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Offline franksolich

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primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« on: January 23, 2011, 06:47:26 PM »
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It's boring, just really boring, on Skins's island today.

Quote
SHRED  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jan-23-11 03:15 PM
Original message
 
Hot Water Heater Drain Clogged 

Drain valve gradually stopped working. Obvious sediment build-up but where to go from here?

Did all the prelim...turned off gas, shut water input, opened pressure relief valve and a house hot water tap,etc...

As you can see I removed the top of the valve. This was with a full tank. I tried running a "bailing" sized piece of wire up it to dislodge the corrosion but it did little and met little resistance at all. I then hooked another short hose to where I removed the valve stem cap. I then preceded to pinch off the lower hose and blow air pressure into the newly attached top short hose. It gurgled and I could hear the tank bubbling from the air. I then stopped the air, raised the upper hose, and the lower hose would surge a bit, belch a few chunks (lower photo) and stop draining.

This will be a long day if I have to babysit it like this.

Where would you go from here?

Would removing this plastic valve and putting in a brass ball valve help?

Still how to get the water draining/flowing?

Is this drain valve at the bottom or does an internal pipe run somewhere?
 
after which a photograph

after which a second photograph

Quote
SHRED  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jan-23-11 07:04 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. Okay I got "lucky". 

Removed the old valve without breaking it!:

after which a photograph
 
Installed a way better option with many times more flow (for the big chunks):

after which a photograph

Now draining much better:

after which a photograph

Now I need to find out how to flush the corrosion out.

Quote
Wash. state Desk Jet  (1000+ posts)      Sun Jan-23-11 07:14 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
3. Thought you had a leaker

Just run the cold water fill a bit and let it drain. There may be a proceedure but the idea is to drain your tank once a year to let out the sediment.

so-run some more water through the tank and let it drain.
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Offline GOBUCKS

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2011, 07:37:12 PM »
Why does he want to drain the heater? I've had water heaters for decades. Maintenance is simple: They last about 15 years, and then you buy a new one. I've never drained a hot water heater in my life, except to move one that's being replaced. DUmmies, of all people, should keep things simple.
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Offline AllosaursRus

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2011, 09:18:04 PM »
Quote from: GOBUCKS on January 23, 2011, 07:37:12 PM
Why does he want to drain the heater? I've had water heaters for decades. Maintenance is simple: They last about 15 years, and then you buy a new one. I've never drained a hot water heater in my life, except to move one that's being replaced. DUmmies, of all people, should keep things simple.

Hot water heaters are notorious for mineral build up. If nothin' is wrong with the heater, I clean 'em out. The best way if it's electric is to remove the lower element and clean it out that way. When I first moved into this place the same thing happened. It's a 90 gallon heater and I had no intention of replacin' it. I cleaned it out and it has been workin' ever since. That's been 11 years!

Oh, did I mention I removed 3, 5 gallon buckets worth of crap outa the bottom of it! Had to replace the lower element as the crud had filled up far enough to short it out!
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2011, 09:22:37 PM »
The only people I know that have to drain their water heater are my parents.  They have well water that seems to do a number on them.  They live on top of a limestone shelf (big enough to support a limestone rock quarry nearby), and the well goes down over 800 feet to get water.
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Offline diesel driver

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2011, 01:38:52 AM »
Quote from: AllosaursRus on January 23, 2011, 09:18:04 PM
Hot water heaters are notorious for mineral build up. If nothin' is wrong with the heater, I clean 'em out. The best way if it's electric is to remove the lower element and clean it out that way. When I first moved into this place the same thing happened. It's a 90 gallon heater and I had no intention of replacin' it. I cleaned it out and it has been workin' ever since. That's been 11 years!

Oh, did I mention I removed 3, 5 gallon buckets worth of crap outa the bottom of it! Had to replace the lower element as the crud had filled up far enough to short it out!

I had to replace the lower element on my heater once a year, every year, before I moved out here in the country.  The first place had well water, very HARD (lots of calcium) water, and I kept a stare element in the house, because the old one would fail on the coldest day of the year, usually on the weekend.  Always got between 2-3 gallons of stuff out of the 40 gallon heater.

Since I moved here (1985), I've replaced an element once, and a water heater once.  It would seem that spring water is not as hard as well water.
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Offline 98ZJUSMC

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2011, 01:51:24 AM »
Quote from: AllosaursRus on January 23, 2011, 09:18:04 PM
Hot water heaters are notorious for mineral build up. If nothin' is wrong with the heater, I clean 'em out. The best way if it's electric is to remove the lower element and clean it out that way. When I first moved into this place the same thing happened. It's a 90 gallon heater and I had no intention of replacin' it. I cleaned it out and it has been workin' ever since. That's been 11 years!

Oh, did I mention I removed 3, 5 gallon buckets worth of crap outa the bottom of it! Had to replace the lower element as the crud had filled up far enough to short it out!

I used to pump my water out of the lake with a submersible pump.  Filtration is a pain in the  :censored:, but great water pressure.  I used to have to clean out the tank once every year or so.  A shop vac and a length of 1/2" copper pipe did the trick.
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Offline DLR Pyro

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2011, 02:19:03 AM »
Why doesn't this DUmmy use a tankless water heater to save the world from globull warming?
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Offline PatriotGame

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2011, 02:29:42 AM »
Quote
SHRED  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jan-23-11 03:15 PM
Original message
 
Hot Water Heater Drain Clogged

Drain valve gradually stopped working. Obvious sediment build-up but where to go from here?

Here's an idea - use your bong cleaning tools accordingly...
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2011, 06:41:49 AM »
DUmmie had a hot water heater problem, just had to tell the DUmp ...the drama and suspense was killing me..... :rotf:
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Offline PatriotGame

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2011, 06:56:29 AM »
Quote from: JohnnyReb on January 24, 2011, 06:41:49 AM
DUmmie had a hot water heater problem, just had to tell the DUmp ...the drama and suspense was killing me..... :rotf:

Yea...I had a weed in my back yard...

OMFG!!!!


RUN TO THE DUMP AND CRY!!!111
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2011, 07:05:37 AM »
Quote from: PatriotGame on January 24, 2011, 06:56:29 AM
Yea...I had a weed in my back yard...

OMFG!!!!


RUN TO THE DUMP AND CRY!!!111
Hell if it weren't for the weeds, I'd have nothing green in the yard.

Note: I did say weeds....not "weed". Just wanted to clear that up to stave off any DUmmie invasion.
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"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."  Stalin

Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2011, 09:05:07 AM »
Quote from: GOBUCKS on January 23, 2011, 07:37:12 PM
Why does he want to drain the heater? I've had water heaters for decades. Maintenance is simple: They last about 15 years, and then you buy a new one. I've never drained a hot water heater in my life, except to move one that's being replaced. DUmmies, of all people, should keep things simple.

Couldn't agree more.  Most of 'em will start leaking around by about the 20 year mark.  The corrosion (Really lime and mineral buildup) won't seriously interfere until long after that.  The primitive is apparently doing a needless Green Energy religious ritual (YMMV according to local water, but the primitive says nothing about the water heater element ever failing).
« Last Edit: January 24, 2011, 09:07:27 AM by DumbAss Tanker »
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Offline AllosaursRus

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2011, 10:59:59 AM »
Quote from: DumbAss Tanker on January 24, 2011, 09:05:07 AM
Couldn't agree more.  Most of 'em will start leaking around by about the 20 year mark.  The corrosion (Really lime and mineral buildup) won't seriously interfere until long after that.  The primitive is apparently doing a needless Green Energy religious ritual (YMMV according to local water, but the primitive says nothing about the water heater element ever failing).

Me thinks it could be a gas heater, either that, or it's just another ****in' bouncy! I'd lean to the latter.
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Offline true_blood

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Re: primitive's hot water heater drain gets clogged
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2011, 11:28:59 AM »
Quote from: GOBUCKS on January 23, 2011, 07:37:12 PM
DUmmies, of all people, should keep things simple.
You would think that, but DUmmies are just that. DUmb. :-)
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