Hot Water Heater draining help

[ugotahondaeh?]

I recently bought a house that's been on the market for a few months. I took my first shower the other day and notice the hot water pressure was really weak. The cold side is fine. Googled for some answers and it looks I got two options. Try draining the water heater a few times to help clear the lines or completely replace the unit. So before dishing out the $800 for a new one, I'll try to drain the thing first.

How do I release the water with this type of valve?

edit: need to resize picture

[ugotahondaeh?]

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[Darell_n]

Debris in your hot water tank will not reduce the pressure, only the volume of hot water available. The drain should open if you twist the largest part of the valve counter-clockwise.

[ugotahondaeh?]

Thanks for the reply Darell. So if I drain the water heater and refill it then logically the pressure should be recovered. I give it a shot and see if it works, if not i'll just call a plumber.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

i like to attach a small hose to my water tanks then place the hose in the drain, or at least have a squeegee ready.

It's unlikely the culprit but it doesnt hurt to drain the sediment out.

[lauphman]

You have to check the fittings on top of the tank where the water goes in and out. Cut the pipe or undo the unions and clean the insides with a wire brush.

[the_game22]

This happened in a house I was renting. Turned out to be the sacrificial rod had broken up. In my case the pressure would be fine when you first turned on the hot water, but then would drop when the pieces would get drawn ito the outlet by the flow. After the water was shut off for a while the debris would drop out and the pressure would be good next time.
In your case if the debris is stuck in the outlet, just draining the tank might not be enough. you might try backflushing the line somehow while draining the tank.

[malbadon]

goes without saying to make sure to turn the water off to it first and set it to pilot. Just twist that and it will open. I agree with connecting a garden hose to it so it doesn't spill everywhere.
Also if you get no flow you might need to hold open the pressure release valve near the top of the tank to let some air in.

[Zero102]

I assume you checked that the valve leading into the hot water tank is wide open? Sounds stupid but I ran into it once, the valve was almost completely closed.