Water Heater Drain Leaking

[Linkman]

Hi,
Natural Gas, 40 Gallon, upright heater. Leaking drain outlet. It has a 2" hose connection with an open end. It has been dripping since newly installed.
Can it be stopped and how does that knob which has that garden hose piece on it work? It appear to be a plastic knob which would screw in and out.


Thanks,
Linkman

 

[Jadnashua]

If this is located at the bottom of the heater, it is indeed just a drain valve. The handle just screws in and out to open the valve like the hose connection on the outside of your house. They put a hose connection on it so that if you need to drain the water heater, you don't have to dump it on the floor! Also note, thatit is recommended to drain a bucket or two out of the thing maybe once a year to get rid of any sediment that may accumulate at the bottom of the heater.

Now, if it is leaking, try just tightening it down some. If it is leaking from around the edges/sides of the valve where it goes into the heater rather than through the "normal" opening, then you've got other problems.

It seems that companies use the cheapest valve here thatthey can. It may have been damaged and if coming out from the side, you could have a damaged tank.

One of the pros may have some other thoughts.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Linkman]

Tightened Drain

Hello again,
I have tighten it. I think it's going to work. The leak is not around the cheap plastic valve. It is come through the center of the hose piece. What would happen if I would install a 3/4" pvc threaded cap on the end of the drain, Would that work?

Thanks so much for your help!
Linkman

 

[Jadnashua]

Did you install this, or have a pro do it? If a pro, they should fix it. If you did it, consider talking to the supplier and ask them as a new water heater should not leak! A cap may work, though. Depending on the tank, you might be able to turn it off, drain it, and unscrew the valve and replace it with a decent one thatshould not leak. Should only cost maybe $5 or so. Check the manual parts list or the manufacturer - you don't want to break the thing any more than it is. A valve, some pipe dope, and a little teflon tape and 5-minutes, you'd be done.

 

[Gary Swart]

leaking heater drain valve

Your cap remedy will work OK, but these valves are easy to replace. They just screw in to the tank. You can get a 3/4" hose bib that will do the job. I suppose the dealer would stand behind this, but the replacement would be the same quality as is on the tank now, and you'd spend more time than it is worth getting the "free" replacement.

 

[hj]

valve

The fact that the heater is new is one reason to change it. After a period of time the plastic valves often break off rather than unscrew and then you have a bigger problem getting the broken piece out of the heater.

 

[Linkman]

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I just found this site yesterday. You guys are just great! Thanks for all the help and advice.

Thankful,
Linkman