OK, I know this is weird but I'm trying to drain the gas hot water heater on my house and change the drain valve over to a ball valve.

Here's the order of events:

1. I turned the gas valve to "pilot".
2. I hooked up a hose to the plastic drain valve and ran it outside.
3. I turned off the cold water supply to the hot water heater.
4. I opened the pressure relief valve and watched water drain out of the garden hose on the driveway.
5. The plastic drain valve would not come out so I used PB blaster to loosen it up. Using a pipe wrench, it finally came out. Of course, there is a big hole now where the drain valve was installed which allows a LOT of water to flow!
6. I have filled three five gallon buckets with water and MORE water keeps coming out! It as though the water heater has become the bottomless pit!

Also, the hot water valve leading OUT of the water heater is stuck. Is it possible that water is flowing into the tank through the hot water valve?

Special thanks for any assistance; again I know this is strange asking on this forum but I'm about to pull my hair out!!!

Well, first you will need to get rid of 50-75 gallons of water to empty the tank. That's a lot of buckets.

Is there some reason you did not turn the gas off? Why leave the pilot on if there is going to be no water in the tank? It is not hard to relight the pilot light.

Could it be back-draining out of your house pipes? Open a hot tap and see what happens. There should be suction I'd think.
I'm getting ready to do the same thing with my electric. It takes forever to drain out that little valve due to scale buildup in the bottom. A ball valve will help I think. I have to change the bottom element yearly as the scale builds up to it and ruins it.

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OK, I'll kill the gas, relighting the pilot light is no big deal. I'm going to install the old drain valve and hook up the hose again to see if I can empty the tank that way. It should be easier than using the buckets. I"ll post back with updates......

You'll be draining all the water in the house pipes out that valve too since it's the lowest point in the house usually. I typically run the hose for the water heater drain into a 5 gallon bucket and then put a sump pump in the bucket to pump the water out of the basement.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

OK, finally got all the water to drain out (whew!). I then found a youtube video that shows how to make a kit for a wet/dry vac to vacuum the sediment out of the bottom of the water heater. I improvised and purshased an adapter from Sears for my Sears wet/dry vac (pictures attached).

I then purchased some clear hose and fed it into the end of the attachment. The hose came from Ace hardware and fits perfectly! I then turned the cold water supply on and off for a few seconds then vacuumed sediment using the clear hose attached to the vacuum cleaner. I used an extra long screw driver I bought from Harbor Freight (came in a set of two) for $5.00 to help break up the sediment.

I believe I got most of the crud/sediment out using this method. Next, I installed a new ball valve using pipe joint compound and plumber's tape. Then, I turned the cold water supply on and let it fill up.

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Now for the good part. I relit the pilot light and was about to install the cover door but then noticed it says to be sure and cover with fiberglass or the pilot light may go out. When I was draining the water heater, water got the fiberglass insulation wet and I ended up removing the fiberglass insulation material from the cover door.

The water heater is located in the garage, there is no exposure to wind so I don't think there is any risk of the pilot light going out. Is it ok or do I need to go purchase some fiberglass insulation and glue it to the cover door?

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Turn the valve off at the street, , when doing household plumbing work.

I wouldn't bother with it unless you start experiencing pilot problems. I also wouldn't bother turning the water off at the street to do plumbing repairs. If I had to shut off the whole house, I'd do it at the valve inside the house.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

When I turn the black knob from the pilot setting to the on setting, the burner does not ignite. I turned the thermostat to the "hot" setting and still no joy. I waited a few minutes but then turned the black knob back to the pilot setting because I didn't want gas to build up. Any ideas?

You will have to 'Burp/purge the gas line'...turn the 1/2 inch gas valve..On..open the union..let some gas flow..re-connect the union...be sure to coat the seats of the union with white teflon paste to avoid future gas leaks...

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