water heater procedures

I was wondering if any one would like to comment on this. When I remove the anode rod and drain the heater between trips I always leave the rod out and use the wand to stir up the nasty stuff at the bottom of the tank, then use compressed air through the drain hole to try and the most water out as I can. However, I am never sure that you get all the sentiments out and I know that tere is still water left in the tank when I am done. This spring I noticed that the rust around the drain plug was rusted up pretty bad. So much so that I had hard time getting the rod to start to thread. Is this normal? Does anyone know if a tap can be used to clean this up? My Jayco had a drain plug plus anode rod removal port that allowed so much more water to drain out (the drain was lower than the anode rod port). Some have suggested that I should leave the rod in the tank in between uses. I thought that leaving water in the tank for long periods of time gives you the rotten egg smell later and sense we can not get all the water out of the tank??

On the Jayco I added threaded nipples to the drain plug so that the draining water would run far enough away from the trailer that it would actually drain onto the ground without touching any of the trailer. The nipple would stay connected to the drain and still be able to close the cover? I do not remember which company made the heater, but would this be something that the factory could alter to make this chore a little easier?

I did read the posted sticky from danemayer (nice job) and his threaded area looks rusted but mine is far worse.

I would appreciate any replies.

I leave the anode in all season. My previous trailer had a heater with no anode, so this is new to me. You may want to try flushing the heater by running your water pump or connecting water to the city connection. This would run water in the rear lower inlet to the tank and may flush out more sediment.

If you feel the need to leave the anode rod out during periods of non use, you might consider a pipe plug or other means to seal the hole and keep the threads clean. I've always left ours in place without issue but we use it frequently and never drain the water heater other than to clean or replace the anode.

I do like Ray, I clean it out once a year. I will drain it out now since its been sitting in storage since the end of October.

I use a low cost 'Fitting Brush' to clean the rusty internal threads. LINK Pulling the anode out during long periods of non use is a good idea IMO.

Your missing the whole point of installing the rod in the first place, to help with corrosion in the tank. Do you drain your hot water heater in your house when you leave? Probably not. Leave the rod in, drain heater at end of season & call it good.

Ray LeTourneau said:

If you feel the need to leave the anode rod out during periods of non use, you might consider a pipe plug or other means to seal the hole and keep the threads clean. I've always left ours in place without issue but we use it frequently and never drain the water heater other than to clean or replace the anode.

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A plug will keep the mice out too. I drain at the end of the season and then place the anode back in for storage for the winter.

One thing I might suggest, if you leave the anode rod in after draining the HW tank, you might leave it out long enough for the water inside to dry out to keep from having the water left inside "go bad" & create odors & bad taste.

I leave the rod in and remove it once a year to inspect it. We do not have "seasons" here so the trailer gets used for camping, travel, and hunting. I do, however, drain the tank after each trip. Still water grows bacteria, especially in our heat but in any condition where it sits for long periods without a sanitizer. I would be very suspicious of water left in a tank for several weeks and my past experience when I forgot to drain the tank on one trip was very smelly and black water coming out of it.

I use Teflon tape on the threads but you could also use a lube of some sort that would be potable and safe for water tanks.