How to Flush a Suburban RV Water Heater
We’ve been in the motorhome for just over 15 months and figured it was time to service the water heater. Who knows how long it has been since the previous owners did it either. Wondering how to flush an RV water heater? Here are the parts needed and exact steps to perform the water heater flush for a Suburban 12 gallon in a 2014 Tiffin Phaeton. Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later! We only recommend products we love and your support means a lot to us! This post contains affiliate links and if you make a purchase after clicking on our links we will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.
Parts and Steps required to flush a Suburban RV Water Heater
Parts Needed
1 1/16" socket to remove factory anode drain plug
3/4 NPT Male plastic drain plug to use when filling tank overnight with vinegar + water solution
1 1/8" socket to put on and remove above the drain plug
Replacement magnesium Suburban RV Water Heater Anode Rod (Suburban sells an aluminum one for twice the price but you don’t need it unless your magnesium one is eaten away in a year)
6 gallons of vinegar. Costco sells 2ga packs for $4.69, but if you don’t have a membership they are around $2.70/ga at Walmart or check Dollar Tree.
Our water heater is 12ga but we are going with a 50% vinegar, 50% water mixture on the safe side. If you think the corrosion is really bad, you can go 100% white vinegar
Instructions
Drain RV Water Heater
Make sure water heater bypass is in “normal” mode (it probably already is)
Turn off city water and water pump so water heater stays empty when you drain it
Turn off gas/electric heating elements in the water heater so they do not burn out once water is drained
Remove outside access cover to the water heater
Open pressure relief valve which will speed up how fast the water drains out
Use 1 1/16" socket to remove drain plug and anode (they are same/one piece). You can throw the old anode rod/drain plug away since you’ll be using a new one later.
Let water drain out.
Flush RV Water Heater
Flush tank with water heater tank rinser on a garden hose for a few minutes until the water runs clear. Yes. you’ll probably have a small mess of limestone debris on the ground now along with a huge puddle of water.
Use 1 1/8" socket to put on plastic drain plug (you can probably just hand tighten it too since it’s only staying on temporarily)
Remove the inlet hose from the water pump and attach vinyl hose [same one that came with your Tiffin used for winterizing] on the water pump inlet
Put the vinyl hose in a bottle of vinegar
Turn on the water pump which should start sucking in the vinegar. It’ll go into the water heater since it’s the only void in the water system.
Repeat for all six gallons of vinegar. The water heater is about 50% full at this point.
Turn off the pump
Remove the winterizing hose and reconnect the water inlet pipe to the water pump
Turn on city water (water pressure relief should still be open on the water heater)
Water will fill the remaining space in the water heater (about 6 gallons more). When the tank is full, water will come out of the pressure relief valve. Now is the time to close it.
Rinse off any vinegar that may have gotten on the paint on side of the motorhome
Enable the water heater bypass valve again to keep vinegar water from getting into the rest of the system. Note: Both cold and hot water taps will produce cold water for now so take showers / do dishes beforehand.
Turn on heater element overnight which will speed up cleaning action
This is also a good time to remove the faucet aerators on the sinks and soak them in vinegar overnight too to clean off hard water deposits
The next morning: Turn off city water, heating elements, and water pump
Open the pressure relief valve
Remove plastic drain plug (use protective gloves since vinegar water is hot and some may splash on you)
After vinegar and water solution drains, use the rinse wand to give it a good rinse
Put in new anode rod with pipe tape
Disable water heater bypass (go back to normal mode)
Turn on city water
Once the tank is full and water is coming out the pressure relief valve, close the valve
Turn on all faucets (after reinstalling aerators) and shower until the air is out of the system
You’re done!
Conclusion
If it is time to flush your RV water heater order these parts from Amazon and follow these exact steps to service your Suburban 12 gallon in your 2014 Tiffin Phaeton.
Want more RV repair and maintenance information? Wondering how to keep RV pipes and holding tanks from freezing? Take a look at our Motorhome articles. What are we doing next? Don’t miss an article, subscribe today.
