater is and the amount of dirt in the water.

The Pressure Valve

Check and test the pressure release valve to make sure that it functions correctly. You will find this in the owner’s manual. If it does not work correctly in the test, contact a licensed professional Berkeley plumber.

The pressure valve will still be on when you turn the water back on because this eliminates sediment that has been left behind. When the water runs clear, you are finished. Remove the hose from the spigot and tighten it. Then you can close the pressure valve and turn the water back on.

Give Albert Nahman Plumbing and Heating today at (510) 876-9725 , to get your water heater flushed properly in your Berkeley, CA home.