Draining water heater between trips?

[SuwanneeDave]

Is it advisable to drain the water heater between trips if they are 2-3 weeks apart?

 

[ziplock]

We like to empty ours.

We have city water from home to start, but never know what type water we will get at the next campground or next fill up, so we just dump.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Not necessary at all IMHO. Spray the sediment out of it once or twice a year and empty it if/when you winterize

 

[Domo]

Never done it.

 

[Kirk]

It wouldn't hurt anything and might even be a good practice if your RV will sit for a long time between trips, but in 40+ years of owning self-contained RVs I have never drained the water system between trips but only at the end of the season.

 

[Bill & Gail]

I only drain and flush it if it will be sitting unused for 2 or more months and at the end of the season.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I guess I do a compromise. If it sits for more than a month or so I'll dump and refill the fresh tank and run the old stuff out of the pipes/water heater. That way whatever the city uses for sanitizer gets renewed. Theory being you never drain your pipes or water heater at home because they're continually being renewed with sanitized water. The only time I drain anything is for winterizing.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Ray-IN]

If your water heater uses an anode rod, when the WH is filled with water the anode rod is constantly being eaten-away. If that is not the case or concern, leave the WH full. mine is only empty during long term storage, and full all summer, but I don't have an anode rod in my Atwood WH.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I never drained mine except for an annual flush & sanitize of the water system each spring, but I'm in Florida where winter freezes are rare. I would never consider draining simply because I was between trips.