Hello.

I have AO Smith electric water heater model# E6-50R45DV 110.
Serial# 2404137538421.

My annual tank draining maintenance is coming due. This water heater is 1 year old now.
I want to get rid of that crappy plastic drain valve the manufacturer installs. I already have
a brass ball port valve I can reuse from the previous tank.

I can almost guarantee that plastic valve will break off in the hole when I try to remove it. This happened to me before. What is the best way to remove the broken pieces when the time comes? Thread tap? I believe the drain valve threaded hole is 1 inch diameter. How do you guys remove the remaining plastic drain valve pieces on these?

I have a set of Proto screw extractors. Tapered square shank with sharp edges.

If your heater is only about a year old you might get lucky and it will unscrew.....

You can always use a hack saw blade to slice the drain.

Just be careful and not hurt the threads in the tank.

When I installed the brand new water heater tank 1 year ago, I tried to remove the plastic valve the very first day and it broke right off. I took the whole tank back and made them exchange it. I have a mini hack saw and that might work.

Another possibility is to use a hole saw. But I would have to be very careful to make sure it only shaves off a top layer of plastic material.



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I ordered a 3/4 inch thread tap if needed to bore out any broken plastic pieces.
I have a 75 piece tap and die set. Geez....you'd think they would have included 3/4 size.
That set was expensive.

I had a similar problem removing the temperature sender gauge from the engine block of my pickup. I bought the largest drill bit that wouldn't come in contact with the block's female threads, drilled out by increments, was able to clean out the threads of the block without a tap. That was brass in an aluminum block. Impatience caused the problem; patience was necessary to solve it. Perhaps a soldering iron could melt the remaining plastic in your case.

Great idea, Arthur. I had an Aquabrass Thermostatic Cartridge that simply would not come out. The insides of the cartridge all broke apart and came out but the plastic shell would not budge, no matter how hard I pulled. I have a 250W soldering gun with a plastic cutting tip, and made a series of lengthwise cuts 1/4 in apart. I was able to pry off the pieces one at a time without any scratches on the valve bore.
Same procedure should remove what is left of the plastic drain valve.

Well, I did my annual tank draining maintenance yesterday. Just like last year, the plastic drain valve broke off again in the hole. I blasted it beforehand with my heat gun. That didn't do anything. I also tried a hacksaw, hole saw and drill bit. The guy with the manufacturer said I could get out the remaining broken plastic piece with a 3/4 inch tap. That's not the correct size.

End result, I didn't have time to keep running to the hardware store. I needed water service restored. So again like exactly one year ago,the manufacturer approved a free replacement through the big box store. So now I got a new electric water heater with the same crappy plastic drain valve. Installed it myself. Maybe I could have done this with a different size drill bit or thread tap and a soldering tip.



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The thread is usually 3/4 PIPE thread. You should check again

The pipe thread diameter may be 3/4 inch. Problem is the walls of the plastic valve tube are maybe 1/16 thick so you need a smaller diameter tap to start with. It reduces that 3/4 inch hole by maybe 1/8. The 3/4 thread tap is too big so there is nothing for it to bite into.

To be able do this, you need to have different size drill bits or taps available. I'm pretty sure now that 5/8 or 13/16 will do it.



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Issue with using a different dia tap is that the thread pitch will not match up.

Drilling it out so that you just reach the metal threads should enable you to get the remainder of the plastic threads out with a pick.

It’s way easier to go to a plumbing supply store not a big box store and buy a water heater with a brass valve already installed

Yeah. I agree. I think the right size drill bit better than thread tap.
The manufacturer said big box store might give me a credit to get a brass ball port valve equipped water heater at a plumbing wholesaler. But it was the weekend and I didn't have time to shop around. Next time, I'll have to plan ahead.



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