Water Heater Drain Plug Broken

[Siegmann]

Vich, you said you used a "PVC cap". Did you mean CPVC? I don't think PVC is rated for hot water.

[MelGoddard]

Buy a 'Left Handed' drill bit, and drill it out backwards. Usually they come back out very easily, before you have drilled very far.
Alternately, drill a proper sized hole and use an 'Ezy-Out'.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I like to pull the plug annually so that I can scour out the insides of the tank. The original plug got a seam in it and started to drip. I went over to the local SOB dealership who is close to home and bought 3 black plugs. That way I carry a couple of extras in case one fails.

Galvanic corrosion can occur when dissimilar metals have contact with each other. Aluminum and brass are reactive to each other with aluminum acting as the anode. My Atwood tank in my Airstream is aluminum. Suburban branded tanks tend to be steel and have an anode rod in them to minimize corrosion.
https://www.fastenal.com/content/fed...0Corrosion.pdf

I imagine that other than cost factors, an aluminum tank is really better off using a nylon replacement plug to help maintain tank life. That's pretty much why I scour the tank annually to remove the deposits in the tank, and continue to use nylon plugs. I use a small adjustable crescent wrench to remove the plug. It works pretty good and doesn't scar the nut end. In addition I do wrap some teflon tape around the plug threads prior to reinsertion. That minimizes the amount of tightness you need to exert to keep the plug from leaking around the threads.

Jack

a 1" socket and a 10" extension works for me to remove/install the plug.

[Murphalex]

Goodness a lot of info here. I so enjoy reading all these posts.

[streaminwild]

Instead of teflon tape try teflon paste. I never seem to wrap the tape the right way. Also I would stay with the plastic plug for the reasons previously mentioned.

[earlwalker]

Thank you all for the response. The dental pick worked well enough that I was able to get enough threads clear to accept a half inch pipe plug with pipe thread compound on it. I let it set up overnight and it is still holding. I'll deal with a permanent fix after this trip. Does anyone know if the boss that the plug screws in to is removable?

[idroba]

Originally Posted by earlwalker

Does anyone know if the boss that the plug screws in to is removable?

No it is welded onto the tank.

[SteveSueMac]

I started googling drain petcocks based on this thread and saw both metal and plastic options (for those concerned about metal seizing in the threads) but also so plugs with an "anode" to attract schmootz within the tank. My WH doesn't seem to have that (off my plastic drain plug). Am I supposed to?

[nrgtrakr]

Also curious, on another RV forum a master RV mech replied words like ...

On an aluminized tank (atwood) brass is okay, use teflon tape on the threads, and never use an anode (the metal the tank is made from does the anode job already).

For whatever it is worth ...

I think we need more certifiable RV mechanics. :/

[AWCHIEF]

When living on my boat down island I got in the habit of changing all my anodes (5) at least twice a year. I was prepared to do the same in my Airstreams. I was told sternly by two different experienced RV mechanics under no circumstances to use an anode in modern aluminum RV water heaters. Not necessary and can actually be harmful.

One also told me that he did not recommend the use of brass plugs with built in drain. Reason, it hampered a good forceful drain of the tank. Gunk and other goodies might not be sufficiently flushed from the tank. I currently have a brass drain in mine and plan on removing it next tank flush.

[Bigeddie58]

So thankful to everyone on this forum. Our drain plug was a stubborn one. We ended up heating the sprinkler tool with a heat gun, pushed it in and let it sit a few seconds, and then backed it right out!