Technical > Home Improvement > Flush an old hot water heater?

Flush an old hot water heater?

I personally would just spend the money and get a new one. After 15 years, it's probably ready for retirement. And you don't want to wake up to no hot water one morning.

reply to TheSMJ
Ideally, you would tell the seller what you told us, and have them pay for all or half of the cost of a new one as a condition for closing.

reply to TheSMJ
Don't open the drain valve.

reply to rjackal
Being as it's exactly one week before closing I doubt I could pull that off.

I learned about the water heater almost 2 months ago since the home inspection. Originally I was planning on just dealing with it until I have to turn the thermostat all the way up, and then replacing it. But, the more I think about it the more I realize I should try and deal with this before I actually move in and (in the case of a replacement) have to deal without hot water while the tank is replaced and reheats.

reply to TheSMJ
A 15 year old gas unit is not worth attempting to flush at this stage of the game.

Save yourself a headache and just replace it.

You might have trouble just draining the old one if in fact the sediment accumulation is as heavy as you anticipate.
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reply to TheSMJ
I was thinking of doing the same thing to a tank that was made in 1997..
Seems to be running fine tho.

Bad idea?

Sorry for hijacking this thread.
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reply to TheSMJ
The flush should cost you next to nothing, so I think it's worth trying to do it, you just need to be aware that it may not help.

I have an electric heater and a couple of years ago I used up probably 2 gallons of vinegar to clean out all the sediments.
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1. If sediment is that much of a problem problem, it won't come out the drain valve. When I retired my old water heater, the water just trickled out; the plumber had to knock off the drain valve with a hammer.

2. He'll never get the drain valve completely closed.

Some things to consider -
Probably the sacrificial anode rod has never been changed, thus 15 years is past the point (by only a couple of years) where it is protecting the tank from rust. And you probably would never get the old plug loose to put a new rod in (if you can find the plug as sometimes they are under the top metal cover). When buying a new heater, make sure the 'plug' is visible and, while new and before heating for the first time, unscrew the plug and reinstall with tape - unless you don't plan on checking the anode rod every 2 years or so.

Are you proficient in gas and water plumbing (esp if the water lines are soldered rather than using fittings you can unscrew).

Is the tank downstairs in a basement or in the garage? If the tank is in a basement and you can not get it to drain, it would be a heck of a chore to get it up the stairs while full of water. Never poke anything into the drain if it is plugged AND full of hot water. If the plug comes open and hot water sprays out onto you, well ...

Leaking drains can sometimes be fixed by getting a hose bibb metal or plastic screw on cap. So if you can't get a drain to stop dripping, just screw on a bibb cap. That often solves the drip problem.

reply to TheSMJ
I wonder if you're really getting all the hot water. Make sure you don't have a mixing valve or some other connection between the hot and cold water. Turn off the cold water feed to the water heater and make sure the hot water really stops flowing. If it continues, you have a cross-connection somewhere.

reply to TheSMJ
When I replaced mine, I had to bring it up to code. Even though it is electric, it now sits on a stand approx 2ft off the floor. The only bad thing is that when I want to replace the anode, I only have 1.5/2ft to the ceiling.

Or read »www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/···ter.html
for anode options and other useful info on water heaters.

A useful 'forum' on water heaters too.

reply to boaterbob

Well ... If you had left the water to the heater turned on, it would spray out the hole once you removed the anode (guess you figured that); if the water was HOT, guess what would spray out!

But, no you do not need for the water to be cool before you remove the anode provided, of course, that you turned OFF the water AND turned off the electricity if your heater is electric. If power is ON and the tank water level drops below the level of the heating elements AND they were still ON, then the elements would be destroyed and you'd need to buy and install new elements.

The bigger question is, can you even get the old anode bolt unscrewed. I just did a 4 year old electric water heater and I used a pneumatic wrench (didn't work), a socket breaker bar (didn't work) a 3# hammer against the breaker bar (didn't work) and a 4ft long water pipe over the breaker bar with a lot of force (and it finally came loose). TIP: if you tank is soldered to the water pipes, do not let the tank twist or turn too much as you try to loosen the anode nut as you do not want to break any solder joints (or tip over the take full of water).