Hot water and other tank draining

Custom 21 · Newbie

Hot water and other tank draining

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Custom 21, enjoy here and out in the playground.

I have a Suburban hot water heater and was told not to drain it when not being used. I live in my van but do the odd house sit and if using house shower I go out and use the van shower once a week just to run water through the system.

I do not travel with water in the main water tanks due to a weight problem with the van. To use the shower at a house sit I just hook up a hose to the van.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

moamajohn · Guru

When we arrive home and after unloading the perishables and dirty laundry etc I place 2 wedges on the opposite side of the van to the HWS and drive up on them .I then remove the drain plug on the HWS and let it go until empty and place a piece of cloth in the hole to stop wasps etc invading .This also save the anode rod too.I then fill both tanks to max and put the van to bed in its garage till the next adventure when I refit the rod, connect the hose ,turn on a hot tap and "fill er up "till the hot tap runs full on ,jobs done !Cheers.

Cupie · Guru

For the last 20 years my practice has been to empty all tanks & rinse.

If I am going to use the on board water on a trip I rinse again & refill in the week before leaving.

I don't use the water tank water for drinking or cooking. We buy the 5L supermarket drinking water casks for that purpose & refill as required.

No problems.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Almost never drain the HWS or the water tanks, but we chlorinate all the water we hold and filter it just before use (not when filling).
Cheers,
Peter

mustangdude · Member

I replaced my anode and drained the tank. The van sat for 6 months with the tank empty then it got used for a week.
After getting home I removed the anode and found surprising results.
The lower side of the anode was quite corroded.
I fill the HWS with rainwater from a plastic holding tank so I'd assume it has few minerals, I didn't expect to see any corrosion.
This is due to when draining the tank the anode is still touching the water on it's underside.
Now I remove the anode and suck the excess water from the tank so no water touches the anode whilst the van is in storage.

vince56 · Senior Member

Hey Dougwe,
Any explanation when you were told not to drain the HWS??

Eaglemax · Guru

When I built my van I mounted the tank on a slight angle toward the low exit point. Drain after every trip. HWS? Dont have one, next van will.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

vince56 wrote:
Hey Dougwe,
Any explanation when you were told not to drain the HWS??

Not a lot Vince, sorry and when I asked further I was told they are not designed to be dry for any length of time once used. I hear many do drain though. I have only had it in the aluminium teepee since last September after replacing it from the Girrard HWS that didn't know what hot water was.

The Travelling Dillberries · Guru

Just read my Suburban instructions which say to drain the tank by removing the Anode, leave dry for any extended period of non use.