Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart Zaikov
I thought that if you do not clean out your hot water heater for a period of years you should not do it as the drain main not reseal and water would continue to flow out.
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Yes. The Rheem manual only "suggests" that you drain a small amount of water every month. They don't recommend draining the entire water heater. In fact, the valve requires a screw driver or other tool to open it. If the manufacturer expected owners to open it every month, why don't they provide a handle for it? If you plan to open the drain valve, I would first go to Home Depot and buy a plastic or brass cap and washer to screw onto the valve discharge pipe just in case the valve starts to leak after you close it. A small amount of sediment in the valve can prevent it from closing and it will leak. The sediment in the tank tends to settle and stick to the bottom of the tank. So, when you open the valve, I don't think you really get the bulk of the sediment to flow out because the valve opening is very small. I believe that most people, including me, never do any maintenance on their water heater.