Water heater Drain Plug

[bjones211]

What size socket should my Dometic water heater drain plug require? Tried 1” socket and it was too small. Didn’t have anything larger.

[RogerR]

Is yours plastic, if so, vice grips or similar are enough to take it out.

[TWP723]

I thought they were either 15/16 or 7/8.

[bjones211]

Don’t want to risk boogering it up with vice grips. Tried 7/8” and 15/16”, both too small.

[16WhiteColly]

15/16” most, the white plastic ones.

[OnTheGo]

The new Dometic water heater drain requires 1 1/16" socket, and it's a cap not a plug. It looks like 1/2" male pipe threads on the water heater drain pipe.

The plugs are 15/16" - have been for years.

[spoon059]

I don't take out my drain plug. I open my low point drains and pop the pressure relief valve on my water heater. The pressure valve will break the vacuum and should allow all the water to drain out the bottom back of your water heater.

[dxrobertson]

Originally Posted by spoon059

I don't take out my drain plug. I open my low point drains and pop the pressure relief valve on my water heater. The pressure valve will break the vacuum and should allow all the water to drain out the bottom back of your water heater.

Not sure about your particular WH model, but my Dometic the inlet/outlet lines at the "back" are not mounted anywhere near the bottom of the WH; thus there is no complete water drain and sediment would collect in the bottom of the tank without use of the drain.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by dxrobertson

Not sure about your particular WH model, but my Dometic the inlet/outlet lines at the "back" are not mounted anywhere near the bottom of the WH; thus there is no complete water drain and sediment would collect in the bottom of the tank without use of the drain.

My water inlet is the bottom of my tank. It drains completely and sediment is removed as well.

[GHen]

Originally Posted by bjones211

Don’t want to risk boogering it up with vice grips. Tried 7/8” and 15/16”, both too small.

Just buy a couple of extras and replace as needed, they are inexpensive. Then you don’t need to worry about “boogering” it up.

[deepsea5]

I replaced my water heater drain with a ball valve. Bob K is the one who gave me this idea.

Bob K posted this in the Time for Some 2015 185RB Baja Repairs & Upgrades thread:

Hot Water Heater Drain Valve
I drain the hot water tank often when traveling in the cold season.

I discovered that my low point drains will also drain the hot water tank; however, I also wanted a convenient way to drain just the tank without needing to get tools out to remove the drain plug, so I installed a ball valve.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GWBK57V




"But Bob, that's an Atwood aluminum tank and you put in a stainless steel ball valve. Aren't you worried about galvanic corrosion?"

I'm going to take one for the team here and do a little experiment. SS316 and aluminum are only .5 volts apart on the anodic index, and this isn't salt water. Additionally, the aluminum tank is a huge anode as compared to the in-contact portion of the relatively tiny stainless steel valve (cathode). I'm going to check the tank, tank threads, and valve at regular intervals to see just how much galvanic corrosion is actually taking place. My hypothesis is that the tank and valve will long outlast the rest of the trailer. I'm ready for the little experiment to prove me right or wrong.

[29BHS ECO]

I have had 3 rv's since the 90's and never had a anode. Some heater mfg's do not require them. I have added a ss flexable 9" quarter turn drain line to each, for a drain without burnt fingers.