Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James
4 letter word - HOSE

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Sure. My advice is to not drain the water heater (WH). It can or may
lead to further problems. Pick your poison, but this is my
experience.

The hose bib is plastic, right?

On 02/05/2014 07:37 PM, James wrote:
Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James




If your water heater "lets loose" and dumps 40 gallons of water, the
drain pan is not going to do you much good. I'd just cut a channel in it
to get at the spigot. I have no idea why they'd put a drain pan in an
area to block it. OTOH: Why do you want to drain it?

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Connect a drain pipe. Is it a round drain pan, intended for water
heaters? There should be no need to elevate anything. If it's not
round, it might just be a pan.

Every drain pan I've seen has a place close to the floor to attach a 2"
drain pipe, plastic or something. Have you looked around the whole
circumference?

You're right. Without a drain pipe, it will just drain four inches from
where it would have without a pan. Although I think I have seen such
an installation.

On Wed, 05 Feb 2014 20:53:10 -0500, micky
wrote:

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

I missed this. Why do you want to drain it? I can't imagine a good
reason.

My advice about connecting a pipe (or hose) was for when it starts
leaking. .

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Connect a drain pipe. Is it a round drain pan, intended for water
heaters? There should be no need to elevate anything. If it's not
round, it might just be a pan.

Every drain pan I've seen has a place close to the floor to attach a 2"
drain pipe, plastic or something. Have you looked around the whole
circumference?

You're right. Without a drain pipe, it will just drain four inches from
where it would have without a pan. Although I think I have seen such
an installation.

On 02/05/2014 08:37 PM, James wrote:
Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James


Attach a hose and portable pump and dump the water in the nearest drain.

On 2/5/2014 8:37 PM, James wrote:
Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Cut a hole in the side of the pan, and patch the hole later?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 2/5/2014 8:41 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan [to attach a hose]. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James
4 letter word - HOSE

Four letter word - READ
Scroll up, and read the part in [brackets].

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 7:38:28 AM UTC-5, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 2/5/2014 8:37 PM, James wrote:

Hi All,



My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.



James



Cut a hole in the side of the pan, and patch the hole later?



If the drain connection is so close to the lip of the pan
that nothing else will work, that's the best option I see,
if it has to be drained. If there is enough room to get a 90 deg
hose fitting on there, those are available in the garden section.

If the need is just for routine maintenance, if it came to
cutting the pan, I think I just wouldn't drain it. Another
factor is, how old is it? If it's a 10 year old gas heater
and it hasn't been drained, it's nearing typical end of life
point anyway.

On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 8:48:29 PM UTC-5, philo* wrote:
On 02/05/2014 07:37 PM, James wrote:

Hi All,



My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.



James









If your water heater "lets loose" and dumps 40 gallons of water, the

drain pan is not going to do you much good. I'd just cut a channel in it

to get at the spigot. I have no idea why they'd put a drain pan in an

area to block it. OTOH: Why do you want to drain it?

Most water heaters develop a small leak at first. That's what the drain pan is for.

James wrote:
Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Hi,
Do you have normal IQ?, LOL!

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:12:19 AM UTC-5, jamesgang wrote:
On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 8:48:29 PM UTC-5, philo* wrote:

On 02/05/2014 07:37 PM, James wrote:



Hi All,







My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it



without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose.. It



was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.







James



















If your water heater "lets loose" and dumps 40 gallons of water, the



drain pan is not going to do you much good. I'd just cut a channel in it



to get at the spigot. I have no idea why they'd put a drain pan in an



area to block it. OTOH: Why do you want to drain it?



Most water heaters develop a small leak at first. That's what the drain pan is for.

Or a bigger leak if you route the drain on the pan to someplace where
the water can go without creating damage.

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
...
James wrote:
Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain
it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose.
It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do
appreciated.


I've always had a water develop a leak right at the drain after trying to
drain it - IMHO, there's no need to drain them unless you have really bad
water issues.

My water heater is inside the house in a "utility closet". They don't
always fail catastrophically - when my water heater failed, we noticed not
as hot water as normal for an evening shower (exceptionally cold out -
figured that had something to do with it), and almost no hot water the next
morning. When I went to look at the water heater in the morning, the pan was
just starting to overflow - si it was a slow drip. I turned off the water,
used my shop vac to suck out the water in the pan, and hooked a garden hose
up to the water heater and drained it to the outside.

The original pan had a drain to the outside, but the guy that installed it
originally had a backflow preventer in the drain line - installed the wrong
way - so the pan simply overflowed !

I had the guy that replaced the water heater reorient the drip pan under the
heater and put a drain fitting in the side of the pan (without a backflow
preventer) that tied into the condensate line for the AC - that line drains
to the outside, too.

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:33:16 AM UTC-5, Tony Hwang wrote:
James wrote:

Hi All,



My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.



James



Hi,

Do you have normal IQ?, LOL!

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:33:42 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

I read it that way. However, most (all?) tank hose bibs are ~ 10-12
inches up the side and not where a drain pan would interfere with the
ability to drain the tank with a hose connection.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 11:15:44 -0600, wrote
(in article ):

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:12:19 AM UTC-5, jamesgang wrote:
On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 8:48:29 PM UTC-5, philo* wrote:

On 02/05/2014 07:37 PM, James wrote:



Hi All,







My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it



without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It



was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do
appreciated.







James



















If your water heater "lets loose" and dumps 40 gallons of water, the



drain pan is not going to do you much good. I'd just cut a channel in it



to get at the spigot. I have no idea why they'd put a drain pan in an



area to block it. OTOH: Why do you want to drain it?



Most water heaters develop a small leak at first. That's what the drain
pan is for.

Or a bigger leak if you route the drain on the pan to someplace where
the water can go without creating damage.

It's in an inside closet along with my washer and dryer no floor drain or
anything

Oren wrote:
On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:33:42 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

I read it that way. However, most (all?) tank hose bibs are ~ 10-12
inches up the side and not where a drain pan would interfere with the
ability to drain the tank with a hose connection.

I just did an image search. Not all hose bibs are that high up. I have no
idea how old this unit is, but there were other images of low hose bibs.
Just sayin'...

http://www.earlgrayandsons.com/image...ter-heater.jpg

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 09:15:44 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:


=20
Most water heaters develop a small leak at first. That's what the drain =
pan is for.

That works fine if you're home to see t he small leak, and not away for
2 weeks.

It works okay if not home when the big leak starts your WH is in the
basement, near the sump pump, and not in an apartment with cement floors
under the carpet and padding, so that the 40 gallons doesn't spread to
the rest of your apartment.

It works mildly well if you're not home and the WH leaks into the
apartment downstairs, ruining the ceilings and who knows what else.

Most people take 2 week vacations once a year so that's about one in 26
people who won't be home when the the small leak starts.

Or a bigger leak if you route the drain on the pan to someplace where
the water can go without creating damage.

Right.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 08:03:09 -0600, wrote
(in article ):

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 7:38:28 AM UTC-5, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 2/5/2014 8:37 PM, James wrote:

Hi All,



My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do
appreciated.



James



Cut a hole in the side of the pan, and patch the hole later?



If the drain connection is so close to the lip of the pan
that nothing else will work, that's the best option I see,
if it has to be drained. If there is enough room to get a 90 deg
hose fitting on there, those are available in the garden section.

If the need is just for routine maintenance, if it came to
cutting the pan, I think I just wouldn't drain it. Another
factor is, how old is it? If it's a 10 year old gas heater
and it hasn't been drained, it's nearing typical end of life
point anyway.

There is actually a hole in the pan with a pvc fitting in it but it's turned
at an angle to the heater spout and the spout points downward so it doesn't
look like there's enough room for an angle fitting.

On Fri, 7 Feb 2014 00:14:28 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Oren wrote:
On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:33:42 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

I read it that way. However, most (all?) tank hose bibs are ~ 10-12
inches up the side and not where a drain pan would interfere with the
ability to drain the tank with a hose connection.

I just did an image search. Not all hose bibs are that high up. I have no
idea how old this unit is, but there were other images of low hose bibs.
Just sayin'...

http://www.earlgrayandsons.com/image...ter-heater.jpg

Then the question becomes: how deep it the drain pan?

OP has started another thread.

Just sayin'

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 12:33:42 -0600, wrote
(in article ):

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:33:16 AM UTC-5, Tony Hwang wrote:
James wrote:

Hi All,



My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it

without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do
appreciated.



James



Hi,

Do you have normal IQ?, LOL!

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

That may not be possible in this particular situation but the pans are cheap
so if I have to kill it I won't be ****ed. Never lived in a house that had a
drain pan under the water heater so I was kinda surprised. I thought
draining the water heater periodically was proper maintenance to remove
sediment in the bottom and it will need to replaced eventually anyway. In
reality it will have to be drained at some point, so I do not understand the
snide remark or the questions about why I want to drain it. I'm here to
learn things.

Thank you for trying to be helpful

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 16:33:23 -0600, Oren wrote
(in article ):

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:33:42 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

I read it that way. However, most (all?) tank hose bibs are ~ 10-12
inches up the side and not where a drain pan would interfere with the
ability to drain the tank with a hose connection.

The hose bib is only about 2-1/2" from the bottom of the tank

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:13:34 -0600, James wrote:

It's in an inside closet along with my washer and dryer no floor drain or
anything

How big is this closet? Are you saying the washer, dryer and water
heater sit in the same pan?!

Post a photo on a free hosting site with a link posted here in a
reply. I'm interested.

Oh, you could have stayed in your original thread. People are / were
reading it.

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:53:10 -0600, micky wrote
(in article ):

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Connect a drain pipe. Is it a round drain pan, intended for water
heaters? There should be no need to elevate anything. If it's not
round, it might just be a pan.

Every drain pan I've seen has a place close to the floor to attach a 2"
drain pipe, plastic or something. Have you looked around the whole
circumference?

You're right. Without a drain pipe, it will just drain four inches from
where it would have without a pan. Although I think I have seen such
an installation.



Yeah there is a plastic drain pipe on the side of the pan. Missed seeing it
due to its position.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 19:01:08 -0600, Oren wrote
(in article ):

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:13:34 -0600, James wrote:

It's in an inside closet along with my washer and dryer no floor drain or
anything

How big is this closet? Are you saying the washer, dryer and water
heater sit in the same pan?!

Post a photo on a free hosting site with a link posted here in a
reply. I'm interested.

Oh, you could have stayed in your original thread. People are / were
reading it.

Yup. All in the same closet. Will post pics. Not sure what you mean about
original thread :/ I accidently posted a new thread with the same topic.
Argh.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:55:43 -0600, James wrote:

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 16:33:23 -0600, Oren wrote
(in article ):

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:33:42 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I believe what he is saying is that the pan edge
is so close to the drain connection that he can't
get a hose on it. That's why I suggested a 90deg
elbow that's available in the garden supplies might
be an option.

I read it that way. However, most (all?) tank hose bibs are ~ 10-12
inches up the side and not where a drain pan would interfere with the
ability to drain the tank with a hose connection.

The hose bib is only about 2-1/2" from the bottom of the tank

How deep is the pan?

I offer you an apology. A troll, Jimmy, started anther thread on the
same subject. Trying to imitate you. He is a canuck from Canada.

Posing as you and I now see your are not the one. Sorry.
--
'...we don't wanna bring our guns, but ready if it goes there -- Madison Rising

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote
(in article nk.net):

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James


Here are pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladedah...7640609873985/

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:51:37 -0600, James wrote:

In
reality it will have to be drained at some point, so I do not understand the
snide remark or the questions about why I want to drain it. I'm here to
learn things.

James,

Saying not to drain the tank is not a snide remark. My experiences
have been to just leave them alone. Draining some tanks can and do
cause further leaks.

If the tank needs to be drained for a specific reason, like replacing
it, that is a reasonable reason to drain it.

The one(s) I drained (suggested maintenance) leaked soon after -
likely due to the plastic hose bib I thought was tightened correctly
afterwards.

Do not be offended by the suggestion to not drain it.

In the future, at install (new unit) , before connection or filling
with water - remove the plastic parts and install a brass quarter turn
ball valve.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 20:16:10 -0600, James wrote:

Here are pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladedah...7640609873985/

Thanks. If you remove the PVC fitting from the pan, is the hole
large enough to pass a hose through and connect to the brass bib?

Your hose bib is brass, where mine is plastic (not even a bib, but
plastic sticking out horizontal) - more chances for leaks after the
valve is opened.

On 02/06/2014 08:30 PM, Oren wrote:



snip
..

Do not be offended by the suggestion to not drain it.

In the future, at install (new unit) , before connection or filling
with water - remove the plastic parts and install a brass quarter turn
ball valve.



More reading here


http://www.wral.com/why-draining-you...take/12282424/

On Thu, 06 Feb 2014 20:50:14 -0600, philo* wrote:

snip

Do not be offended by the suggestion to not drain it.

In the future, at install (new unit) , before connection or filling
with water - remove the plastic parts and install a brass quarter turn
ball valve.

More reading here

http://www.wral.com/why-draining-you...take/12282424/

In all my years I never had a tank leak while living in a home as a
renter or as home owner. Retired and then thought, I have the "time
to do this now". Bang. Weeks or less later; the tank leaked.

As to youtube videos, in some instances - they are outright dangerous
and deadly if you follow them.

....'if it ain't broke don't fix it"

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 9:44:35 PM UTC-5, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 20:16:10 -0600, James wrote:



Here are pics



http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladedah...7640609873985/



Thanks. If you remove the PVC fitting from the pan, is the hole

large enough to pass a hose through and connect to the brass bib?



Given that the drain hole is offset from the bib, I don't see
how that solves his problem. I think his best bet is one of
the 90 deg elbows that you can find in the garden section. If
that won't go on, then another choice would be to just cut
the pan with a sawzall, bend out the lip and when done, bend
it back and silicone it up real good. Maybe put a piece of
aluminum tap on the outside, silicone on the inside.
Another choice would be to unscrew the bib 1/4 turn, but I wouldn't
do that because there's a decent chance it's going to leak, even
if he screws it back.

You have to hand it to Whirpool and the installer. One was
dumb enough to ship it that way and the other to install it in
a pan. A drain that low should have been aligned sideways to
make it easy to get a hose on.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:13:34 -0600, James wrote:


Most water heaters develop a small leak at first. That's what the drain
pan is for.

Or a bigger leak if you route the drain on the pan to someplace where
the water can go without creating damage.

It's in an inside closet along with my washer and dryer no floor drain or
anything

So ruin a garden hose to an outside room and run it out the window. If
the end is below the bottom of the water heater, it will siphon out
almost the last little bit of water, which might be bad if there is a
lot of sediment. So don't go so low . If the end of the hose is 2
inches above the bottom of the WH, it will stop siphoning when the water
in the WH is 2 inches above the bottom.

If you don't want the water to pour down to the ground outside, get a
second hose and put a funnel in the mouth of it and let the first hose
drain into the funnel. That will break the vacuum stop the siphoning
at the level of the exit of the first hose, wherever that is. Hold
everything to your window with some strings. Kite string is fine.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 19:03:14 -0600, James wrote:

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:53:10 -0600, micky wrote
(in article ):

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It
was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

Connect a drain pipe. Is it a round drain pan, intended for water
heaters? There should be no need to elevate anything. If it's not
round, it might just be a pan.

Every drain pan I've seen has a place close to the floor to attach a 2"
drain pipe, plastic or something. Have you looked around the whole
circumference?

You're right. Without a drain pipe, it will just drain four inches from
where it would have without a pan. Although I think I have seen such
an installation.



Yeah there is a plastic drain pipe on the side of the pan. Missed seeing it
due to its position.

Where does it go? If it goes nowhere, you can still put a garden hose
in it and tape it up with duck tape for draining, and run it to the
window.

Don't open up the drain spigot so much that the hose can't handle it,
the water rises to the top of the lip.

Or you can put the garden hose right on the threaded spigot.

Why do you want to drain the WH. Everyone here says not to do so,
because the spigot will get clogged. I've never done it, in 31 years
here.

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:26:31 -0600, James wrote:


If the need is just for routine maintenance, if it came to
cutting the pan, I think I just wouldn't drain it. Another
factor is, how old is it? If it's a 10 year old gas heater
and it hasn't been drained, it's nearing typical end of life
point anyway.

There is actually a hole in the pan with a pvc fitting in it but it's turned
at an angle to the heater spout and the spout points downward so it doesn't
look like there's enough room for an angle fitting.

There's not supposed to be a connection between the "spout" and the
hole. Water falls out of the spout, starrts to fill the pan, and then
runs out of the pan.

There's supposed to be a connection between the hole and a drain or a
sump. .

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:51:37 -0600, James wrote:



That may not be possible in this particular situation but the pans are cheap
so if I have to kill it I won't be ****ed. Never lived in a house that had a
drain pan under the water heater so I was kinda surprised.

People, and vendors, are always trying to improve our standard of
living. Even if men don't care, women don't like it when every 20
years there is 40 or 50 gallons of water on the floor.

I thought
draining the water heater periodically was proper maintenance to remove
sediment in the bottom

What do you care if there is sediment on the bottom? It only matters if
the sediment is so deep it starts to surround the lower electric heating
element. Do you even have an electric WH? Or gas?

Assume it's electric. I have that too. When I, probably mistaking
thermostat or element problems for something more serious, junked my 8yo
WH. I cut it open and there was less than 2 tablespoons of sediment.
At that rate it would have taken over 80 years for the sediment to reach
the heating element.

Water varies by location. You need to talk to your neighbors and find
out if they ever drain the WH, how often and how much sediment comes
out. Some of them don't drain it, that's for sure. How long do their
WH's last. In the 10 years I've been reading, no one in this group has
ever reported good results from draining the WH, curing an existing
problem without creating a bigger problem. What they say often
happens is sediment gets in the drain valve, the pressure and flow are
not enough to flush the sediment out, and the valve won't shut tight
anymore and is always dripping hot water and the WH has to be replaced.

and it will need to replaced eventually anyway. In
reality it will have to be drained at some point

Why?

When it leaks it will drain itself. Why do you need to drain it before
then?

, so I do not understand the
snide remark or the questions about why I want to drain it. I'm here to
learn things.

Thank you for trying to be helpful

On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 19:37:42 -0600, James wrote:

Hi All,

My water heater is sitting in a drain pan. I don't see how I can drain it
without elevating it above the lip of the drain pan to attach a hose. It

How high is the drain pan?

How high is the spigot?

How much bigger than the diameter of the WH is the diameter of the pan,
where the spigot is? EVen if the hose goes down at first and then UP
to go over the pan lip, as long as the end of the hose is lower than the
water level in the WH, the WH will drain.

But why do you want to drain it? What problem do you hope to solve?

Everyone here says that's a way to get sediment in your spigot so it
won't close anymore.



was that way when I bought the house. Any advice on what to do appreciated.

James

On Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:20:24 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Thu, 06 Feb 2014 20:50:14 -0600, philo* wrote:

snip

Do not be offended by the suggestion to not drain it.

In the future, at install (new unit) , before connection or filling
with water - remove the plastic parts and install a brass quarter turn
ball valve.

More reading here

http://www.wral.com/why-draining-you...take/12282424/

This is about a gas water heater. The OP still hasn't said what kind of
WH he has.

Oh, from the picture I think it's electric. The picture url showed 4
pictures and now for 6 minutes keeps saying Fetching more pictures,
which the red and blue thing spins around. ???

In all my years I never had a tank leak while living in a home as a
renter or as home owner. Retired and then thought, I have the "time
to do this now". Bang. Weeks or less later; the tank leaked.

As to youtube videos, in some instances - they are outright dangerous
and deadly if you follow them.

...'if it ain't broke don't fix it"

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 20:30:08 -0600, Oren wrote
(in article ):

On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:51:37 -0600, James wrote:

In
reality it will have to be drained at some point, so I do not understand
the
snide remark or the questions about why I want to drain it. I'm here to
learn things.

James,

Saying not to drain the tank is not a snide remark. My experiences
have been to just leave them alone. Draining some tanks can and do
cause further leaks.

If the tank needs to be drained for a specific reason, like replacing
it, that is a reasonable reason to drain it.

The one(s) I drained (suggested maintenance) leaked soon after -
likely due to the plastic hose bib I thought was tightened correctly
afterwards.

Do not be offended by the suggestion to not drain it.

In the future, at install (new unit) , before connection or filling
with water - remove the plastic parts and install a brass quarter turn
ball valve.

I wasn't referring to you about the snide remark. It was the poster who said
something about my IQ. Sorry I should have clarified that. If draining is
not necessary unless the unit fails then I won't bother with it. The hot
water supply has been a little wonky lately though, kinda small sporadic
interruptions in the flow but nothing serious.

Thanks for the advice about a ball valve. I will certainly use it when the
time comes.