Tightening a water heater drain valve does have a chance of succeeding. Unfortunately, on some water heaters the valves are not good quality. Attempts to tighten them may result in damage to the valve.

The other two options for a water heater drain valve are to replace it, or possible cap it. See the articles 'Replacing a Water Heater Drain Valve' and 'Capping a Water Heater Drain Valve' for information and instructions. Not sure if this is your problem? See the articles 'Troubleshooting Gas Water Heaters' and 'Electric Water Heater Troubleshooting' for a complete list of all the water heater topics.

Shutting Down the Water Heater

Shut the power off or turn the gas valve to Pilot. Run enough hot water in one of the sinks to cool the water down some. The water in your tank can be very hot. Be careful, see the articles, 'Draining a Hot Water Heater', 'Shutting Down an Electric Water Heater' and 'Gas Water Heater Shut Down Procedures' for more information.

WARNING!! The water in your hot water tank can be VERY HOT. Make sure the water is cool before you open any valves. BE CAREFUL!!! WARNING!!!

Tightening the Valve Handle

The first thing you want to do is to try and tighten the valve. Get a small pail to hold under the drain valve. The water heater drain valve has a rubber washer in it, similar to many valves in your home. The idea of tightening it is to get it to seat better and stop the leak.

Get a screwdriver and open the valve. Keep the pail under the spigot. This will blow any sediment out of the seal. Allow enough water to spray out to give it a good flushing. Now tighten the valve.

Did the leak stop? Yes, great. No, try it again and see if it seats the second time.

Tightening the Valve Stem Nut

Another spot that the drain valve could be leaking is at the valve stem. If you see water coming out around the stem, you can tighten the nut. You will need an adjustable wrench.

Carefully tighten the nut, you should not need to turn it very much. Check to see if the leak stopped.

Summary

Still no good? How much is it leaking? Just a few drips. You can go to article 'Capping a Water Heater Drain Valve' and see if you want to put a cap on it.

A water heater drain valve can start leaking and give you problems. Sometimes it is the valve itself that is leaking and for older tanks it can be the flange around the valve that leaks.

Not sure if the leak is coming from your drain valve? See the article 'Leaking Hot Water Heaters' to troubleshoot your problem.

There are (3) options for this repair 'Tightening the Valve' would be the first choice, there are some issues. Next, a work around would be 'Capping the Valve Outlet', this can solve small leaks.  'Replacing the Drain Valve' would be a last resort, this is a fairly big job. Read the overview below for genral information.

Drain Valve Purpose

The purpose of the drain valve is of course to drain the hot water heater. Certain repairs that you might need to do on the hot water heater can only be done if you drain the tank. This is especially true for an electric water heater.

The other reason is to perform routine maintenance on the water heater. Hot water tanks should be flushed out peiodically to remove sediment from the bottom of the tank. The drain valve is used for 'flushing the tank'.

Problems With Drain Valves

The ones that come from the factory are plastic and not very durable. You can flush it out and tighten it. This may solve your problem.

The other option is to replace it. Not that big of a job. Oh wait! You have to drain the tank to change it. So it is a little bit of work. You may opt to take the easy way out and just put a cap on it. Is that all right? Are you allowed to do that?

All right, just to prove this isn't one of those internet teaser articles, I'll tell you now. You can cap it. Less than two bucks. Is that great, or what?

When the leak is bad you are forced into changing it. This is less fun, since draining the tank is involved. In addition, most of the factory installed drain valves are plastic and break easily.

The information below will help you determine if you have an easy problem or a little bit tougher one. Find out what you need to do.

Fixing a Water Heater Drain Valve - Information

Probably around $150. A plumber will just put a new one in. He has to drain the tank down so it will take him an hour or so. You will feel dumb if he decides to just tighten it and charge you $75.

Repairing a water heater drain valve is not that hard. Worst case you have to replace it. Still around and hour.

Try to tighten the valve, that is pretty easy. Is the leak minor, you can put a cap on it.

Breaking the plastic water heater drain valve will require that you replace it. You cannot use the water heater without the valve in place. No hot water is not good news for anyone. You need a hose to drain the water heater down. Remember you have forty or more gallons of water. Take steps to deal with the water.

Troubleshooting a Water Heater Drain Valve

Tightening the Fittings On a Drain Valve

Like most valves, water heater drain valves have washers in them. Tightening the fittings can help the washers to seat better and may stop the leaks. However, there is a danger that the problem could worsen. This is especially true, since drain valves are not the best quality valves, some are even made of plastic.

See the article 'Tightening a Water Heater Drain Valve' for a complete discussion and instructions on what to do.

Capping the Valve for Minor Leaks

For leaks that are not too bad a work around would be putting a cap on the outlet of drain. This can work since this drain is rarely used. Follow the link for 'Capping a Water Heater Drain Valve' to review this subject.

Replacing a Water Heater Drain Valve

When all else fails, you are left with replacing the valve. See the article, 'Replacing a Water Heater Drain Valve' for more information and step by step instructions on what to do.

Summary

Not a whole lot you can do with a water heater drain valve. You can tighten it. You can cap it or you can replace it. How tough was your project? Were you able to tighten it and that was it? That is great news. How about the cap, did that work?

The hardest it could have been was replacing the valve. Did you have to chisel it out? Bummer. Even that wasn't that hard was it? It's just plastic. Now what are you going to do? Does this merit Disneyland? How about another home repair task?

Installing a water heater dip tube is a simple project that will require some modest plumbing skills and a few tools. Before you can install a new dip tube you should have purchased a new one. See the article, 'Purchasing a Water Heater Dip Tube' for more information.

Not sure if this is your problem? See the articles 'Troubleshooting Gas Hot Water Heaters' and 'Electric Water Heater Troubleshooting' for more information and a listing of water heater topics.

Removing the Old Dip Tube

With a new one in hand and the cold water supply unhooked, installing a water heater dip tube is pretty easy. See the article 'Removing a Water Heater Dip Tube' if you have not taken it apart yet.

Installing the New Dip Tube

Put the dip tube into the inlet first. Then you put the gasket back in place.

After that, you put the plumbing pipes back together in reverse order of how you took them apart. The last fitting put together should be the union.

Turn the water on and check for leaks. You will have to wait until the water heater has filled up completely before you are sure that there are no leaks. Open one or two hot water faucets and bleed the air out of the lines.

Starting Up the Water Heater

When you are sure there are no leaks you can turn the power back on for an electric water heater. You will need to light the pilot and turn the gas on for a gas hot water heater. See the articles 'Starting Up an Electric Water Heater' and 'Gas Water Heater Start Up' for instructions on the correct procedures for getting your water heater up and running.

Summary

That's all there is to replacing a water heater dip tube. Were you worried? Did you have trouble sleeping last night? Next time, you will sleep like a baby, knowing you can handle a job like this.

Removing a water heater dip tube will involve unhooking the cold water supply line. To do this the water heater needs to be turned off. Additionally, the excess water in the lines needs to be drained down.

At this point, you should have already purchased a dip tube. If not, see the article, 'Purchasing a Dip Tube' for some things to watch for. Not sure if this is your problem? See the articles, 'Gas Water Heater Troubleshooting' and 'Troubleshooting Electric Water Heaters' for a listing of all the water heater repair subjects.

Shutting Down the Water Heater

For an electric hot water heater the first thing you want to do is shut off the power. Make sure you tag the breaker while you are working on it. You do not have to touch the electrical wiring for this repair, but you do not want the water heating up.

See the article 'Shutting Down an Electric Water Heater' for instructions on the right procedure. You can damage the internal components in a water tank if it is not shut down correctly. For a gas water heater see, 'Shutting Down a Gas Water Heater'.

On a gas hot water heater turn off the gas. Or set the dial on the gas valve to 'Pilot'.

Close the cold water inlet at the top. Run some hot water and check the pipes if you are not sure. Open a hot water valve in a sink near the hot water tank to relieve any latent pressure. It would be best to choose a valve that is lower than the top of your hot water tank if that is possible. Water will find its own level when you remove the valve and it will back up through the hot water tank.

You may want to drain a gallon or two of water out of the tank. It is not necessary to drain the tank entirely. The drain valve is near the bottom of the tank. See the article 'Draining a Water Heater' for instructions on how to do this.

Removing the Water Supply Line

You should have a union above your hot water tank and below your shut off valve. Using two pipe wrenches loosen the union. Next you want to remove the nipple that is between the union and the top of the hot water tank. Use some penetrating oil and let it set for a few minutes. It may take a little muscle to get the nipple to loosen up.

Take the nipple completely out. The flange of the dip tube should be resting on a metal flange inside the inlet. There will be a ring gasket that you will need to remove. You can use a pair of pliers to get the dip tube out. Is it long and undamaged? You may not need to replace it. Broken, corroded or partially disintegrated dip tubes should be replaced.

With the old dip tube removed, you are ready to install the new one. See the article 'Installing a Dip Tube' for the next step.