Water Heater drain valve failure

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Crosstalk

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My drain valve was clogged so I decided to replace it and the anode rod on my 14 year old WH. Also had a drip from the T&P, so I replaced that. When I tried to remove the drain valve with an adjustable wrench, the wrench went into the body of the valve (the valve wasn't budging). Never had this happen before to me, so it was a bit stressful knowing the valve _had_ to come off at this point. Got a pipe wrench and was able to remove it and install a new ball valve. Below is a photo of the broken valve for those interested.

Incidentally, the old anode still had a small amount of metal left but it was good to get a new one in there. Might be stupid to mess with a 14 year old unit--we'll see...
 
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Reach4

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Thanks for the info. I guess your anode came out without drama.

Did the new ball valve give you a straight-through path, so that you could insert a wand such as that of a pressure washer?
 

Crosstalk

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Yes, the new ball valve has a straight path for better flow/cleanout. Before I removed the old drain valve, I was able to get it working to drain the WH, just took forever. After I pulled it out, I didn't see much sediment. But I couldn't get a great view and was anxious to get the new valve in. I used an air impact wrench on the anode and no drama.
 

Gary Swart

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Some of us install the ball valve when we install the new heater. The OEM valves are really junk. Glad you had some bigger hammers to get your jobs done.

water_heater_drains.jpg
 
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