Low Point Drains @ Water Heater

[AllysonG-NY]

I have a Jayco SLX7 195RB and earlier this year had my water heater replaced.

I was going to flush out water yesterday and opened low point drains beside water heater and no water came out. I then removed plug from heater and water came out ok.

I then checked other low point for freshwater tank and it was ok.

As a secondary check I turned on water pump with low point at water heater open and it would not prime. OK.
I closed and water primed ok.

Any ideas on why no water coming out of low points beside water heater? Could this cause me an issue when winterizing?

[Old and soft]

Did you try opening your faucets while the low point drain was open? Air has to enter the lines somewhere . Ever put your finger on top of a straw and then lift it out of your drink? I still pump quite a bit of water out of my lines before a good stream of antifreeze appears.

[RogerR]

I drain my water heater with the low point drain and hot tap open. First years I pulled out plug and got nothing. Then I added electric heat element in drain hole and now I don't bother. I do run 40 PSI air through system including hot water tank to blast out water. I then cut off hot water heater and put in pink in case there is a low spot accumulation. Probably don't need it due to pex being hard to burst. Over winter I leave my low points open and taps open, just in case. Don't forget to drain grey and black in case water there on valves could damage drain valves and put some pink in the toilet to keep seal wet. Also, run pink through toilet and if you have an outdoor shower run pink there.

[ggilbert]

https://youtu.be/eU-ZwszRzHQ

great video for winterizing

also remember to remove the screen on the city water fill and press the button to get the water out of that check valve.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by AllysonG-NY

Any ideas on why no water coming out of low points beside water heater? Could this cause me an issue when winterizing?

The key element you need to displace the water with air. I really like "Old and Soft" about the straw. It is also like doing dishes, and you lift an inverted glass full of water out of the dishpan. The water in the glass is above the dishpan water level until you get the rim about the water level, and whoosh, the water escapes.

Two easy ways to drain the water heater:
- When I remove the drain plug for the water heater, I open the pressure relieve valve.

- If I open the two low point plumbing drains, I commonly open a faucet (both a hot and cold water). This allows air into the system to displace the water.

Key, you need to get air into the system