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Hi chvet73, I've had lots of electric water heaters last for decades. In one of my rental houses there's a water heater that looks as if it was built in the 60's. In another, I replaced one that had been there 35 years. The leak that the renter had told me about turned out to be the plumbing to the water heater, not the unit itself. (I changed it anyway as well as redoing the supply plumbing, just to make the drive to Seattle worth my time.) You have a water heater that you don't even use year round, and you drain it when you shut the place down. That makes it not very old. Here's how to flush a water heater: 1.Make sure the power to the tank is turned off. 2.Close the valve on the cold water intake line to the tank (usually on the top.) If the intake line doesn't have a valve, shut off the water to the house instead. 3.Open several hot water faucets to vent the tank. You could open the pressure relief valve on the tank instead, but it's spring loaded and won't stay open unless you figure out a way to prop it open. Faucets are easier. 4.Attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank. Run the hose to a drain or out the door to a place where 50 gallons or more of water won't cause a problem. It's best if the hose doesn't have to run over anything that takes it higher than the drain valve, but it's not critical. Open the drain valve. 5.When the water coming out of the hose stops or slows to a trickle, turn off the hot water faucets (or close the pressure relief valve if you did that.) 6.Open the intake valve to the tank (or turn on the main house water.) Incoming cold water will now splash directly against the sediment in the bottom of the empty tank, and the muddy, rusty water will run out the hose. 7.When the water coming out to the hose runs clear, turn off the drain faucet at the bottom of the tank. You're done with the hose now. 8.Open a hot water faucet to vent the tank while it fills. When water starts coming out of the faucet, the tank is full. 9.Take the aerators off of every faucet or they will clog with the large amount of sediment that is going to come through the hot lines for awhile. They may come off by hand or you may have to use a tool (slip joint pliers are best) if the mineral content of the water is high. 10.Run water through all the faucets with them turned to hot. When the water is clear, or you've had enough tank flushing, turn off the faucets, and put the aerators back on. 11.Turn the electricity to the tank back on. All the best, Stan
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