|
I camp in the winter. I often have to add or exhaust antifreeze between trips. I like to cycle the water in the pipes and hot water tank often. I use my water tank for everything. I found myself finding the one and one-sixteenth socket and twisting that plug out many times each year. I did another page regarding making adding antifreeze easier HERE. If you haven't yet put a screw in to hold the hot water heater door, I did a page on that HERE. You WILL lose that door. I did a page on why you do not need an anode in your hot water heater HERE. NO! You do not need an anode and your heater won't implode if you don't have one. What you won't be drinking is the white poop that comes off that anode. What you won't be cleaning out of the faucet filters is the white poop that comes off those anodes. Yuck. In this modification, I replaced the three-quarter inch drain plug in my Suburban hot water heater with a valve. I can now empty the tank in the winter without having to fool around with that dopey one and one-sixteenth socket. When I want to change the water in the tank, I just open it up and cycle the water. I used a three-quarter plug to one-half inch adapter. To that, using a couple of stainless hose clamps I attached a tiny piece of one-half inch plastic reinforced tubing. I took a one-half inch barb to three-eighths inch compression straight valve and cut off the half-inch barb. I removed and threw out the compression nut and brass compression collar. I screwed the valve into the plastic hose and used another hose clamp to seal that. Here's the specifics on the parts I used, except for the bog-standard half-inch reinforced tubing.
Voila! Much easier than unscrewing that dopy plug. I can still unscrew the plug to clean the tank but without the rod, that is not very often, if ever.
|
