DIY Network

Winterizing your Water Heater Learn how to prepare your home for winter. From "Ed the Plumber" episode DETP-301

Host Ed Del Grande explains each step on how to get your entire home ready for winter.

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Materials:

compressor with an outside sillcock attachment
plumbers anti-freeze
curb key or wrench
garden hose

Figure A

To "Winterize" simply means to prepare the home for when it's unoccupied.

1. The first step is to locate the water shut off valve (figure A), preferably one that is outside.

2. With your water turned off, it's now time for you to turn off the water heater. If you have a gas water heater, shut it off at the gas valve. If you have an electric water heater, shut it off at the breaker.

3. Now that your water heater is turned off, you can drain the water. Open the faucets at your fixtures, and then go outside and open the outside sillcocks. Gravity will drain the water out of the heater.

	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

Pressuring the System:

1. You'll need a compressor adjusted to 40 psi's (figure B), which will prevent the air pressure from bursting your pipes. To connect the compressor to your outside sillcock, you'll need to build an adaptor.

2. Start by using a standard sillcock and wrapping the threads with Teflon tape.

3. Add a 3/4 inch hose thread adaptor and a 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch coupler.

4. Use a pair of slip joint pliers and an adjustable wrench to make sure all the connections are tight (figure C).

5. Add Teflon tape to the threaded end of the compressor hose, and then connect your adaptor. Use your wrench to secure the connection.

6. Connect the hose to the compressor, and then use a washing machine hose to bridge your adaptor to the outside sillcock on the house (figure D). Hook it up to the system and blow out the water that may be stuck in any low spots so your entire system is free of water.

Note: This is the same process for winterizing an outdoor sprinkler system.

7. Now that the valves are closed in the house and the valves outside are open, it's time to pressurize your system. Turn on the compressor. If you find that you can't get your pressure to build up, that means there's still an open valve or a broken pipe.

	Figure E
	Figure F

8. With the system charged with air, you can quickly drain your water heater. The air will come into the cold water line and rise to the top of the tank and it will actually push all the water out. This water will come out quickly so be sure to let it cool off a while before draining.

9. The connection that you'll attach a garden hose to is called the "draw-off". They're usually located at the bottom of the tank. Some turn by hand, others will need a screwdriver to open (figure E). Once this drains, you can move on to the other fixtures.

10. Start by opening up the furthest outside sillcock from the compressor. When only air is coming out, close the valve and move onto the faucets inside the house.

11. Go to each faucet and open them up (figure F) until only air is coming out. Close the faucet tightly and move onto the next one.