How to drain hot water tank with anode installed

[skunther]

My tank has no anode (Seaward s600), so I purchased one as it seemed cheaper than a new hot water tank. I’d read you replace the drain faucet with the anode, and simply drain the tank by removing the anode, but that seems a bit messy compared to draining out of the faucet (with a section of hose attached). Has anyone worked out a better way to drain the tank when an anode has been installed in the stead of the drain faucet? Perhaps siphon out the cold water input?

 

[dlochner]

I have a different HW tank, however it did not have a drain valve. I installed a T at the outlet, one side of the T is the check valve and inlet. The other side has a ball valve connected to a length of ½" hose. I connect the hose to a small cheap diaphragm pump and pump out the tank into a bucket. Sorry, no photos.

 

[Blitz]

I've done the same as skunther, but gravity drain to bilge.