Plastic drain plug

[Mikief2002]

While attempting to drain my Atwood water heater it snapped off. The heater drained ok, but I'm left with the remaining plastic in the hole. Are these things hollow? Any suggestions on how to remove the remaining plastic? Had it been solid I could've used an Ezout. Weird that it would be so cheap.

[dwkerch]

If you are saying the threaded portion that is still in the drain was hollow, and you have thin threads remaining in the drain hole, you should be able to extract it with a pipe EZ-out. Looks like a big EZ-out for bolts but with course left hand threads. Your local Sears should have them.

[IC2]

You can almost pick it out with a sharp knife. Even if it's recessed quite a bit under the burner tube, you can still run a drill bit up it then with that knife and a scratch awl, dig it out. The one in mine is hollow, and will be replaced with a real valve in the spring.

[ernieh]

EZout, screwdriver, sharp knife, chisel, soldering iron, or propane torch. Take your pick, they all work. Just don't damage the threads and be sure that you replace it with another plastic plug or possibly brass with teflon tape. No steel.

[stearn]

The plastic plug has been discused before. If you do a search you will find some different ways to eliminate the plastic plug. Mine was fairly simple I went to the local hardware. Now to drain I just open the valve and let it drain. I just used a screwdriver and I was able to wedge and unscrew the leftover plug.

[bldrbob]

Like mentioned earlier, be careful not to use a metal that will produce galvanic corrosion.I used a cpvc adapter and ball valve .Cpvc is more heat tolerant than pvc.

[njs42]

An Rv repair person had the same thing on the rear of my Atwood heater (PVC elbow snapped off). He just heated it with a torch and then put his pocket knife in the hole and flicked it out. Pretty easy deal.

[bluepill]

I choose to use a new factory plug each year. They are cheap, seal well, and don't seize.

[UFO Pilot]

I was told to use nylon fittings, not plastic. Is that right or was I given bad info?

[kencon]

Try using a cpvc plug, purchased from a real plumbing supply house, not an RV dealer. It will last a lifetime. However, I have seen drain plugs with an anode, and a petcock for draining, all in one piece.

[jodann]

Being tired of dealing with the plastic drain plug I paid a visit to my local Home Depot & purchased the shortest braided steel hose (the type used on bathroom sink water supply) and a water shut off. Now, it's a simple matter of opening the water shut off to drain the tank.

[Hikerdogs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodann Being tired of dealing with the plastic drain plug I paid a visit to my local Home Depot & purchased the shortest braided steel hose (the type used on bathroom sink water supply) and a water shut off. Now, it's a simple matter of opening the water shut off to drain the tank.

The tank on an Atwood water heater is made of aluminum (as opposed to steel in a Suburban). The factory supplies and recommends using a plastic plug to avoid galvanic reaction (corrosion) of dissimilar metals. The first parts to corrode are always the smallest. In this case it's the threads. They will either deteriorate and begin to leak or sieze together. In either case the plug (or hose) won't be able to be removed without damaging the tank.
Atwood plastic plugs are available from just about any camping supply store. They come in packages of 2 and the last time I bought them cost less than $3.00 per pack. As mentioned earlier you can also buy pvc plugs from any home improvement store. Each plug will last a minimum of a season. At the end of the season when you drain the heater you can asses the condition of the plug and replace it as necessary.

[SKP Kirk]

Hiker is right. Since they are cheap, why not just throw it away and use a new one?

American RV - $2.84

RV Part Wholesale - $3.99

[Bob and Inga]

Heed the cautions above. Then using a hacksaw blade gently cut two opposing groves into the plug until you can wedge a butter knife or something similiar into the groves. Then you can turn the knife out unscrewing the broken portion of the plug.

Bob