How to Flush Water Heater and Test Pressure Relief Valve

hey guys today's video we're showing how to flush and test the pressure relief valve on a Rheem Performance Plus gas water heater this particular unit we installed last year about 16 months ago roughly and annually it's recommended to flush the system so you get sediment out of the bottom of the tank so it doesn't build up on the heating element clog the drain or just cause all different types of issues this will maintain efficiency and life of the unit I did notice after looking at a few videos on YouTube it to be really careful read your manual but also watch several different videos until you find someone that you trust I saw a video that had somewhere in the north range of five or six thousand views and they didn't suggest to turn off the heat or the electricity if it's an electrical unit you need to one of the first steps is to turn off the electricity or if it's a gas unit such as mine it's to to cut the gas turn off the gas line or just switch it to the pilot setting which is what I just did right there by changing that down to the pilot what can happen if you drain all the water out of your tank and it's starting to turn and the unit's trying to heat it'll actually burn out the elements look it again look at your manual but please watch several videos and get a good feeling and understanding of what you're about to do before you do it because there's a lot of bad information out there and this is not something you want to mess up so anyways we'll get started first step what I just showed at least with the gas system is to kill the gas you could just do that here the simpler thing is just to turn it to the pilot setting if I turn it off I'd have to relight the pilot later which isn't much of a hassle especially with the piezo lighter here but the easier thing is just to put it in a pilot mode [Music] then proceed to the next step okay next step is to go ahead and attach your hose in the case of this particular unit it just twists on right here and before you actually let the water out the way to let the water out is to grab this part and turn the left but we won't do that just yet so the second step to get your hose attached and then on the other end make sure the hose is draining an area where it's either a drain or outside in the case of our situation here in Arizona this isn't my garage so I just had the hose going outside the next step is to find your cool water inlet and turn that off next step is to find a faucet in the home where you can turn on the hot water and let it run and tell the the water stops coming out next go counterclockwise you can hear that coming through and you can fill it hose is getting hot and you can hear some pressure relief in here let's go look at the end of the hose okay once you're done draining go ahead and take this all the way man that's hot you'll want to watch this just to confirm that there is no leaking I have gone to these cheaper plastic valves instead of the brass port bells but so far this one in a couple of years a little bit year and a half it's doing okay okay coming back to the water line [Applause] next turn on the hot water to get the air out of the system for a gas system at this point just turn it back to whichever setting you head in this case we have a set to be you can hear that the pilot light just lit up what's the burner back in action you're all done now if you have an electric unit you need to restore power at this point and then you're not to test the pressure relief valve wait until the unit is in normal operating procedures so water tanks filled everything's good put a bucket and I definitely recommend or just have a nice place for it to clear out but simply and when you close it next recommend recording somewhere on the tank what was done in the date just so you have a record and history of all the maintenance performed if you've enjoyed this video maybe interested in subscribing to our Channel DIY around the home where we shared videos on do-it-yourself fixes appliance installation carvers smart home technology and just any other thing that happens around the home thanks

Channel: DIYAroundTheHome

Views: 124,242

Keywords: Flush, Heater, How, Maintain, Rheem, Service, Water, cleaning water heater, electric, flush hot water heater, flush water heater, gas, hot water heater, how to, how to flush a water heater, how to flush water heater, how to flush your water heater, how to service water heater, maintain water heater, pressure relief valve, rheem water heater, service water heater, to, water heater, water heater maintenance

Id: gSEE5rw_Sv8

Length: 5min 33sec (333 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 17 2019