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Now may be the time to drain your boiler
Winter is coming and with it the risk of burst pipes and the rest. If you live in an area where the temperature can get well below freezing point, (and who doesn't these days) then you should be looking at just about every weak point in your water system. And that includes any form of water heater and especially your boiler.
There are many parts of the UK where the water is harder than in others, which is particularly in the South of England up to the North East. In these areas water should be drained from heaters around three times a year, and especially before the winter set in. Draining a water heater means that all of the minerals and rust deposits that build up will be done away with.
The best way of testing if your water heater is ready for a drain is take two glasses that are clear and tall. Step one is run the cold water from your faucet (any faucet) and fill up one of the glasses and put it aside. Stage two is to turn on your hot water and let it run for enough time to allow the water to heat up. As soon as you have done so fill up your other glass with the hot water and put it along side of the one you filled with cold water. If the water in the "hot water glass" has a yellowish tinge to it or visible sediment floating around, it is time to drain your water heater.
Draining a water heater is far from complicated and involves just the few following steps:
- Make sure that the power to the heater is switched off.
- If the heater has been in operation, allow an hour for it to cool down.
- Turn the cold water tap off.
- Open the hot water tap in the kitchen and let the water drain from the tank.
- Connect a matching hose to the drain valve, which will be situated at the bottom of the tank.
- Make sure that the hose leads to a drainage point.
- Only when you have leaded the hose to a drain, open the drain valve.
- Once the heater has drained completely, open the cold water supply tap on the heater for one minute.
- Once a minute has passed check the water for clarity.
- If the water is not sufficiently clear, continue flushing till results are satisfactory.
- Once the water has reached the levels of cleanliness required, close the water tap, remove the drainage hose, switch on the power and you should have hot and clean water within twenty minutes to half an hour.
Needless to say, boilers that are not in operation too often should be drained to prevent water standing in them, all though it will not be necessary to flush them.
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