Draining Tank

[Chefwong]

What's your method on draining the tank to flush out any sediment.
Drain it Bone Dry and Then flush it out some more (regardless if the water is coming out clear) ?

Or drain a few, and if it's clear, just close the valve and call it a day ?


I drained about 10 gallons and it was pretty clear from the start.
Flipped the water on, went back upstairs to close the faucet.
Noticed the water coming out, for a brief second was brown.....

So I'm thinking the only proper way is to drain it bone dry and then flush it out some more ?

 

[Reach4]

So I'm thinking the only proper way is to drain it bone dry and then flush it out some more ?

I think so. Turn the water full on fast. Then off. Repeat some number of times.

There are ways to be even more aggressive, such as a spray via the anode hole or a wand through the drain if you have put some kind of full bore faucet.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Chefwong]

I've always done the 5 gallon bucket drain - if the water is clear from the get go, I usually just do 2 buckets and close up the valve.
Will
Must have been timing but when I went upstairs afterning turning back on the water supply on the tank, going up to close the faucet , that's when I noticed a brief second of some sediment/brownish water.

LOL. So I've been doing it wrong all these years....
Any issues after doing a full tank drain/water purge and then filling it up with *cold water*.
Will it ~shock~ the tank

 

[Reach4]

If the heater is in vacation setting or off, I would not worry about hitting the inside of a tank that had just been drained of 140F water with water coming in the cold side. If I messed up and had the burner going while the heater was empty, I would let things cool first.

 

[Chefwong]

Maybe I'm overthinking it....but here's the regimine

We have fairly clean water
Maybe depending on when the Fire Dept. Decides to flush the hydrants do I ever get sediment - 1x or 2x a year

Put a 75 gallon in the house right before EPA laws took effect
Could not button shoehorn a EPA bigger tank in the house if I wanted to down the road without major remodeling
Want to keep this tank as ~healty~ as I can

Aside from a 4-5 year anode rod change, I plan to just flush it every 6 months.

 

[Chefwong]

BTW, does how it drain any different *sediment on the bottom* any different if you let it drain versus ~sucking~.
I drained it via a Liberty transfer pump, but still took a bit with 3/4 hose and a 75 gallon tank

 

[Reach4]

I don't know. I extended my drain to sit over a big plastic bin. I used a utility pump to pump water from the bin back into the top of the heater through the anode hole. This did not substitute for higher GPM spraying. The bin was largely to separate rocks from that which would flow. I let the rocks settle. I siphoned the dirty water to a drain, which ends up in my septic. Dumped the rocks and sand outside.

With city water, you will not have sand and rocks.

The black stuff can be from a sulfur reaction. The reaction between the anode and sulfate in water can produce that( in addition to H2S). Disgusting looking, but not poison or harmful.