Went to change "element" AFTER draining hot water tank using hose attached to drain nozzle at bottom of tank. Drained for almost an entire day.
When I went to unscrew and changed existing element (bottom) on electric tank WATER came out like tank was still full.
I'm concerned about all the water that got between outer tank & inner tank and how to "dry out".
I'm concerned about turning electricity back on.
I'm concerned that I got over 3 pots of water after all the time taken to drain.
At this point on what I should & should not do?
Best Answer
As been pointed out there will be some residual amounts of water left in the hot (and cold) lines even when the tank is empty. Which is you should open the valve farthest from the tank as it is being drained. The other problem I noted is that unless you have an immense (100 gl.) water heater or a very narrow drain valve the shouldn't take so long to drain. What might be happening is hard water deposits have collected at the bottom of the tank enough to slow and block water draining through the valve. Did you happen to notice a build up of whitish flakes on the ground?
To check that the tank is completely empty and not just clogged at the drain valve: open TPR valve and connect the drain hose to a spigot and slowly reverse the water flow back into tank with a couple of short 'on/off' bursts. Air will escape through the TPR valve indicating that the drain valve is open.