Rheem Power Direct Vent Series, Use & Care Manual

Page: 32 / 40

32
Care and Cleaning of the Water Heater
Draining the Water Heater
! CAUTION: Shut off gas to the water
heater at the manual gas shut-off valve
before draining water.
! DANGER: Before manually operating the
temperature and pressure relief valve, make
certain no one will be exposed to the hot
water released by the valve. The water
drained from the tank may be hot enough to
present a scald hazard and should be
directed to a suitable drain to prevent injury
or damage.
Before turning off the cold water supply
to the water heater, open a hot water
faucet allowing sufficient cold water
into the tank to prevent the risk of a
scald injury while draining the water
heater. Once the water in the tank is
no longer hot, turn off the cold water
supply to the water heater. Open a hot
water faucet or lift the handle on the
relief valve to admit air to the tank.
Attach a garden hose to the drain
valve on the water heater and direct
the stream of water to a drain. Open
the valve.
Routine Preventative Maintenance
Properly maintained, your water heater
will provide years of dependable trouble-
free service.
It is recommended that a periodic inspec-
tion of the gas control (thermostat), burner,
relief valve, internal flue-way and venting
system should be made by service person-
nel qualified in gas appliance repair.
It is suggested that a routine preventative
maintenance program be established and
followed by the user.
Inspect the combustion air-inlet and vent
systems. Make certain that all joints are
secure and that combustion air-inlet and
vent pipe supports are all in place. Check
the outdoor combustion air-inlet and
vent terminals to see that they are free of
obstructions, and that there is no damage
nearby caused by condensate.
Periodically, lift and release the lever
handle on the temperature pressure relief
valve, located near the top of the water
heater, to make certain the valve oper-
ates freely. Allow several gallons to flush
through the discharge line to an open drain.
NOTICE: If the temperature and pressure
relief valve on the water heater discharges
periodically, this may be due to ther-
mal expansion in a closed water system.
Contact the water supplier or your plumb-
ing contractor on how to correct this.
DO NOT
plug the relief valve outlet.
A water heater’s tank can act as a settling
basin for solids suspended in the water. It
is therefore not uncommon for hard water
deposits to accumulate in the bottom of
the tank. If allowed to accumulate, these
solids can cover the gas control (thermo-
stat) sensors, causing the sensors to operate
erratically. Because accumulated solids
can prevent the gas control (thermostat)
sensors from accurately reading the water
temperature, the water at the fixture can
be hotter than the gas control (thermostat)
setting. It is suggested that a few quarts of
water be drained from the water heater’s
tank every month to clean the tank of these
deposits.
Rapid closing of faucets or solenoid valves
in automatic water using appliances can
cause a banging noise heard in a water
pipe. Strategically located risers in the
water pipe system or water hammer arrest-
ing devices can be used to minimize the
problem.
The anode rod should be removed from the
water heater’s tank periodically,for inspec-
tion and replaced when more than 6 in.
(15.2 cm) of core wire is exposed at either
end of the rod.
Make sure the cold water supply is turned
off before removing anode rod.
This water heater incorporates a combus-
tion shut off device that shuts the operation
of the water heater down if undesirable
combustion conditions occur, such as the
presence of flammable vapors or blockage
of the combustion air-inlet and/or vent sys-
tems. Please contact a qualified Service
Technician if this occurs.
DANGER: Before
manually operating the
relief valve, make certain
no one will be exposed to
the danger of the hot
water released by the
valve. The water may be
hot enough to create a
scald hazard. The water
should be released into a
suitable drain to prevent
injury or property damage.
DANGER: Failure to
perform the recommended
Routine Preventative
Maintenance can harm the
proper operation of this
water heater, which can
cause carbon monoxide
dangers, excessive hot
water temperatures and
other potentially
hazardous conditions.
! DANGER: Hotter water
increases the potential for
Hot Water Scalds.