Flush your water heater?

[monkumonku]

Out of curiosity, I was wondering how many of you follow the traditional advice of draining/flushing out your water heater annually to get rid of the sediment that builds up?

It is coming time for me to do this but then I ran across this video in which a plumber says it is pointless doing it because the sediment is on the bottom and most of it doesn't drain out. That seems to make sense because when there is sand on the bottom of something, it doesn't seem to be easily moved by water flow unless it is violently stirred up and just draining the tank isn't going to stir up very much.

Now if draining the tank makes the audio system sound better that's a different story. Anyway, what say you who have tank water heaters in your dwelling?

[novisnick]

My music is 🔥 HOT 🔥 and seems to flow beautifully!
My plumber told me the same, don’t Waiste your time. I recently had a water leak under my slab! Now that was something I worried about. $2K later and I’m back to normal, for now. He had to move the hot water heater so it had to be drained anyway. Nothing but water came out, no sand or rust or anything else.
But, if your board then go for it. 😋

[ttocs]

Same for me, plumbers I know say do it if you want to, but flushing won't change much over the life of a water heater.

However, checking the anode rod every few years is something that should be done. If it's in bad condition, replace it and this will help the tank last longer.

[monkumonku]

Oct 4, 2021 19:46:55 GMT -5 novisnick said:

My music is 🔥 HOT 🔥 and seems to flow beautifully!
My plumber told me the same, don’t Waiste your time. I recently had a water leak under my slab! Now that was something I worried about. $2K later and I’m back to normal, for now. He had to move the hot water heater so it had to be drained anyway. Nothing but water came out, no sand or rust or anything else.
But, if your board then go for it. 😋

I'm thinking of getting an upgraded hospital-grade pilot. Or maybe switching to an electric instead of a gas heater so I can upgrade the power cord.

[AudioHTIT]

I use an instant whole house water heater, so never have to even consider this, but I’d sure hate if this idea gained support in California right now.

[novisnick]

Oct 4, 2021 20:12:43 GMT -5 monkumonku said:

Oct 4, 2021 19:46:55 GMT -5 novisnick said:

My music is 🔥 HOT 🔥 and seems to flow beautifully!
My plumber told me the same, don’t Waiste your time. I recently had a water leak under my slab! Now that was something I worried about. $2K later and I’m back to normal, for now. He had to move the hot water heater so it had to be drained anyway. Nothing but water came out, no sand or rust or anything else.
But, if your board then go for it. 😋

I'm thinking of getting an upgraded hospital-grade pilot. Or maybe switching to an electric instead of a gas heater so I can upgrade the power cord.

Whatever you do, make sure that the hot and cold water lines cross perpendicularly! A true tragedy if they aren’t. 😳

[Boomzilla]

Tank water heaters generally aren't flushed UNLESS you live in an area where you're on well water instead of a municipal water supply. Wells can have more sediment, and unless you're keeping up your filters, can create water tank sludge.

However, if you're using tankless water heaters, the manufacturers recommend back-flushing on a five-year basis. This keeps the heat transfer equipment clean and working at top efficiency. The heat exchangers can overheat if insulated by water-deposited coatings, and then the things just stop working. Tankless heaters are significantly cheaper to operate, but do require that five-year-flush that tanks don't.

[cawgijoe]

I'm getting ready to proactively replace my gas water heater that was new in 2002. Can't believe it has lasted this long. Still working strong, but figure it's time. I've never drained it.

[405x5]

If you follow all the prescribed maintenance suggestions, you’ll get around 10 years from the tank.
If you do nothing and let it run, you’ll get around 10 years out of it.

[405x5]

Sometimes I think that sediment goo on the bottom is what keeps it from falling apart.

[405x5]

Oct 4, 2021 20:07:50 GMT -5 ttocs said:

Same for me, plumbers I know say do it if you want to, but flushing won't change much over the life of a water heater.

However, checking the anode rod every few years is something that should be done. If it's in bad condition, replace it and this will help the tank last longer.

With today’s cost of dragging a plumber into your house to “check” those rods, you could be half on your way to the price of a new tank (unless you have a service contract that includes such a thing.) Some anodes are nearly impossible to check because of the install location and ceiling clearance.

[405x5]

Oct 4, 2021 20:12:43 GMT -5 monkumonku said:

Oct 4, 2021 19:46:55 GMT -5 novisnick said:

My music is 🔥 HOT 🔥 and seems to flow beautifully!
My plumber told me the same, don’t Waiste your time. I recently had a water leak under my slab! Now that was something I worried about. $2K later and I’m back to normal, for now. He had to move the hot water heater so it had to be drained anyway. Nothing but water came out, no sand or rust or anything else.
But, if your board then go for it. 😋

I'm thinking of getting an upgraded hospital-grade pilot. Or maybe switching to an electric instead of a gas heater so I can upgrade the power cord.

I upgraded my cord.
When the tank cycles up to full temperature, I hear Beethoven coming up from the basement.

[405x5]

Had this one installed in 2018. AO Smith Proline XE. Propane fuel, Honeywell autopilot 50 Gal.
 I love the instant hot water systems, but I’m an old fashioned boy and these tank systems have improved vastly in recent years (if you buy a good one).

[mgbpuff]

I have the same water tank now for 41 years. I have never flushed out the tank. It's still going fine.

[405x5]

Oct 5, 2021 10:17:49 GMT -5 mgbpuff said:

I have the same water tank now for 41 years. I have never flushed out the tank. It's still going fine.

Wow! Is this it?

[DYohn]

I replaced my water heater in 2018 because the old one began leaking. The plumber told me it had been installed in 1994 - I moved into this house in 2009 and as far as I know it had never been flushed. They can last a lot longer than 10 years.

[405x5]

Oct 5, 2021 11:20:21 GMT -5 DYohn said:

I replaced my water heater in 2018 because the old one began leaking. The plumber told me it had been installed in 1994 - I moved into this house in 2009 and as far as I know it had never been flushed. They can last a lot longer than 10 years.

I believe the two biggest factors in how long these hold up are water pressure and usage.
Pressure should be residential, around 50/55 Max at the faucet. Over pressure can wreak havoc with plumbing fixtures including the tank. If you have a lot of users in the house, there’s a lot more cycling/ recovery of the tank. Greater use= shorter life span. Around here we have ridiculous high pressure without the regulators. At the street we’re around 175lbs….dead in the water without a healthy regulator. They also rot out internally and need to be monitored.

[monkumonku]

Thank you all for your replies! Sounds like the consensus is there is no real need to flush out the heater. I like the response about how with flushing the tank should last about 10 years and if it isn't flushed it should last about 10 years.

As for the anode, the height of the enclosure in which the tank is located is too low to allow someone to check it. I guess the thing to do is preventative maintenance in the form of replacing it when it starts making a lot of noise.

[housetech]

Oct 5, 2021 8:01:18 GMT -5 405x5 said:

If you follow all the prescribed maintenance suggestions, you’ll get around 10 years from the tank.
If you do nothing and let it run, you’ll get around 10 years out of it.

I quit flushing our tank, installed the last one (G.E.) in 2005. Features a swirling input that keeps sediment from building up and added a 'whole-house' filter to the cold water intake. The previous tank died a couple weeks after a flush-out.
OK, now I'm worried, it will leak for sure this week since I mentioning it:  NEVER FAILS.

Two weeks ago the Mrs said she wants a new dishwasher. I said, "Why it still works fine."
Sure enough the latch broke and I use a wood clamp to keep it closed. New one gets delivered this week.
Told her to keep her mouth shut about the washer & drier.

[405x5]

Oct 5, 2021 12:23:05 GMT -5 monkumonku said:

Thank you all for your replies! Sounds like the consensus is there is no real need to flush out the heater. I like the response about how with flushing the tank should last about 10 years and if it isn't flushed it should last about 10 years.

As for the anode, the height of the enclosure in which the tank is located is too low to allow someone to check it. I guess the thing to do is preventative maintenance in the form of replacing it when it starts making a lot of noise.

Probably you won’t hear it…..the scrambling starts with the puddle getting big on the floor!
I’m quite lucky that way. The garage has a nice pitch off and the water goes out that way.
Most of the anode rods are built like “sausage links” with sections around 18 inches on a non sacrificial cable. The idea of course is to be able to fudge it out of close quarters.