I am gonna drain the hot H20 heater-any suggestions?

I am not a plumber


CB

:P

and open the nearest hot water tap.
you might want to wd-40 the connectors, and let it sit a while first, if you have time.
good luck

If gas close shut off valve. If you have to run the hose into your yard let the water cool for a while before draining. If not you will cook your grass.

should I kill the pilot light

CB

near the floor on the inlet line it will kill the pilot light. I have replaced gas water heaters before and it is not very hard if you have the tools. Last one took just a little over an hour. Didn't have to drain it. It was leaking at the bottom.

Not just the intake, turn off the outgoing water as well or all the hot water in the pipes will drain down on your head/hands. Turn off the gas. I can't overemphasize this one. Unless you don't have gas, of course. If you don't then turn off the electricity at the fuse box/breaker box.

Attach a hose to the drain valve and run into a floor drain. A hose out a window higher than the water heater tends not to work well, it's that gravity thing.

WD-40 the unions. Hopefully they used unions and these can be unscrewed
rather than cut.

I am assuming that "drain the water heater" is NOT code for this:
<http://www.whitehouse.org/initiatives/purity/index.asp>
if so, in the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna

never mind.

heat hot water?

First and foremost, go buy a new replacement draincock just in case.

Heaters need to be annually drained to eliminate build ups inside which shorten the life of the heater (tank rust though, element damage, etc.)

Shut off the electricity to the heater. (Or shut off the gas if it's non-electric.)

Cut off the cold water supply to the heater.

Attach hose to the draincock, run it outside.

Drain heater completely, manually holding the pressure relief valve open to provide venting. Cut on the cold water supply to finish flushing until the water runs completely clear. Cut cold supply off and tighten draincock. Turn on cold supply and check draincock for leaks - many times the draincock will be clogged (ruined) by the crud draining from the heater. If so, shut off water and replace the draincock with the new one you should already have on hand.

Once you're sure it's not leaking, turn on cold water supply, and open a hot water tap in the house to purge the air from the heater and water lines. Once air is no longer present at the tap, shut the tap and re-apply the electricity (or turn on the gas).

Good luck!

why did i not pay attention in H.S.

crap

CB

I would add; let the tank cool before adding cold water. The sudden temp change could damage the tank.
Also, when you are finished and heating the cold water that is now in the tank, it may appear that the tank is leaking. This is common. Condensation forms as the hot humid gasses pass through the cold heat exchanger. Don't sweat it.