Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

thanks for all your help in advance!

NAL

wrote:
Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

thanks for all your help in advance!

Water flows downhill. Is your water heater above the shower?

You need not waste the water. Ten five-gallon buckets should do the trick.
You can get eight or nine flushes out of the stored water. Or empty one
bucket in the tub (plus hot water) for a bath.

On Oct 23, 8:52 am, Steve wrote:
wrote on 23 Oct 2007 in group alt.home.repair:

Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

If the outlet in the shower is lower than the water heater, then the water
heater will drain, along with everything else that's higher than the
outlet.

Open other faucets to allow air into the system so it'll drain faster. In
fact, open all the faucets so you can drain the whole system and recharge
your air hammer chambers.

Turn off the water heater so it doesn't burn itself up trying to heat an
empty tank.

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

OK, the shower is on the 1st floor, the water heater in the basement.
Where is all the water coming from? I had let it drain for about 15
minutes and there seemed no end in sight. Would it take longer than
that?

I will try again with all the faucets open ABOVE the heater. Also,
what are hammer chambers? back in march, I changed out the kitchen
faucet and now the pipes hammer - will this solve this problem too?
that would certainly be nice!

And yes, I've been watering the plants with all the extra water. it's
been dry here in VA, so that works well!

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:54:05 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:

wrote:
Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

thanks for all your help in advance!

Water flows downhill. Is your water heater above the shower?

You need not waste the water. Ten five-gallon buckets should do the trick.
You can get eight or nine flushes out of the stored water. Or empty one
bucket in the tub (plus hot water) for a bath.


Considering that last paragraph...

I remember when we lived out in the country and had a water well (that
water was really good for drinking). An electrical outage (common
there) would mean no water. My parents used to keep several bucketfuls
in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.
--
63 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On 23 Oct, 10:48, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:54:05 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:





wrote:
Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

thanks for all your help in advance!

Water flows downhill. Is your water heater above the shower?

You need not waste the water. Ten five-gallon buckets should do the trick.
You can get eight or nine flushes out of the stored water. Or empty one
bucket in the tub (plus hot water) for a bath.

Considering that last paragraph...

I remember when we lived out in the country and had a water well (that
water was really good for drinking). An electrical outage (common
there) would mean no water. My parents used to keep several bucketfuls
in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.
--
63 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloydhttp://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

-- An electrical outage ... would mean no water. My parents used to
keep several bucketfuls in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.

When we had a power failure, my parents made us drink out of the
toilet.

wrote in message
ps.com...
On Oct 23, 8:52 am, Steve wrote:
wrote on 23 Oct 2007 in group alt.home.repair:

Hi all - I need to replace the hot water faucet in my shower stall.
This weekend, I turned off the main water valve for the house (the
cold water line into the hot water heater doesn't have an operational
shut-off valve) and turned on the the hot water (in the shower) to let
the lines drain. BUT it appeared to be draining from the hot water
tank too. Will it drain the entire tank? I had thought that without
pressure, it would only drain the lines that had water in it. It
seems a waste to drain the entire tank. Thoughts?

If the outlet in the shower is lower than the water heater, then the water
heater will drain, along with everything else that's higher than the
outlet.

Open other faucets to allow air into the system so it'll drain faster. In
fact, open all the faucets so you can drain the whole system and recharge
your air hammer chambers.

Turn off the water heater so it doesn't burn itself up trying to heat an
empty tank.

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

OK, the shower is on the 1st floor, the water heater in the basement.
Where is all the water coming from? I had let it drain for about 15
minutes and there seemed no end in sight. Would it take longer than
that?

Many times, old shut-off valves will not completely stop all water flow. Open a
cold faucet below the place you are working to drain extra water away. Shut off
the water heater power or burner while doing this. Don't worry about the water
in the heater. It is just a one time waste.

Bob

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:11:10 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

[snip]

-- An electrical outage ... would mean no water. My parents used to
keep several bucketfuls in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.

When we had a power failure, my parents made us drink out of the
toilet.

My dog would drink out of the toilet all he time. It was a reliable
source of water. That's why we never used the blue stuff.

My mother would describe sitting down and finding the seat unusually
lumpy and furry.
--
63 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On Oct 23, 3:07 pm, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:11:10 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

[snip]

-- An electrical outage ... would mean no water. My parents used to
keep several bucketfuls in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.

When we had a power failure, my parents made us drink out of the
toilet.

My dog would drink out of the toilet all he time. It was a reliable
source of water. That's why we never used the blue stuff.

My mother would describe sitting down and finding the seat unusually
lumpy and furry.
--
63 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloydhttp://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

You guys are funny; thanks for the information and laugh!

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:39:44 -0700, wrote:

On Oct 23, 3:07 pm, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:11:10 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

[snip]

-- An electrical outage ... would mean no water. My parents used to
keep several bucketfuls in the bathroom for flushing the toilet.

When we had a power failure, my parents made us drink out of the
toilet.

My dog would drink out of the toilet all he time. It was a reliable
source of water. That's why we never used the blue stuff.

My mother would describe sitting down and finding the seat unusually
lumpy and furry.
--
63 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloydhttp://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

You guys are funny; thanks for the information and laugh!

Thanks for acknowledging that.

BTW, got any idea what's happening to that newline in my sig (the one
before http). This sig comes from a file and nothing's wrong there.
--
62 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy