Quote:
Originally Posted by mtdjed
First , I started this topic and I thank all for your advice. I have a 13 year old water heater that had never been drained and was providing noises upon startup. I decided to drain and replace the drain valve with a 3/4" NPT Ball Valve. Did my homework to check out parts and sizes needed and made sure I had all tools and consumables.
Shut off gas , water inlet valve, opened hot water sink faucets, connected hose to drain valve , opened valve and got nothing. That was not in my plan. Long story shortened, needed to turn faucet off and open water inlet valve. That pressure got things started but slowly. Shortly after reopened faucet and Pressure relief valve and closed water inlet. That got the draining going. Still had to poke around the open drain valve to keep it flowing.
After draining , took off old gate valve and installed ball valve. Noticed a lot of white mushy sand on bottom. Did several short flushes (about 8 ) to get as much out as possible out before refilling. Closed valves, refilled, restarted. No noise and water heated within an hour.
Other than a several gallons of murky water, all of the remaining sediment looked like a white oatmeal. When rubbed, outer coating appeared sudsy and the interior very fine sand. Best to have it gone, and with the new ball valve , future drains will be a snap and coming more often. Don't like the looks of this stuff.
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Did you say you opened the temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve at the top of the water heater? Hopefully, you got a lot or water coming out of the discharge pipe. That is a safety device, which may also be clogged and non-functional. If you plan to keep a 13 year old water heater for an extended life span, you should test and replace the relief valve if it doesn't work properly. Lift the metal lever to test it. If it malfunctions, the water heater could experience excessive temperature or pressure and could explode. Just a suggestion, because most people are replacing the water heater after 13 years. Also, 13 years ago, expansion tanks were not required, but they are now. An expansion tank would help to maintain a constant water pressure in your house, which will protect your plumbing fixtures from experiencing excessive water pressure and possible damage.