How Fast Does A Water Heater Refill

how to drain a water heater fast

Is this your showtime fourth dimension draining your water heater, but yous are unsure how to drain a h2o heater fast plenty not to disrupt your family's hot water needs? If y'all are methodical in your approach, draining a water heater should not take more than an hr, including other related activities.

Draining a h2o heater is an essential maintenance activity. It allows you to remove mineral deposits from the tank'due south bottom and clean it to maintain its water heating performance.

In this article, I volition testify you how to bleed the hot water tank rapidly.

Table of Contents

Things You Demand for this Tutorial
Steps for Draining a Water Heater Quickly
- Step i. Check the water heater'due south T&P valve.
- Pace 2. Turn off the gas or electric ability to the water heater.
- Stride iii. Let the hot water cool off.
- Step 4. Set the bleed hose.
- Step 5. Close the common cold water supply to the h2o heater tank.
- Step 6. Empty the tank.
- Step 7. Refill the hot water tank.
- Pace eight. Reestablish power or gas supply to the water heater.
Conclusion

Things You lot Need for this Tutorial

drain-a-hot-water-heater-quickly

Draining a water heater does not require many tools or materials.

Water Hose

Elimination a water heater as speedily as possible requires no more than a garden hose to convey the water from the hot water tank to the drainage surface area. Y'all tin apply any flexible piping for this procedure, equally long as yous can connect it to the tank's drain valve and run it to a flooring drain or into your backyard.

Hand Tools

Unfortunately, some valves tin can be challenging to turn by manus. Hence, you might want to prepare a vise grip to create an improvised lever for opening and closing the valve. Using a flat-tipped screwdriver also helps.

Former Towels

Having old towels or pieces of rags tin help minimize mess. You can identify these materials underneath the drain valve and the garden hose's entire length. Information technology should prevent puddles from forming and reduce the amount of cleanup after the process.

T&P valve (optional)

If yous intend to replace a defective temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve, it would exist best to accept the replacement on hand before y'all drain the h2o heater.

A pan (optional)

Steps for Draining a Water Heater Quickly

drain-electric-water-heater

Step 1. Bank check the water heater's T&P valve.

You can go on to Footstep 2 if your water heater is less than a year erstwhile.

The temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve is an essential component of any hot h2o tank. The small device accommodates excess steam and pressure level from the hot h2o tank because of thermal expansion.

Check the T&P valve's location, usually on the tank's acme or the upper side. It has a tube – the discharge pipage – running downwardly the tank.

Identify a small pan underneath the discharge tube's open terminate and open up the T&P valve only slightly to release force per unit area. You should hear a hiss (like to venting the steam on a pressure cooker).

If you hear the audio, you can close the T&P valve and continue in draining electric water heater or gas h2o heater.

If in that location is no hiss or no water droplets at the discharge tube, forget draining the water heater for now. It would be best to schedule the draining when you already have a T&P valve replacement.

Step ii. Plow off the gas or electric power to the h2o heater.

If the T&P valve is functioning properly, you can beginning with the process of draining the h2o heater.

The first step involves turning off the fuel or power supplying the water heater. Gas water heaters connect to a gas supply line with a shutoff valve. Locate and turn off the gas supply shutoff valve.

Most electric water heaters take a directly connection to the household'southward electrical lines. Head to the excursion billow console and await for the section marked 'water heater.'

It would be best to turn off the whole electric panel if you cannot run across the label or are unsure which breaker cuts off the ability to the water heater.

Step 3. Allow the hot water absurd off.

Never drain electric h2o heater or gas h2o heater equally before long as you cutting off the power or fuel supply. It would be best to await for the water to cool down a bit to prevent burn injuries.

You tin can hasten the cooling procedure by opening a nearby hot water faucet. Do not close the master water supply valve even so because you need cold water to flow into the tank as the hot h2o flows out of the open water faucet.

Step four. Prepare the drain hose.

Go your garden hose and locate the water heater's drain valve. You lot should be able to run across it at the hot water tank'due south lesser section, complete with a lever for opening and closing the valve. In case of without drain valve you can read this guides to drain the h2o heater most efficiently.

Connect the garden hose to the drain valve's spigot and extend it outdoors in your backyard. Alternatively, y'all can position the flexible tube'due south open end on a floor drain.

Pro Tip: Ever straighten the garden hose from the tank to the drainage space if y'all want to drain a hot h2o heater speedily.

Step v. Close the cold water supply to the water heater tank.

After several minutes of free-flowing water through the tank, information technology should be prophylactic plenty to bleed the h2o. I recommend checking the h2o coming out from the hot h2o faucet. It should not be as well hot.

Bank check the water pipe going to the hot water tank's acme and see if information technology has a shutoff valve. Turn this valve off to prevent cold h2o from entering the tank.

If you do not see a shutoff valve, try following the water supply line and locate a shutoff valve. Most households accept a master shutoff valve at the main water supply line. Shut this valve off.

Step six. Empty the tank.

Fully open the hot h2o tank'south drain valve to start emptying it. You might want to check the garden hose's open terminate to assess whether the water is flowing continuously or not.

If you lot notice inconsistent flow, you might desire to check the tubing for kinks. Straighten the hose to facilitate faster drainage.

In general, a water heater drains at an average of 9 to seventeen gallons per infinitesimal. Y'all can use this rate to calculate how long you must await to empty the hot water tank.

For example, if you have a xl-gallon tank, you can wait to empty the water inside 2.3 to 4.four minutes. Information technology should be sufficient time for you to grab a loving cup of java, read the headlines, or heed to your favorite song.

Pro Tip: Leave the hot water faucet open during this time to bleed water heater faster.

Step 7. Refill the hot h2o tank.

Close the hot water tank's drain valve and disconnect the garden hose. Roll the flexible tubing and put information technology back where you got it.

Plough off the hot water faucet and open the cold water supply shutoff valve. Wait several minutes to fill the h2o heater tank. Refilling the tank can take anywhere between 30 and 70 minutes, depending on the tank size, h2o pressure, and h2o catamenia rate.

After refilling the tank, open the hot h2o faucet then close information technology when you see no air bubbles.

Step 8. Reestablish power or gas supply to the water heater.

Turn on the gas shutoff valve and light the airplane pilot lite. If y'all have an electric h2o heater, head to the billow panel and switch on the water heater excursion breaker.

Depending on your water heater, it tin can accept thirty to 40 minutes to estrus the water to the ideal temperature. The rate of water heating depends on the cold water temperature and the level of temperature rise.

Hither is an excellent video from MonkeySee about draining a water heater.

Conclusion

Learning how to drain a water heater fast entails cooling the hot water quickly and straightening the drain hose. While the actual emptying process does not last more than x minutes, the preparatory activities and the waiting game can make tank emptying seem like forever.

Did you find this guide beneficial? Practice you recollect other people will also appreciate it? If so, would you share this tutorial with them? I also await forward to whatsoever comments, feedback, or questions you might have.

As the founder of Usawaterquality, I accept been working to deliver quality communication on utilizing water components for numerous households. Here, we believe that water quality is the most disquisitional part of health care, so the investment and attention for the water system will never go to waste.