More Trailer Fun!!

I spent most of the day installing a new Richmond Trailer HW tank. It was a bear to get the old tank out and put the new one in, because you had to shoe-horn them past the gas and water pipes in the tiny closet that was four feet off the ground.

The old tank was so full of lime that it blocked the drain, so it weighed about 1000 lbs. We had to set a couple of 2x6's down to make a ramp and slowly let it topple over and slide down to the ground. We couldn't back the pickup up to the closet to set the new tank, because the carport was in the way, so we ended up renting a lift, and it still took three guys an hour to set the new tank.

Then, I had to extend the cold water plumbing to get to the new cold water inlet that was at the bottom of the tank. In the old tank, the cold inlet was at the top of the tank. I also had to install a new ball valve, as there was no shutoff valve. There was so little room to work in that tiny closet that the new inlet pipe and the vent are nearly touching.

There's actually a question in all of this: The new vent cap looks like it is made to screw into the top of the tank. It has two pronged legs and two legs with holes. I was a bit gun-shy about screwing in the cap, and I was wondering how much clearance is there between the top of the tank and the tank cover? I'd hate to put a hole in this tank at this point.

A standard sheet metal screw should be fine.
The tank has insulation between the jacket and the tank.
And the tank is pretty thick.

Could you have removed the drain, and installed a new drain with hose?
At least to get rid of the weight of the water in the tank.

If the top of the heater is closed off, it will drain slowly.
Or some people use a pump and force the water out the outlet.
I say some, I don't have a pump for that.