Water Heater Sediment

[pstu24]

I am having trouble with water staying hot long (maybe past 10 minutes for showers). And if we run the laundry at the same time as trying to wash our hands we bleed through hot water quickly. I don't know if I am going to need to replace the water heater, but if I can actually delay that move for another year I am comfortable doing so.

Here's the question, from what I saw via a few sources online, it says to disconnect the gas and turn off all power and etc. before draining sediment. Is that a necessary step? Because a close family friend just mentioned to me a few days ago that's not a "necessary" step and I should just be able to open the valve at the bottom, let it all drain, and then once it refills it should be no problem...

I'm just looking for anyone with experience with this to give me the heads up so I don't waste time, but also so I don't blow my whole system to try and save 10 minutes of time!

[Spork]

You certainly don't have to *disconnect* the gas.  Turning it off would be just fine.  (You could leave it on, but then you'll have a big roaring flame for no real reason.)

My one word of caution:  Before you start, consider the age and the materials of your drain valve.  If it's a plastic valve, opening it to drain may very well be the last operation you do on it.  Some of those just don't like to be used at all.  If it is an old brass valve with a rubber seat, it may open fine and then you may have to replace the rubber seat to get it to close fully without leaking.  Old plumbing that isn't used often (like shut off valves) tend to turn to crumbly snot over the years.

It also sounds like something more than sediment to me.  If your water heater is really heating to 140 and it's 40 gallons or so... I would think you'd get more time out of it.  (But draining the tank shouldn't hurt... as long as your drain will shut off when you are done.)

[lthenderson]

Yes, be careful with the valve. I've seen many destroyed permanently over the years. I actually cut open a water heater once that was drained often to "remove" sediment and found it full of sediment with a cone shaped area leading down to the valve that was sediment free. In other words, unless there is a way to disturb the sediment before you drain the tank, you are removing very little of it by draining it periodically. I don't even bother anymore.

[HipGnosis]

My water heater manual says not to drain it.
Google your brand and model if you don't have your manual.
 

[Highbeam]

Cheaper and easier to just replace it when it fails. The only good reason for a drain valve is to empty the old unit when you swap to a new one. It only needs to work once!

[Mgmny]

Cheaper and easier to just replace it when it fails. The only good reason for a drain valve is to empty the old unit when you swap to a new one. It only needs to work once!

Let's say he does just have sediment build up that he can drain out. How would it be cheaper to replace the whole unit than POSSIBLY need to replace a gasket/seal?

[trollwithamustache]

so here is the deal, heat makes bricks.

If the water heater is on in anyway while you have drained/draining it, the heat may damage the tank and will definitely bake the sediment into a solid.

If you can leave the gas connected and be sure the pilot and water heater is off you are fine. This is not the idiot proof way to do things... ie, if the pilot light is on and you leave it drained for a few days because something came up... the tank can heat up.

how hard is your water? Do you have a "hot mix" or "thermal mixing valve"?

[LPG]

I hope I'm not too late to jump in on this thread.

One common problem with water heaters is that the inlet pipe can rust and break. Typically the inlet pipe directs incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank, preventing it from reducing the temperature of the hot water at the top. When it breaks, the cold water is released into the top of the tank instead of the bottom. Then, when you're using water, the temperature of water at the top of the tank decreases more rapidly, because of this cold water mixing in. Since you're having issues with very low storage of hot water, this could be the problem. If you don't find sediment in the bottom of the tank, or that doesn't solve the problem, you may want to look into this.

This issue can be hard to identify. If you have it REALLY bad, then the entire dip tube has broken off and is laying in the tank. When the gas burner turns on you'll be able to hear it bouncing around, making a clunking sound. But that's rare. Normally it will be a little split in the tube wall, which is harder to identify. It might be worth replacing the dip tube before replacing the entire water heater, if you get to that point.

[Ocinfo]

Cheaper and easier to just replace it when it fails. The only good reason for a drain valve is to empty the old unit when you swap to a new one. It only needs to work once!

Let's say he does just have sediment build up that he can drain out. How would it be cheaper to replace the whole unit than POSSIBLY need to replace a gasket/seal?

Depends on how old the water heater is. If 10+ years, no point in messing around with it as it's likely on borrowed time. I don't like throwing stuff out but that's just the way it is for water heaters. Much less disruptive to just proactively replace when issues start than to wake up one morning to no hot water and a flood because pan/drain couldn't contain the water.


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