# Water Heater Plug In Or Out For The Winter



## Greg (Nov 12, 2009)

Ok i winterized the camper this past weekend and now my question is should you leave your water heater drain plug out for the winter or reinstall it after all the water drains?


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I leave mine in. Don't want to find anything living in there next spring.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I blow mine out with a compressor...then put the plug back in. I dont want spiders/bugs make thier home in there for the winter.


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## kmsjs (Apr 14, 2008)

I left mine out one year...big mistake! The threads rusted and I couldn't get the plug back in in the spring. I spent about 2 hours with a Dremmel tool with a tiny wire brush cleaning out the threads. It was not very fun. Now I drain, flush, drain and put the plug back in.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

I have taken it out the past two seasons and have had no problems.


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## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

Is it ok that there is a small amount of water left in the water heater over the winter ?
I can't figure out how to get that water out of there. I have drained both lines coming from the WH. Any suggestions, or am I over thinking this ?


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## Greg (Nov 12, 2009)

joeymac said:


> Is it ok that there is a small amount of water left in the water heater over the winter ?
> I can't figure out how to get that water out of there. I have drained both lines coming from the WH. Any suggestions, or am I over thinking this ?


 Mine has a little bit of water left in it to i would assume that is ok because there is no way to get it out short of jacking up the other side of the camper. I also cant imagine the dealers go to any extra effort to get that little bit out when they do winterizing.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

There is no problem with the quart or two of water left in the water heater. This is due to the shape of the tank, even if it freezes the forces cause the ice to slide and not damage the tank. Think of it as an ice tray.

When you winterize you want to leave the plug out and hook shore water to the trailer and flush water through the water heater tank to remove the sediment. If you have already winterized then make sure you flush the tank well in the spring.


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## CdnOutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Oregon_Camper said:


> I blow mine out with a compressor...then put the plug back in. I don't want spiders/bugs make their home in there for the winter.


X2


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I have left mine out every winter with no problems on this camper and my last one. The only reason I don't put it back in is because the anode rod is usually rotted pretty bad by the end of the year. I do brush some oil on the threads after they have dried to keep them from rusting worse.


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