Tank hot water heaters : Do they need to be flushed?

[JWblue]

A plumber told me the Bradford White hot water heater we own does not need to be flushed. He said that it has a function that
removes any sediment by itself.

Has anyone heard of this?

Also what is the difference between flushing and draining? I was told there is a risk of damaging the HWE when draining.

 

[ajaynejr]

Turn off the water heater heat before draining. Vacation setting is not low enough. For gas heaters turn the little knob to "pilot" (or "off" if you are going to spend a lot of time working on the heater). For electric heaters flip the panel breaker off. Also turn off the water heater's own shutoff switch if there is one for added protection against someone else in the family needing to use the breaker panel turning the water heater back on too soon by mistake.

See water gushing steadily from a hot faucet upstairs for a whole minute before turning the water heater back on.

The water heater will be damaged if it kicks on with the elements not covered with water (electric) or the bottom of the tank emptied (gas).

Flushing means to force out some or all of the tank contents by runing in new (cold) water. Draining means letting out the water in the tank by gravity (turn off the cold supply and need to open a faucet upstairs)

Automatic sediment removal is accomplished with a dip tube shaped so incoming cold water churns up the tank contents near the bottom and hopefully the sediment stays floating around long enough to come out the drain valve. This process is not foolproof.

 

[billshack]

depending on your water i would suggest flushing a hot water tank where possible. when i was in the trade and doing a service call for one of my long time customers i would while in the house flush out the hot water tank, sometimes i was amazed at how much stuff came out during a flush,

 

[havasu]

I just flushed my tank. First time in 6 years. I got lots of crud out of there that could have easily been the culprit as to why my hot water faucet got clogged. It took my 4 hours to hook up the new faucet, since that same cabinet connects the dishwasher, a huge reverse osmosis system, and the hot water thermostat for my Grundfos hot water pump. With all that stuff along with my fat *** in the cabinet, holy crap, ya ever hear of the saying...10 pounds of **** in a 5 pound bag!

 

[user 4883]

The heater should be flushed annually depending on hardness of your water, possibly twice a year.
In order to do this effectively, you'll have uninstall the boiler drain valve and replace it with a 3/4" full port ball valve.
I replaced my several years ago and took a vow to PM it annually but, never have.
As far as the automatic sediment removal, he is most likely referring to the sacrificial anode rod.
Replace this also for longevity of the heater.