Drain hot water heater - Rheem 43VP50E2 50 Gallon FVR Natural Gas Water Heater with Power Vent

Sounds like calcium plugging. Drain the heater when it is off. Drain valve is above the outlet nozzle on the heater.

I am assuming that you are referring to a calcium or rust build up in the water heater.
If you are having this issue you will need to turn off the water to the heater. You will need a garden hose, access to a outside water soucre, cold water is fine.
Shut off the gas or power to the hot water heater before starting.
Now you will need to place the garden house on the drain fitting on the water heater, placing the end of the hose outside and lower than the drain valve. Open the valve and drain the heater, you will need to open a hot water faucet to help drain the heater. I don't suggest opening the TPR ( Temp Pressures relief )valve due to the fact that they sometimes leak or don't reseal after opening them.
Hopefully the drain valve is not clogged, you should hear and see water exiting the garden hose.
If you are not getting any water from the drain valve you are going to have a challenging task.
If no water is coming out, my recommendation is to get the required tools to remove the hot water line from the top or side or the heater, also a few towels to soak up water A bucket is helpfull also.
remove the hot water line, then you will have to use a small hose to siphon the water from the tank. Once the tank is empty you can then remove the drain valve and replace it.
once you have replaced the drain valve you should ensure that it's closed and use a Gallon of CLR. Poor this into the water heater through the hot water outlet where you removed the pipe from. Now make sure the faucets are closed and replace the hot water line. You can now turn the water back on to the water heater.
After a few minutes open a hot water faucet to let out any air until water flows out, than close the faucet.
Let the water heater set for a few hours, then drain the tank!
when the tank drains, close the drain valve again and refill the water heater. Once again open a a hot water faucet and let the air out till the water heater fills. Again let sit for a hour.
At this point open a hot water faucet at the farthest point from the heater and let the water run for 5 min. , than close it and move to the next closest faucet and repeat until all faucets have been opened and run for 5 minutes.
If you still have a slow flow in a faucet, you may need to repeat the CLR step.
I also suggest that you remove all faucet screens and clean them.
If you still have a clog than you are going to have to remove or replace a piece of water line in the house. The blockage may be hard to find but if you have access to most of the pipe or it's visable you may be able to hear the blockage with the water on. Otherwise this will result in using some water line taps and a pressure guage to find the blockage.

Copy following links for draining and flushing gas and electric water heaters:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-will-not-drain.html
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http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html#flushelectric
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If water heater does not have drain, then remove TP valve and insert siphon hose.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-TP-valve.html
If drain is clogged:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-will-not-drain.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

Safest method:
Shut off electricity to heater.
Shut the water valve.
Drain heater to below the level of the element, open hot water valve in house to vent heater to speed draining.
If the element is on top, you don't have to empty the heater.
Remove old element, install new element.
Leave hot water valve open somewhere in the house.
Turn water on.
Once air is removed at hot water valve, turn electric on.
Shut water valve.

Gary

If you mean the drain valve, then buy garden hose cap at home center.
Cap will have rubber washer that seals tank.
If drain valve is plastic, the cap may not thread on without sanding down end of plastic drain valve.
Otherwise replace drain valve, which is simple if drain valve is brass, but can be difficult if drain valve is plastic.
Turn off power to water heater: Electric: turn off circuit breaker. Gas: turn knob to pilot.
Turn off water, open bathtub spigot on Hot side, drain water heater, remove drain valve with wrench.
If plastic drain valve breaks while being removed, then 'gently' break out broken part using hammer and big screwdriver.
Buy new drain valve at box store in water heater department.
Put teflon tape on new drain valve threads.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-is-leaking.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-will-not-drain.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html

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Also take advantage of fixya expert assistance live.
For a price, expert works with you while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.

The first thing I would do is turn up temp control on gas valve.Control is located on front of gas valve at the bottom front of heater.They usually have a indicator dial on front with an arrow pointing direction.Turn dial to higher setting when burner is not on and this should turn burner on and provide hotter water. The control is normally turned clockwise to increase temperature.If control is already turned all the way up then water heater may need to be replaced.Depending on water quality in your area heater may have a large amount of mineral build up and it may not be capable of producing enough or hot enough water. If this the case all I can suggest is to try to drain tank and flush some of the deposits out. If you have installation manual it will give you instructions on how to do this. If not see if you have working shut off valve on cold water line ,if it works shut it off and connect drain hose to drain valve on bottom right side of gas valve. Put hose to floor drain or sump basin if you have one. Turn control knob on top of gas valve from on to pilot,this will leave pilot light on but prevent burner from working while draining. Open drain valve ,flow rate may be slow or not at all. Open hot water side of some faucet to provide air to help draining. You may try opening water supply valve to heater a few times to aid in draining. If you can get it to drain,shut drain valve off when done,turn cold water supply back on and shut off hot water outlet. Then when tank is full open hot water vavle to bleed air out of heater and piping. Turn control knob on top of gas valve back to on position. This should bring burner back on .It will take about 1/2 hour to heat. If you can't get it to drain or this doesn't help you might consider getting a new 40 gallon heater. Hope this helps. Thanks

1) Shut the breaker off to it at the panel. 2) Hook a hose up to it (the bottom has a drain). 3) Close the valve to the water heater (on the cold water supply). 4) Open drain on the bottom of water heater. 5) Open the relief valve to allow air into the tank (it won't drain otherwise - think if you put your finger on one end of a straw - the liquid stays in until you let go). Why are you draining it by the way?

the hot water tank may be filled with scale buildup on the inside. drain a few gallons out of tank until the water runs clear. it is best to drain out water heater at least 2 times a year.