Drain or dont drain H/W heater

[Jeep4Two]

Just curious what the community here does with their hot water heater between trips.

Do you drain or not drain between camping trips?

I've seen some folks at the CG packing up and draining their heater, but since our heaters don't have a drain valve it seems to be a lot of effort.

Any benefit one way or the other?

It would seem that an empty tank with residual water wouldn't allow the anode to do its job.

[desertwilde]

Hi, I drain mine after every trip and drain out the system. We get lots of mineral build up from the water where I live.

[desertwilde]

I forgot to add that while there is no drain valve, there is a rather large nut attached to the heating element that is where to drain it from. Be advised that once that is loosened it will come out under a feed deal of pressure. Do not stand in front of it.

[BarryD0706]

I drain mine everytime. I don't want that weight working against the WH mounting while I drive.

Atwood has a 1/2" drain plug that I remove (and then screw a short piece of 1/2" PVC into it to allow me to direct the water into my sewer hose as the last step at the dump station).

[MtnGuy]

I just drain mine once a year for winter. No problems, and I still have about 75% of my anode rod left after 5 years.

[Oakman]

The only time I drain is at the end of the season when I winterize the fifth wheel. I've been doing this for 10 years without any issues.

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I just drain mine once a year for winter. No problems, and I still have about 75% of my anode rod left after 5 years.

X2.

But I'm sure that anode use depends on the water in your area, so you may need to check more often. Experiance will tell.

I don't winterize (heated shed) but do drain the HW tank every fall and leave it empty over the winter.

[bob213]

The less times I unscrew the anode rod the less chance I have of cross theading it when I put it back in. (I have that "special knack" for things like that.) I drain mine at the end of the season and replace the anode rode when I do unless it's in really good shape. I do have low point drains on both sides of TT and it seems like one must get some water out of the water heater as It has to refill the next time I use it. I do drain those if the TT is going to sit for more than 2 weeks.

[DDC]

I only drain it for winter too, can't see any reason for continuously doing this.

[D-mo]

i drain for winter only too .. no need for allthe fuss .. especially like bob213 says .. crossthreading this little beast would instantly put a hamper on your happy.

d-mo

[Frank-VA]

I only drain ours when I winterize

[PHS79]

On our new TT only drain it when I winterize, although I do open the low point drains if it is going to sit for a couple weeks. Our old hybrid had a drain valve built into the anoid rod, so I would drain that WH if it was going to sit for more than 2 weeks. Once I have to replace the rod in our new TT I will try to get one with the built in drain, just because...

[tanddc]

I don't drain between trips. Too much trouble and add risk of not only cross threading but burning out the heating element because I forgot to fill and purge first. I figure I will just haul the 48 lbs.

[F and E Damp]

The only time I drain ours between winterisations is if we've had to use CG/city water of dubious quality. We have some of the best quality water in the country at home so tend to be a bit picky about lower quality.

It's only 6 gallons, and we don't drink hot water, so it's more of an aromatic issue.

[Pooneil]

I always opened the low point drains on old camper at the end of every trip. It would slowly drain the water heater on the way home.

[kaldridge2004]

We don't drain our WH after every trip. If the water is well water or we cannot use the trailer for a long period of time, then we consider draining it. We have also talked about getting an external water filter to filter the water before it enters the trailer. This will help keep the minerals from building up.

[crunchman12001]

We have well water so I do not want the water in the system getting funky. I drain the WH and low points (a day or two) after every trip. Takes less than 5 minutes to not wonder how old the water is.

Have a buddy with a 5th wheel he bought used. He left the water in the tanks for a month during summer. Horrible rotten egg smell when he dumped the fresh and WH tanks. He remembers to drain after every trip now.
crunchman

[ThunderRoad]

I drain "occasionally" throughout the summer season, depending on how much I've been using the HW. If it's been siting unused for a while I may drain and refill on principle to make sure there's nothing too stagnant. I drain the FW tank on the way home from any trip.

Even after one year, I've found the anode rod pretty pock-marked, so replaced it on general principle. Our water is ridiculously hard.

[ko777]

If this will lessen my tongue weight by 40 lbs, I should drain my HW from now on. My A128S is front heavy, without the propane tanks and carrying a bike, it is at 340 lbs, my TV limit is 350 lbs. I hope this will solve my tongue weight issue. I have been draining the fresh water tank after the trip and now HW tank will be drained too.

[awwall]

Originally Posted by Oakman

The only time I drain is at the end of the season when I winterize the fifth wheel. I've been doing this for 10 years without any issues.

X2 Bob, also been doing this for years with no problems...