wrote:
On Aug 20, 1:36 pm, Winston wrote:
LouB wrote:
Winston wrote:
I say, don't drain the heater,
Good, we can agree on something.
and leave the anode alone. Life's too short to worry about milking an
extra year or two out of a lowly water heater.
How about an extra decade or two? Is that worth 15 minutes a year?
--Winston
Why not drain the water?
Lou
I don't see a reason to do it.

Draining it periodically is supposed to remove some of the sediment
that collects at the bottom of tank and that inhibits heat
transfer. You can replace the cheap plastic valve with a real one
when installing a new tank.

There is a large area at the bottom of the tank to collect
sediment. Much of the heat exchange occurs further up
in the tank anyway:

http://www.homerepairforum.com/image...TAWAY_w550.JPG

The risk of sediment causing a leak in that valve is
really too great for my taste. It seems reasonable
that it is a 'single use' part.

--Winston