Help! Something's up with water heater

[Opifex]

So I was down in the crawl space upgrading some galvanized pipe to Pex. The water is turned OFF at the main. But as soon as I cut into the hot water line, a lot of water started coming out. I had to buy a galvanized plug to stop the flow. Do I have to drain my entire water heater before proceeding?

 

[Reach4]

Probably not. The hot connects to the top of the WH, and there is no dip tube. Even if there is a path to the cold, the dip tube usually has a hole up top to break a siphon. But if no hole, and you have a path, then yes, you would need to drain the WH. Do turn off the WH regardless. If you have electric, it is very important that the top element is under water before you power the WH back on.

I am not a plumber.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Opifex]

Thanks. Okay, I've got the water turned back on, and I think the water heater tank has filled up again. However, the hot water is spitting really bad. Do I need to also turn on the gas burner to get things flowing again?

 

[Terry]

If you have finished the repair and are in the process of filling the tank, the open faucet will spurt water mixed with air until the air in the tank is totally purged.

 

[Opifex]

Thank you, Terry. It does seem to be improving. Plumbing is hard work! Especially in a crawl space! Yuck