Quote:
Originally Posted by ithos
Here is the recommendations from the manual:
At least once a year, lift and release the
lever handle on the temperature pressure
relief valve, located near the top of the
water heater, to make certain the valve
operates freely. Allow several gallons to
flush through the discharge line to an open
drain.
A water heater’s tank can act as a setting
basin for solids suspended in the water. It
is therefore not uncommon for hard water
deposits to accumulate in the bottom of the
tank. It is suggested that a few quarts of
water be drained from the water heater’s
tank every month to clean the tank of these
deposits.
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The anode rod should be removed from the
water heater’s tank annually for inspection
and replaced when more than 6″ of core
wire is exposed at either end of the rod.
Make sure the cold water supply is turned
off before removing anode rod.
Unfortunately you can not remove the anode rod in most houses because there is not enough overhead to remove it. It is probably best to remove it by cutting it in pieces and replace it with the segmented anode rods.
It was very negligent of the contractor to put in an undersized drain pan that is made of cheap plastic that degrades very rapidly. Do you have any idea of how much damage a water leak can cause if it is not contained? It also prevents conducting recommended maintenance whether it is performed by the homeowner or a technician. That includes draining it since you can not connect a hose to the bibb.
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As I said, the manufacturer does not recommend that you ever drain the tank. They only "suggest" (not recommend) that you remove a few quarts of water every month. My guess is that almost no one follows that suggestion. I doubt that very many people would remove the anode rod annually to inspect it, even if there was space to remove it. My drain pan is plastic, it is 10 years old, and it still works fine. In The Villages, most water heaters are located in the garage near the garage door, so a leak probably would not cause major damage to the house. Also, if you hired a plumber to perform these maintenance tasks annually, you would spend way more money in 10 years than the water heater actually costs to replace.