The correct way to drain a water heater is to.....

[Pamela G.]

Hi, I need to drain my water heater and am a bit confused.

First off, there are no directions on the outside of the water heater. It is about 7 years old.

I did a search online and found many sites that explain now to do it, but my question is some sites say to open the pressure relief valve, and some sites say to leave it alone......Can someone give me any advice on which method to follow.....Thanks!!

[dan]

[jmagerl]

Everytime I have ever opened a pressure relief, I have always had to buy a new one. Once openned, they just drip...drip....drip....

[hallerb]

if it hasnt been drained in 7 years just leave it alone, as any disturbance to it at this time may cause a failure sooner.

from the expert plumber rich T on this old house

[trader4]

You need to open something somewhere to let air in so the tank can drain. That could be either the TPR valve or a hot water faucet.

The TPR thing is divided into 2 camps. One is to operate it at least once a year to make sure it works freely and would open in an emergency. The downside is that they can then fail to close completely. The other camp says to leave it alone. If you do open it and it drips, you can try to reseat it a couple times. If it still leaks, it's easy to replace and only costs about $10.

[Meat Plow]

Leave it alone.

[Pamela G.]

[Pamela G.]

Really?? That's so confusing as I've read that it will extend the life and be an improvement if you do that maintenance. Now I'm not sure what to do?

[Pamela G.]

[e-mail]

Thanks Trader! I think I better just open the hot water faucet as with my luck the TPR valve would probably leak!

[Pamela G.]

Never clean it out ever? But they suggest you should....I'm confused.

[Oren]

I leave well enough alone. Maintenance should be early on and continue on a routine basis and regularly. If I mess with an old tank I get problems.

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