"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Lets see. Now, if you open the drain, the water flows from the
cold water supply, through the Tee, and out the drain. So, tell
me how you get the sediment out of the tank, since the cold
water goes right out the drain, without going into the WH?

With the conventional setup, the water comes in through the dip
tube, and out the drain. at least the conventional, water flows
through the WH during sediment draining.

I didn't say it was the smart way - only that it was possible. Presumably any
sediment gets carried out by gravity.

The only reason I could see plumbing the tank this way would be a short term
work around to a broken dip tube, so maybe sediment isn't a concern...