2yr old Hot Water tank empty for a year during renos

[Benze]

I have a fairly new 60Gallon hot water tank installed in Nov 2023 and used for 1.5 years before it was drained and disconnected in Sept 2025 while the house was undergoing renovations. It has been 10months since last use and last fill.

The tank is a bottom entry Giant Expert Plus 8 (https://giantinc.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/GI-PB050En-Res-Electric-ExpertPlus-Bottom-Entry.pdf) .
Can I continue to use the tank? Is there something special I would need to do before putting it in service? Should I just fill & flush a couple of times? Should I try to disinfect with bleach before plumbing it into the rest of the system?

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[Fitter30]

40/50 gallon heater throw quart of hydrogen peroxide 3% in the tank before filling let it sit over night then draain and flush. Just to sanitize.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Benze]

40/50 gallon heater throw quart of hydrogen peroxide 3% in the tank before filling let it sit over night then draain and flush. Just to sanitize.

Dumb question, but I presume I don't turn on the tank until it has been thoroughly flushed out? Or do I heat with the diluted H2O2?


Any worries or concerns of rusting of the inner tank? According to the specs, the inner tank:

DOUBLE GLASS-LINED INNER TANKA double coating of a uniquely formulated blue cobalt glass enriched withzircon is fused to specially treated steel at 1,600°F (871°C) to provide thebest coating available against corrosion for many years. The tank is certifiedat a test pressure of 300 PSI (2,068 kPa) and a working pressure of 150 PSI(1,034 kPa).

Should that imply that I shouldn't worry about rust build-up after sitting empty for 1 yr?

 

[Fitter30]

Dumb question, but I presume I don't turn on the tank until it has been thoroughly flushed out? Or do I heat with the diluted H2O2?


Any worries or concerns of rusting of the inner tank? According to the specs, the inner tank:



Should that imply that I shouldn't worry about rust build-up after sitting empty for 1 yr?

Tank is glass lined so there shouldn't be an ferris metal (rust). Wouldn't turn it back on till it's flushed and the lines.