How to close off a never used water heater

[pandu]

Hi Everyone,

I have an '84 Dolphin and never use my water heater, I just boil a little water on the stove when I need it. The water heater is the ONE reason I have had to have her winterized because I'm afraid of freezing water ruining it. I'm looking inside and around and I think there must be a valve that will turn off the water to it. Then I'm thinking that if I leave the drain valve open all summer it should be bone dry by winter and I can just blow out my pipes instead of using this nasty antifreeze each year.

Is that all there is to it? So far I don't find the shutoff but it must be in there somewhere.

Anyway, would that work?

thanks,

Jim

[sdboltdude]

you can just install one on the hot water line going into heater..

then just drain water heater in winter..

I live in sunny san diego do know about winterizing

[waiter]

I did the same thing on mine, I've never used it, and its a pain to winterize properly.

I think the parts to bypass it cost about $10.

READ HERE

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[pandu]

Wonderful stuff. Thank you all, especially John for his pics on 'how to'.

I have the drain cock open and what I did earlier today was to tightly shut the 2 hot water faucets and then I removed the handles. I figured if no water was drawn then none would come into the tank and that the WH would end up being bone dry after the summer.

Any thoughts on this simple fix? Will it serve?

thanks,

Jim

[Dolphinite no longer here]

^Pandu,

^{Water heater bypass kits are commonly available at most RV stores. They are easy to install, too. When you install the bypass kit, and have it closed, you can still use the rest of your water system normally, you just won't get any hot water out of either faucet. That way, you don't have to remove the faucet handles since no water gets into the water heater tank. You will get cold water out of either faucet. When its time to winterize your plumbing, after draining your fresh water tank, install another bypass kit on the line that runs from your fresh water tank to the pump. Simply turn the bypass valve ninety degrees, attach a two foot piece of hose to the valve and stick the other end into a gallon jug of RV antifreeze. When all the faucets run pink, all your lines are winterized. It usually takes about a gallon and a half to winterize all the lines in my '85 Dolphin. Come Spring, just fill your fresh water tank with water and pump fresh water through all the lines with all the faucets open. When everything runs clear, you're good to go. Piece of cake...}

^John

[DanAatTheCape]

You need to close off water in & water out to the water heater. Then if you want your hot water facetts to work, you need to bypass the water heater. Kits are available. Of course if you are just going to disconnect permanently then just find where the water line goes into the water heater & then disconned & plug it somehwere upstream. Then purge the downstream of all water once & for all.

[Maineah]

Use the bypass it is the simplest fix of all and you won't have to go through a bunch of stuff if you ever decide you want hot water or sell it. None of the hot water tanks drain completely (it's no big deal if what's left freezes) so if you pull the tank drain when you winterize it you can blow air backwards into the tank and the excess will drain on the ground. Come spring replace the drain plug and let the tank fill back up. The reason I say this is because some hot water tanks are very difficult to get to. Mine was under the floor inside a closet and required removing the floor to access the heater while trying to work around the toilet. I hate the antifreeze stuff too but it is non toxic usually what I do is run it through then open the drains and let it drain out. One of the best methods to get rid of the water or antifreeze is drain it leave the drains open then go for a ride with all the taps open don't forget to prop the toilet valve open.