Maintenance Tip #1 Preparing the water heater
Turn off the power if its an electric water heater. Turn off the water to the water heater by closing the valve on the cold water line. Its located on top of the water heater. The cold line is always to the right. Open a hot water tap inside the house. Air pressure will come out of the tap. Open the drain valve located at the bottom of the water heater. It looks like a hose bibb. Let a gallon or more out of the water heater. Do not allow anyone to use hot water for the time you are working on the water heater.
Maintenance Tip #2 Temperature :%$amp; Pressure relief valves
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The T:%$amp;P valve should be checked twice a year to be sure it works. It is located on the front of the water heater and has a small steel lever on top of it with an open hole. Sometimes a pipe is attached to it. Lift the lever to make sure water comes out. If it fails, open it several more times. If it fails still, it needs to be replaced. If it releases some water, but leaks, tape it lightly on top of the lever when it is down with a hammer. If it still leaks, replace it. The pipe that may be attached to it may run to a sink, the outside of the house, or the floor. It's about 3/4 inch in diameter. The pipe must be no closer than 6 inches from the ground. You could have a threaded union attached between the T:%$amp;P and the pipe to make disassembly even easier.
Maintenance Tip #3 Gate valves for your hot and cold lines
Consider having gate valves installed on your hot and cold lines. They make opening or closing the line possible. If you have a leak or flooding emergency, shut off at the water heater is much easier than at the main pipe. Make sure that you don't mix up steel and brass in the connections here or the steel will corrode. If water ever escapes from the nut that pivots the handle on the gate valve, turn off the water and unscrew the nut with the threaded stem and wrap it with teflon tape or use a graphite packing material. This will pack the nut into the gate valve and prevent leaks. If you do decide to have a gate valve put in, make it a ball valve instead of a turning mechanism type of valve. You can tell if the line is open or closed just by looking at it.
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Maintenance Tip #4 Drain valves
Drain valves usually come when you buy them from a manufacturer. They used to be brass. You should install a 3/4 ball valve on your water heater. The plastic ones are prone to leaking. To install a brass ball valve, turn the gas or electricity off and open a hot tap inside the house. If you have a cone-shaped valve, unscrew it counterclockwise six turns or so and pull it out at the same time. Now turn it clockwise while continuing to pull and it will come out. Wrap teflon on the nipple that is exposed on the water heater. Attach the ball valve now. If you have a plastic drain valve that looks like a hose bib, unscrew it by turning the entire valve itself. A little water may come out while you're installing a new valve, but not much at all. Wear gloves to avoid getting scalded.
Maintenance Tip #5 Combustion chamber cleaning
For gas water heaters, you can detach the burner assembly from the water heater and clean it, and also shopvac the inside of the gas water heater clean. There are three lines extending downward from the gas control pilot. Turn off the gas by putting the dial on PILOT. Unscrew all three lines from the gas control pilot. Now remove the front panel holding the burner assembly inside the water heater. Now brush the burner assembly clean and vacuum out the inside of the water heater. Reinstall the burner assembly in reverse order of disassembling it. Spray some glass cleaner on all the connections to see if any bubbling occurs there. If so, then you have a gas leak. Tighten the connections further.
Maintenance Tip #6 Inspecting your gas water heater's vent
The vent has very detailed instructions provided for it in local plumbing codes. If anything looks rusted or suspicious, call the gas company or a plumber. Be careful that you don't have any backdrafting occurring from your gas water heater. If the gas fumes, which are carried up the vent and escape from the house come back into the house via a fireplace, open window, or an air conditioning vent, then you have backdrafted dangerous fumes into your home. Contact a heating and cooling contractor if you feel this might be happening.
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