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!!

Pamela G. wrote:
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!!


http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...o/4213452.html

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

"Pamela G." wrote in message
...
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!!

On Nov 15, 3:04�pm, "jmagerl" wrote:
Everytime I have ever opened a pressure relief, I have always had to buy a
new one. Once openned, they just drip...drip....drip....

"Pamela G." wrote in message

...



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!!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

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

On Nov 15, 3:04 pm, "jmagerl" wrote:
Everytime I have ever opened a pressure relief, I have always had to buy a
new one. Once openned, they just drip...drip....drip....

"Pamela G." wrote in message

...



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!!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

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.

wrote:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_jo
rnal/how_to/4213452.html

Thanks!!

wrote:

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

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?

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.

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

Meatplow said:

Leave it alone.

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

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:33:31 -0800, (Pamela G.)
wrote:

Meatplow said:

Leave it alone.

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

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.

Mythbusters water heater...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q

In article ,
Oren wrote:

Mythbusters water heater...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q

Sweet!

Thank you all for your responses! Maybe I'll just skip this whole idea
and mow the lawn instead! Ha!!

On Nov 16, 6:16 pm, (Pamela G.) wrote:
Thank you all for your responses! Maybe I'll just skip this whole idea
and mow the lawn instead! Ha!!

Leave the hot tap open doe's the same thing as opening the pressure
release Master Plumber 30 yrs