I like your approach... everything is simple and easy with home tools and citric acid or vinegar. The other videos I watched don't show removing the anode rod for maintenance. Thank you so much. I thought about getting that Turbo Tank Cleaner tool, but a bunch of Amazon reviews complain about it breaking off inside the tank. Also it looks like it violently flies around inside the tank and can cause damage.
This has to be the best video I've seen on this. Thank you very much. I'm getting chips and round rocks in my faucets that I constantly have to clean out.
12:30 Put the end of your discharge hose into a 5 gallon bucket. This will not restrict the flow of the water. What will then happen, is the bucket will act as a siphon, allowing the water to splash over the top edge of the bucket, while most of the sediment gets trapped in the bucket. If you flush your tank annually, you should expect to see about a gallon or so of sediment. If you have not flushed your tank in a few years, you could expect to see 3 to 5 gallons of sediment. This makes cleanup much easier, and you can allow the water in the bucket to evaporate leaving the sediment. Because the sediment is mostly calcium, it's a great natural fertilizer for many of the plants and veggies growing in your garden. Beyond flushing your tank this way, there is a much more effective way of flushing it, using a tool called "Turbo Tank Cleaner" Here's a video (not mine) showing how it works ruclips.net/video/OkDYkK1vhBI/видео.html
I only changed the original to get a collapsible one so that I wouldn't fight with the ceiling every time I tried cleaning the thing out. I just scrape the calcium off the collapsible rod and it's been rocking for years and years now.
My advice. Invest in a Whole House Carbon Filter. If you have heavy sediment, put a separate sediment filter in front of that. Also, save yourself a lot of trouble. Install a 1/4 turn shut off BEFORE and AFTER your filter(s). Best move ever. I turn both off, I get no back flow. Change my filters, back to town. I've been in the house 30 yrs. My first Water heater died at 12 years. This one I just serviced at 17yr, and I had a little build up near the exit tube, but otherwise the water comes out clean. I am looking to see If I can push a USB waterproof camera into the tank to see what it looks like inside. I think I should replace the anode. Already thrilled with getting 17yrs.
Great video! Also you can bend PEX and not have it cramp if you use a heat gun. I usually do a flush every 2-3 years but I realized when I had almost no hot water this morning it’s been over 4 years. So this is what I’m doing today, yea!!!!
Teaching people how to work harder not smarter. I recommend following manufacturers instruction on maintaining maintenance prolonging the life of the water heater. That being said I do applaud your effort.
Awesome video, I was told not to use Teflon tape on anode threads as is breaks the continuity between the cylinder and the anode,not sure is that's true?
The easiest way to break free a stubborn anode rod is to use a impact wrench. That way you don't have to worry about your water heater moving or having to support it!
@@DavidSimpsonSpecialForces Thank you for your reply. I used an impact to remove the rod. The anode material was down to the wire (gone) about four inches from the threaded head at the top of the rod. The impact must have then spun the whole rod a bit too quickly and the pendulum action caused by the weight of the remainder of the rod must have twisted the wire at the top. That bent the wired portion to where I could not remove the rod straight out of the water heater and left me guessing what was causing the problem. So, I think the best method would be to loosen that rod using an impact and then remove the rest by hand.
Using acid to clean is a dangerous gamble since it doesn't dissolve everything. You run the risk of loosened deposits getting throughout the plumbing system and eventually causing blockages. Very expensive to track down where the blockages are. It does seem like you live in an area with very hard water and you would likely benefit from adding a sediment and scale inhibitor on the cold water line.
Remove that old drain and install a full port drain, or make one with 3/4 ball valve. Draining slow? Use a transfer pump. I like the citric acid tip, but fear it might be eating at the water heater itself. Also don’t forget to check your Temp pressure relief valve too. My reminder to drain n check etc? every day light savings.
Why do you put water in with a hose? The incoming pipe inside a waterheater normally goes from top down and turns so that it swirls the bottom. I just installed a A. O. Smith descaler. I’m going to clean our heater out soon.
thanks for the video, very helpful. we have a water softener that uses potassium. it came with the house. the gas heater started leaking and we believe it's about 8-10 years old. I'm hearing that softeners reduce the life of the heater as they erode the anode rod quicker. Is there any solution to this issue knowing our water is extremely hard and we must use it? Do they sell special anode rods that work better with softeners e.g., any other sacrificial metals? Otherwise i'm hearing that I need to replace the anode often. thanks again for your help.
I actually just bought a jug that's 30% for killing weeds around the house, but you've now given me a better idea. Thanks! I'll have to try this out and see what happens.
@Home Battery Bank late yesterday evening I noticed no hot water was coming out any of the faucets.I shut off the water heater power,hit the reset button.....it slowly came back on.....and went out again late this evening
There’s a third option to getting it to drain you can just leave water turned on hook the hose up and use water pressure to break up calcium or you could hydro lock the tank with a flex line by hooking inlet an outlet together then hook up a brass nipple to ball valve break the ball valve and your rolling also works with gas control valves especially since you bought a crappy rheem
I really want to do this, but I'm worried that I remove the drain valve that it'll strip the threads. The popping noise is really getting to me though. I did an intial flush... followed by a second flush, after seeing all of the brown water. I think I made the popping noise worse ugh. I have a 2017 water heater.
Couldn’t you just cut it in pieces to get it out, since you are getting a new one? This is what I want to do? What works best the acid or vinegar? Thank you!
If you remove the anode rod once a year, why not invest $50 - $75 on an impact wrench? It would make such easy work of it because you wouldn't have to brace the tank with straps, and you wouldn't even have to remove the flue pipe. Are you worried that an impact wrench might damage the threads?
Couldn't you use the water inlet to rinse the inside of the tank out, as opposed to the garden hose? I believe the Rheem runs the cold water all the way down to the bottom of the tank...
It does, but it only empties in a fixed position. This just causes the calcium deposits to pile up in a particular pattern along the outer rim and they don't move from there. The hose allows a stirring action which forces the calcium out of the hose at the bottom.
@@HomeBatteryBank Oh gotcha! Yeah, that's a great method, I'll have to try it, since I have a bunch of maintenance to do. (anode rod replace, tpr valve replace, and clean it out) I have this same model, I drained it and saw all the sediment in the bottom. I tried flushing it, but it hardly got any of that thick debris out.
@@HomeBatteryBankyou ever try dissolving what you accumulated in the bucket in various kinds of acidic solutions to find the best ratio. I thought the citric acid power was suppose to dissolve everything.
My Ruud LP gas water heater suddenly started giving me only 15 minutes of Luke warm water with my temperature dial turned all the way up. I replaced the badly deteriorated dip tube, and nothing changed. Still only luke warm water. I changed the thermostat/gas regulator on it and soaked mine in CLR then vacuumed it out with a bent tube through the thermostat bung hole. Clean as a whistle and STILL no hot water with the new temperature dial set one notch below max temp! It's hitting the bottom of the tank with solid blue flames with a touch of a few orange tips. The exhaust hood and pipe are too hot to touch without gloves, so it's heating up good but still only luke warm water! What else could it be? It's a 38 gallon tank! It should be making hot water but it isn't!
I have a whole house filter and a water softener on my house. What comes out of your water heater is not so much sediment as it is mineral deposits that build up over time. I flush my water heater once a year and still get an insane amount of deposits that flush out every year.
@@kylesalesky4602I also had a carbon filter and still got minerals. I drain about twice a year and am about to change out the anode since it's 5 years old.
Dude stop being cheap and just buy a new water heater! Obviously you have the money.. your channel is amazing and has alot of useful information so you must be making a fortune!
I like your approach... everything is simple and easy with home tools and citric acid or vinegar. The other videos I watched don't show removing the anode rod for maintenance. Thank you so much.
I thought about getting that Turbo Tank Cleaner tool, but a bunch of Amazon reviews complain about it breaking off inside the tank. Also it looks like it violently flies around inside the tank and can cause damage.
This has to be the best video I've seen on this. Thank you very much. I'm getting chips and round rocks in my faucets that I constantly have to clean out.
Glad it helped out!
Great video! The Pex with cpvc reducers is a brilliant idea. I hope you’re able to keep your water heater running for many years to come.
12:30 Put the end of your discharge hose into a 5 gallon bucket. This will not restrict the flow of the water. What will then happen, is the bucket will act as a siphon, allowing the water to splash over the top edge of the bucket, while most of the sediment gets trapped in the bucket. If you flush your tank annually, you should expect to see about a gallon or so of sediment. If you have not flushed your tank in a few years, you could expect to see 3 to 5 gallons of sediment. This makes cleanup much easier, and you can allow the water in the bucket to evaporate leaving the sediment. Because the sediment is mostly calcium, it's a great natural fertilizer for many of the plants and veggies growing in your garden. Beyond flushing your tank this way, there is a much more effective way of flushing it, using a tool called "Turbo Tank Cleaner" Here's a video (not mine) showing how it works ruclips.net/video/OkDYkK1vhBI/видео.html
I have a 17-year-old gas water heater. Flush about every 3 years. Never changed the rod. Works fine.
I only changed the original to get a collapsible one so that I wouldn't fight with the ceiling every time I tried cleaning the thing out. I just scrape the calcium off the collapsible rod and it's been rocking for years and years now.
My advice. Invest in a Whole House Carbon Filter. If you have heavy sediment, put a separate sediment filter in front of that. Also, save yourself a lot of trouble. Install a 1/4 turn shut off BEFORE and AFTER your filter(s). Best move ever. I turn both off, I get no back flow. Change my filters, back to town.
I've been in the house 30 yrs. My first Water heater died at 12 years. This one I just serviced at 17yr, and I had a little build up near the exit tube, but otherwise the water comes out clean. I am looking to see If I can push a USB waterproof camera into the tank to see what it looks like inside.
I think I should replace the anode. Already thrilled with getting 17yrs.
Great video! Also you can bend PEX and not have it cramp if you use a heat gun. I usually do a flush every 2-3 years but I realized when I had almost no hot water this morning it’s been over 4 years. So this is what I’m doing today, yea!!!!
Teaching people how to work harder not smarter. I recommend following manufacturers instruction on maintaining maintenance prolonging the life of the water heater. That being said I do applaud your effort.
This video literally saved me Hundreds of dollars! Thanks for posting!!!
Can't you flush and stir the sediment by just turning on the cold water to the tank vs running a hose from the outside faucet?
Great video, exactly what I was looking for. Seems like a lot of work, but thats what it takes sometimes
Awesome video, I was told not to use Teflon tape on anode threads as is breaks the continuity between the cylinder and the anode,not sure is that's true?
The easiest way to break free a stubborn anode rod is to use a impact wrench. That way you don't have to worry about your water heater moving or having to support it!
Do you think using an impact might cause enough vibration to crack the glass inside the tank?
I've been doing it for some time now and that hasn't happened.
@@DavidSimpsonSpecialForces Thank you for your reply. I used an impact to remove the rod. The anode material was down to the wire (gone) about four inches from the threaded head at the top of the rod. The impact must have then spun the whole rod a bit too quickly and the pendulum action caused by the weight of the remainder of the rod must have twisted the wire at the top. That bent the wired portion to where I could not remove the rod straight out of the water heater and left me guessing what was causing the problem. So, I think the best method would be to loosen that rod using an impact and then remove the rest by hand.
So true!
Using acid to clean is a dangerous gamble since it doesn't dissolve everything. You run the risk of loosened deposits getting throughout the plumbing system and eventually causing blockages. Very expensive to track down where the blockages are. It does seem like you live in an area with very hard water and you would likely benefit from adding a sediment and scale inhibitor on the cold water line.
Take out the factory drain valve. Add a short brass nipple and a full port ball valve in place of the factory drain valve.
Yep way better.
Remove that old drain and install a full port drain, or make one with 3/4 ball valve. Draining slow? Use a transfer pump. I like the citric acid tip, but fear it might be eating at the water heater itself. Also don’t forget to check your Temp pressure relief valve too. My reminder to drain n check etc? every day light savings.
Thank you great step by step instructions
Have you heard of a product called Turbo Tank Cleaner? Seen a few videos and it’s pretty good
This is a really excellent explanation, thanks
Thank You🌸
Great information thank you
Thanks! Fantastic video!
Why do you put water in with a hose? The incoming pipe inside a waterheater normally goes from top down and turns so that it swirls the bottom. I just installed a A. O. Smith descaler. I’m going to clean our heater out soon.
thanks for the video, very helpful. we have a water softener that uses potassium. it came with the house. the gas heater started leaking and we believe it's about 8-10 years old. I'm hearing that softeners reduce the life of the heater as they erode the anode rod quicker. Is there any solution to this issue knowing our water is extremely hard and we must use it? Do they sell special anode rods that work better with softeners e.g., any other sacrificial metals? Otherwise i'm hearing that I need to replace the anode often. thanks again for your help.
They have a powered anode rod that is supposed to be guaranteed for 20 years.
Very nice, thank you !
I wonder if the vinegar for cleaning with higher acid would do better.
I actually just bought a jug that's 30% for killing weeds around the house, but you've now given me a better idea. Thanks! I'll have to try this out and see what happens.
For electric H2O heater, remove lower heating element for access to calcium chunks.
Could you suck out the minerals through the anode rod hole, instead, more effectively?
Why don't water heaters come preinstalled with tempering regulator already Installed. Makes sense right? Less work for installer
The reason you might have had such trouble with the anode rod cuz you have to relieve pressure off the tank first.
There isn't any glass inside. There is a painted or sprayed liner to help prevent rust.
@Home Battery Bank late yesterday evening I noticed no hot water was coming out any of the faucets.I shut off the water heater power,hit the reset button.....it slowly came back on.....and went out again late this evening
Sounds like bad heating element(s)
There’s a third option to getting it to drain you can just leave water turned on hook the hose up and use water pressure to break up calcium or you could hydro lock the tank with a flex line by hooking inlet an outlet together then hook up a brass nipple to ball valve break the ball valve and your rolling also works with gas control valves especially since you bought a crappy rheem
Don't need snarky-nasty comments.
I really want to do this, but I'm worried that I remove the drain valve that it'll strip the threads. The popping noise is really getting to me though. I did an intial flush... followed by a second flush, after seeing all of the brown water. I think I made the popping noise worse ugh. I have a 2017 water heater.
How did you remove the original, non-collapsible anode rod with your limited overhead space? I have the same space restriction.
I had to drain the tank, disconnect everything from the top of the tank, and then tilt the top toward the door so that I had enough clearance.
Couldn’t you just cut it in pieces to get it out, since you are getting a new one? This is what I want to do? What works best the acid or vinegar? Thank you!
Yes, you can cut the rod as you pull it out
If you remove the anode rod once a year, why not invest $50 - $75 on an impact wrench? It would make such easy work of it because you wouldn't have to brace the tank with straps, and you wouldn't even have to remove the flue pipe. Are you worried that an impact wrench might damage the threads?
Your flue pipe may be back drafting plastic is melted at the top of the water heater that's a telltale sign FYI.
Couldn't you use the water inlet to rinse the inside of the tank out, as opposed to the garden hose? I believe the Rheem runs the cold water all the way down to the bottom of the tank...
It does, but it only empties in a fixed position. This just causes the calcium deposits to pile up in a particular pattern along the outer rim and they don't move from there. The hose allows a stirring action which forces the calcium out of the hose at the bottom.
@@HomeBatteryBank Oh gotcha! Yeah, that's a great method, I'll have to try it, since I have a bunch of maintenance to do. (anode rod replace, tpr valve replace, and clean it out) I have this same model, I drained it and saw all the sediment in the bottom. I tried flushing it, but it hardly got any of that thick debris out.
@@HomeBatteryBankyou ever try dissolving what you accumulated in the bucket in various kinds of acidic solutions to find the best ratio. I thought the citric acid power was suppose to dissolve everything.
My Ruud LP gas water heater suddenly started giving me only 15 minutes of Luke warm water with my temperature dial turned all the way up. I replaced the badly deteriorated dip tube, and nothing changed. Still only luke warm water. I changed the thermostat/gas regulator on it and soaked mine in CLR then vacuumed it out with a bent tube through the thermostat bung hole. Clean as a whistle and STILL no hot water with the new temperature dial set one notch below max temp! It's hitting the bottom of the tank with solid blue flames with a touch of a few orange tips. The exhaust hood and pipe are too hot to touch without gloves, so it's heating up good but still only luke warm water! What else could it be? It's a 38 gallon tank! It should be making hot water but it isn't!
Get a new water heater.
Why not install a whole house water filter?
I have a whole house filter and a water softener on my house. What comes out of your water heater is not so much sediment as it is mineral deposits that build up over time. I flush my water heater once a year and still get an insane amount of deposits that flush out every year.
@@kylesalesky4602I also had a carbon filter and still got minerals. I drain about twice a year and am about to change out the anode since it's 5 years old.
12:25. . Batman. 🙂😅
That’s a lot of calcium! I’m in orange iron sludge world….
Impact wrench would of saved some time
Yep. I don't have one in my collection yet.
Oh my God that shop vac is tiny lmao
Dude stop being cheap and just buy a new water heater! Obviously you have the money.. your channel is amazing and has alot of useful information so you must be making a fortune!
😆😆😆🍻
Water heaters r not that expensive.