I need a course in R-Pod water Heater 1001

Originally posted by TrinityTurret I noticed the anode rode hole is about an inch above the bottom of the heater...thusly, there is still about a half-inch of water in the heater. Will THAT AMOUNT of water cause any problems should it freeze up? If so, without some kind of pump, I can't get all the water out...

If you want, you can just set you valves to winter/storage, and otherwise do your winterization now, and drain the WH when you get time. It is a solid 6 gallons of water, and while it freezing solid will be bad, unless you live pretty far north, it isn't going to stay below freezing, and be far enough below freezing to solidify a insulated 6 gallon container for a bit longer this year.

Well, I TRIED to 'silicone' it....I had a tube of 'silicone', but it was 'silicone caulk', and even after waiting around for four hours, it is still like gooey toothpaste...so I'm gonna put tape and visquine all over it just to get the heater emptied before the winterizing (antifreeze). I was hoping there was a magic solution, like "press the blue button and that will divert the water heater dumping into the gray water tank", LOL :)

When I remove the anode rod, the water pours into grooves of the outer rim..and seeps down along the inside of the Rpod, actually seeping out the sprayed-on foam around the low point drain. Is there any way to avoid this other than my ridiculous visquine and masking tape?

Originally posted by TrinityTurret Why, when I OPENED the middle valve, did water then flow through and come out my hot water faucet after I had filled my fresh water tank? It didn't seem to come out but 'air bubbles' & wheezing noises when I had that middle valve closed? Because you created a shortened path for the water to follow, so it wasn't trying (as hard) to refill the WH. The blowing and wheezing you were experiencing was 6 gallons of air being pushed out of the empty WH by the incoming water. Second part of this new question...when I winterize...I take it, then, the valve going IN to the heater, and the one coming OUT (the top and bottom valves) should be CLOSED, to prevent the antifreeze from entering the WH. I assume the middle valve should be 'open' to allow antifreeze to 'go around' the water heater---it really 'bypasses' the VALVES, and not the heater, because the valves are keeping antifreeze from entering the heater, right? Well, yes.. but you don't bypass the valves.. you are forcing the water to BYPASS the WH. BTW, you CAN winterize, with antifreeze, without bypassing the WH.. It's how it was done "back in the day".. you just needed 10 gallons or more of anti freeze, so you could/would fill the WH..