Trying to change out my hot water heater but it looks like this shit is soldered on.. wtf? Does this look normal to anyone? What do I do?
Trying to change out my hot water heater but it looks like this shit is soldered on.. wtf?
Trying to change out my hot water heater but it looks like this shit is soldered on.. wtf? Does this look normal to anyone? What do I do?
That was cold, this one’s hot. It’s even worse.
Yup, I’m going to say the same shit I said in the other thread with anon’s P-trap, get out the pipe cutter or hack saw or whatever, lop it off somewhere clean, and do whatever you want from there with a couple bucks worth of plumbing fittings to your new water heater. They even have flexi stainless steel lines for hot and cold to make that shit easy.
Thanks alright. Guess I’m going back to the hardware store. You think this is doable for someone with minimal experience? I have an angle grinder and I’m not dumb, but that’s all I got.
Just cut the pipe clean and buy those flexible tubes with a shark bite on one end and a 3/4” (probably your size). The ol’ homeowner special. I wouldn’t put a shark bite inside a wall or anything but for the top of a hwh it’s fine.
Cool can do. Do I stick the copper tube in a shark bite? No right I’d need to get some sort of fitting on the pipe after cutting it?
Shark bites are for homeowners who don’t want to actually learn how to work with copper, so yes, the sharkbite pushes onto the copper line. Follow the instructions for shark bites or you’ll frick it up, they’re not completely moron proof but close. The other end of the line just gets screwed onto the ports on the hwh. I’d suggest some pipe dope but they have built in rubber washers so again, practically moron proof. Go to Lowe’s or HD and just ask the guy, he’ll get the right one, and you can return it if you frick up the sizes.
>pic related
Is what they look like, I’d suggest getting one with a ball valve on it for the cold side, so if you have hot water leaking anywhere at some point you can just turn it off there
The most important thing with shark bites is that you push them on far enough on the first try, and that the copper line is cut CLEAN, that’s why the other guy suggested a little pipe cutter tool. They’re cheap and won’t frick up the copper like an angle grinder would (please tell me the angle grinder comment was a joke).
other nice thing about these is that you get galvanic isolation for free
>CLEAN
super important
that turning cutter will keep the pipe round
>sand it down after and make it nice
Pull out the little plastic sleeve inside it if you're using shark bites on copper, that's just for using with pex
Lol shit. How big of a deal is that
It'll restrict the flow of water a bit, but it won't cause it to blow off or anything catastrophic. Its just food for thought next time.
This whole post could have been solved with youtube AT THE MOST.
>I have an angle grinder and I’m not dumb, but that’s all I got.
Nah homie, you dumb as hell
The angle grinder comment was not a joke lol but I figured I’d have to sand it down after and make it nice. I’m a software engineer so I’m not dumb I just rarely deal with the physical world like this.
Thanks, sounds perfect for me
this. cut the pipe in a convenient place, install some new valves and fittings, and then run a flex to the new water heater.
>You think this is doable for someone with minimal experience?
righty-tighty, lefty-loosy. you got this bro. and one of the twist-style copper pipe cutters is like $4.
Thank you you’re a dream.
It's just a "water heater" you don't heat hot water, dumbass.
>you don't heat hot water
Yeah you do. If you don't, it turns into cold water. moron.
Nah that’s just a nitpick. It’s commonly called a “hot water heater” and that is grammatically correct as well. It’s a heater that produces hot water, it’s much more clear than just “water heater” which could be a number of things. Hwh specifically refers to an appliance that heats and stores hot water in a tank.
Soldering is moron ezy too
i wouldnt give a moron a flamethrower
>Does this look normal to anyone
the absolute state of diy. i would sweat all the fittings and reuse them. i did mine all in copper and black pipe - it's really not that hard. it's going to look like a noob did it with this flexible shit.
Bruh the flexi shit is required by code because earthquakes
A quick warning - new water heaters are a larger diameter than old heaters. If that fricker's jammed in a corner and those are all hard lines, don't be surprised if the new heater doesn't line up. Either know WTF you're doing with solder and copper line or keep some emergency lengths of PEX and adapters on-hand.
I just want y’all to know that thanks to the advice from the folks in this thread I was able to remove the old hot water heater and install the new one.
Feel free to shit on my work lol
>target
all things considered, it looks pretty good. you can go back and make it better later after you get some more experience.
>I was able to remove the old hot water heater and install the new one.
Gratz Anon
>shit on my work lol
Nah. Yah did fine.