How to clean tank with rapid hot reduced flow
I have a Lowes Environ-Temp made by American WH in Johnson city, tn. As usual, the WH malfunctions when inconvenient. The water was hot but reduced to no pressure in 5-10 sec in am when wife needed shower! She let me know she was unhappy! It appeared that something was clogged or restricted. I put in a switch box above the tank when I changed the wh in 1999. I turn it off when on vacation or for service, very useful and convenient. I had not drained the tank in 3-4 years due to family illnesses, lots of parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I was really a year or two behind and have not yet caught up.
I brought a garden hose to the basement and extended it under the garage door to the yard to drain.
I opened the drain and had a flow that changed to a slow trickle. I tried to stir things up by turning the cold water back on, it stirred up lime particles of various shapes about the size of rock salt. The tank had a sturdy 3/4 in plastic drain but with a 3/8 x 1/2 in opening in the end of the plastic. The chunks would not pass through the small opening.
RECOMMENDATION: CHECK the drain opening size before churning debris inside of tank. !
After back flushing through the drain and turning on the cold water inlet several times, I realized the drain could not be cleared with logical actions.
I opened all of the hot water lines so there could be no vacuum on the tank. I had only opened one before. I drained as much as possible out of the pressure valve. Due to sediment in the valve channel, I could not get all the water out before it clogged. I unscrewed the valve, and use my wet vac to "catch" the water at the edge of the threads until the water level was below the opening.
I used some 1/2" clear flexible hose that I had (I needed about 6-8 ft fm hdwe store) to drain tank.
Insert enough hose to reach the bottom of the tank. Suck on the other end with the vac to start draining. The clear hose fit inside my garden hose which ran to the outside. It drained about 1 g per min per my measuring the flow with a bucket.
Using my watch, I calculated how long it would take to get below the upper element. I confirmed that the power was still off! I disconnected the wires under the access panel and removed the element. The upper element is rarely showing any deterioration.
When the water flow stopped, I removed the lower element. A two battery mag lite AA was useful in looking inside the tank. Using several 2-3' pieces of old garden hose, some flex hose, and some more rigid hose, I was able to suction the bottom of the tank virtually clean of the debris chunks, lime or calcium. The inside of the tank is lowest around the edges. In order to vacuum all debris, you will need suction hose or tube at a 90 degree angle to get the closest edge and a sock to wrap around the opposite hose end for when the wet vacuum hose end was too large to give good suction.
There was dirt sediment/foam on the side of the tank. It took water backflushed thru the drain and from the cold inlet pipe to loosen it all. I also used the flashlight thru the upper element hole to see more of the tank. I will look for a child's toy "periscope" to use nect time so I can see the tank on the close side. A std 7 watt bulb from a night light will fit through the upper element hole and would provide a much better view. I ran out of room to type. I will add a thread to this.
I have a Lowes Environ-Temp made by American WH in Johnson city, tn. As usual, the WH malfunctions when inconvenient. The water was hot but reduced to no pressure in 5-10 sec in am when wife needed shower! She let me know she was unhappy! It appeared that something was clogged or restricted. I put in a switch box above the tank when I changed the wh in 1999. I turn it off when on vacation or for service, very useful and convenient. I had not drained the tank in 3-4 years due to family illnesses, lots of parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I was really a year or two behind and have not yet caught up.
I brought a garden hose to the basement and extended it under the garage door to the yard to drain.
I opened the drain and had a flow that changed to a slow trickle. I tried to stir things up by turning the cold water back on, it stirred up lime particles of various shapes about the size of rock salt. The tank had a sturdy 3/4 in plastic drain but with a 3/8 x 1/2 in opening in the end of the plastic. The chunks would not pass through the small opening.
RECOMMENDATION: CHECK the drain opening size before churning debris inside of tank. !
After back flushing through the drain and turning on the cold water inlet several times, I realized the drain could not be cleared with logical actions.
I opened all of the hot water lines so there could be no vacuum on the tank. I had only opened one before. I drained as much as possible out of the pressure valve. Due to sediment in the valve channel, I could not get all the water out before it clogged. I unscrewed the valve, and use my wet vac to "catch" the water at the edge of the threads until the water level was below the opening.
I used some 1/2" clear flexible hose that I had (I needed about 6-8 ft fm hdwe store) to drain tank.
Insert enough hose to reach the bottom of the tank. Suck on the other end with the vac to start draining. The clear hose fit inside my garden hose which ran to the outside. It drained about 1 g per min per my measuring the flow with a bucket.
Using my watch, I calculated how long it would take to get below the upper element. I confirmed that the power was still off! I disconnected the wires under the access panel and removed the element. The upper element is rarely showing any deterioration.
When the water flow stopped, I removed the lower element. A two battery mag lite AA was useful in looking inside the tank. Using several 2-3' pieces of old garden hose, some flex hose, and some more rigid hose, I was able to suction the bottom of the tank virtually clean of the debris chunks, lime or calcium. The inside of the tank is lowest around the edges. In order to vacuum all debris, you will need suction hose or tube at a 90 degree angle to get the closest edge and a sock to wrap around the opposite hose end for when the wet vacuum hose end was too large to give good suction.
There was dirt sediment/foam on the side of the tank. It took water backflushed thru the drain and from the cold inlet pipe to loosen it all. I also used the flashlight thru the upper element hole to see more of the tank. I will look for a child's toy "periscope" to use nect time so I can see the tank on the close side. A std 7 watt bulb from a night light will fit through the upper element hole and would provide a much better view. I ran out of room to type. I will add a thread to this.
Last edited: