PM on water heater

ken D

How long does it normally take to do a Pm on a hot water heater? I'm talking changing the anode, curved dip tube, drain, install full port ball valve, fill, flush with no place to flush it (where do you flush it in this case?) Maybe a muck vac (any one ever use one?) heat and shock the heating elements, checking gas pressures, flame sense etc.
No shut off valves? Realistic problems.

you know, a real PM on a hw heater? Or do you do one when it is convenient, or not too time consuming to be reasonable.

Any one ever do them?

How often do you recommend it?

In fourteen years, the time of replacing 2 HWH w/o maintenence, would it be cheaper to do nothing & let them go, or can you PM them every year/2 and the customer still save $--despite the investment. Is Pms worth it?

Larry Weingarten

It takes roughly...

one and a half hours for a normal residential tank with adequate access. I don't do everything you mention though. What do you mean by "shock the elements"? Once a tank has been serviced, future service takes about 45 minutes. This assumes you have the right tools like a torque multiplier for anodes and a square shank basin wrench for those evil plastic drains.

I service a tank based on what the anode/s looks like and water quality. So it varies from every six years, (small tank, two anodes and clean water) to every six months (big tank, over softened water and only one anode).

I've got a couple of glass lined heaters over fifty now.

And, yes, I have heard of the Muck Vac. ;~)