PNEUMATIC WATER HEATER SEDIMENT CLEANER

**USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! I am not responsible for any use of this item. You can cause thousands of dollars in water damage, get serious burns, or be electrocuted when working around water heaters. This is ONLY for people with experience flushing their water heater tank. NOT FOR PRINTING IN PLA!**

Uses a common “TR 413 Tire Valve” & “3/4” GHT (Garden Hose Thread) Shutoff Valve” to blast air into your water heater drain valve. Will dislodge sediment or unclog a clogged valve with a bike pump or air compressor.

There are some commercial products on the market but figured this would be an easy item to 3d print for myself. Spend the $40 buy the commercial version if you don't want to go through this effort and want a more robust, injection molded, device. My water heater is in my garage, so the stakes of water damage are much lower.

Hardware Needed:

• 1 x TR 413 Tire Valve

• (Optional) 1 x 3/4” GHT Shutoff Valve (any brand with a male to female thread should work, the non swiveling kind works best). You can get by without by KINKING the attached hose.

• (Optional) Garden Hose Washer (helps against small leaks from the female GHT thread)

• (Recommended) Teflon Tape (should be used on the threads to minimize leaks)

Print Settings & Assembly:

• Print WITH supports (on build plate only) in the supplied orientation. Support the following areas (manually painting support enforcers may be required).

• Use 4-5 perimeters & 100% infill.

• Install the shutoff valve onto the male end of the sediment cleaner.

• YOU NEED TO PRINT “TR_INSTALL_TOOL.stl” to install the tire valve.

  • Put a small amount of dish soap on the rim of the tire valve.

  • Insert the tire valve through female side of the sediment cleaner and out through the small hole.

  • THREAD the install tool to the valve & PULL until the valve snaps into place (it takes a fair bit of force).

• If your sediment cleaner screws on and isn’t oriented the way you want, I included a version with the threads/stem 180° from the original.

• If the female threads are too long, a Garden Hose Washer can shrink them. You can also slice the bottom off of the model to make shorter threads.

• Breaking the 3d print with a hammer is probably the best way to remove a valve if you need to reprint the sediment cleaner.

• DON'T print in PLA (It doesn’t do well with heat and can deform). Water heater temps are typically around 120°F. I printed mine in ASA to be safe but had success with PETG.

**PLEASE RESEARCH HOW TO DRAIN YOUR WATER HEATER TANK!**

**YOU SHOULD SHUTOFF YOUR WATER HEATER BURNER/ELECTRIC BREAKER OR YOU CAN DAMAGE THE ELEMENT!**

**YOU SHOULD SHUTOFF THE SUPPLY/COLD SIDE OF YOUR WATER HEATER!**

**YOU MUST RELIEVE THE PRESSURE IN YOUR TANK!**

** BE CAREFUL! THE WATER CAN BE VERY HOT AND CAN BURN YOU!**

To use the valve:

1. Attach the female threads of the “Sediment Cleaner” to your water heater and the male threads to a garden hose. It's recommended, that you use teflon tape on both threads to minimize leaks.

2. OPEN your water heater drain valve.

3. KINK the hose attached to the sediment cleaner or close the optional On/Off valve.

4. Blast small jets of air into the TR 413 valve to dislodge sediment (you aren’t trying to pressurize your tank, just slight agitate it & open up the drain).

5. RELEASE KINK or OPEN the “Sediment Cleaner” On/Off valve and let flow.

6. You can repeat steps 3-5 as many times as necessary.

7. CLOSE your water heaters drain valve and REMOVE the sediment cleaner when not in use.

IF AT ANY POINT YOUR SEDIMENT CLEANER BREAKS OR LEAKS TOO MUCH, SHUT OFF THE WATER HEATER'S BUILT IN DRAIN VALVE IMMEDIATELY TO STOP THE FLOW.