Water Heaters - Issue with water heater drain valve and basin

Hello. I am trying to flush my electric water heater. However, I am having trouble accessing the drain valve at the bottom of the tank. The tank is installed in a shallow metal bin designed to pipe leaking water to the sewer. The trouble is that the opening of the drain valve is directly contacting the rim of the basin so I can't thread a hose onto the valve. Also the valve handle (plastic) is also jammed against the basin wall.

Any advice on how to access the valve or drain another way?

Thanks,
Richard

Hi crosstalk,
Welcome to the DIY Forums.

You MIGHT be able to move the water heater slightly to free up the valve, or possibly enough to slide the catch pan to a better position. You will need help for this as water is not a light medium to move around.

If you are able to move the water heater silghtly,watch for putting the lines in a bind and causing breakage. Turn off the breaker BEFORE attampting any movement or repair.

Good luck and reply back if you have further questions.

Thanks for the reply. I think the pan is already off-center and shift as far back away from the drain valve side as possible. I doubt I can safely move the unit at all...the piping seems pretty rigid. There are unions (I think) connected at the water heater inlets. I suppose I could disconnect the unions, shift the unit away from the piping, and tilt it to provide access to the valve.

This seems like too much work to drain the thing. How do people usually prevent this problem? Do they place something under the heater in the catch pan to elevate it? If I disconnect the heater, I could do that and redo the piping to accomodate the extra height.

Is there any other way to pump the water out? Maybe via the element access?

Thanks,
Richard

Yes you can take the unions loose and move the heater around. I would repipe the lines to make this an easier job in the future. Most water heaters are piped quickly and future maintenance is the furthest thing from the mind of the plumber/homeowner doing the work. They just get the job done as quickly as possible. This is not always done in a way thats convient to get to later problems. A lot of times the piping will have to be redone to facillate maintenance. Check with your local code office to see if the flex lines can be used, this will allow for a bit more movement if needed later.
ou can place a few bricks/blocks under the heater to raise it up for easier connection of the drain hose. Tthis would entail repiping but will be easier if you can use the flex piping.


The element housing is not an option for draining the heater tank.


Good luck

Thanks again for your fast reply. I might be able to operate the drain valve if I were able to rotate it so that the hose bib part is upward (right now the hose bib part is sideways). It seems pretty risky to tighten a plastic valve in order to change its orientation. Can anyone gauge how much risk is involved in possibly breaking the valve or its seal on the heater tank by trying to tighten it 90 degrees?

Thanks,
Richard