I have been a plumber for twenty-seven years. Homeowners have called me at all hours of the night because broken water pipes spew crystal clear water everywhere, causing its beautiful presence to permeate the carpet, ostensibly to say, “I’m here to destroy you.” or “I’m going to destroy you.” soak it in and it will fade your beautiful color.” I have been called to beautiful homes with sewers in every corner of the house, making it look like a barn instead of a mansion. Nothing is more frustrating than going into a house where the water heater is blown and the owner of the house complains that he must have hot water before morning, or he will surely die. I have wanted to say, so many times, “if you hadn’t touched it, and just left it alone, then it would have been fine until morning.” tomorrow.” If I had said something like that, he would have been on the phone with my boss, and I can hear him now, “That’s your job. You’re on guard. If you don’t want to do the job, I’ll find someone to do it.” So I bite the bullet and talk nice to the wrecker, I mean the owner of the house, while I work on his mistake. After a while I forget about everything about my irritation with him.
Anyway, enough has been said about why I had to replace the water heaters in the middle of the night. I may be able to shed some light on proper installation in this column, which I write so diligently to highlight a different plumbing problem every week.
One thing about plumbing is that every job has to be done step by step, especially water heaters. Once you’ve determined that the leak is indeed from the tank…
1. Shut off the water supply to the appliance.
In accordance with the Uniform Plumbing Code. (The plumber’s bible). There is supposed to be a shut off, no more than two feet from the water heater on the inlet or cold side of the appliance. Most likely it is a “wheel valve”. You need to turn right to turn off the water and you need to turn left to turn on the water. Turn this valve clockwise until it will turn no further. The water must be outside the water heater. You will still have cold water in the house for all the accessories. I recommend that you do not use the cold water until the installation is complete, because you will get a water backfeed from the pipes that you disconnected from the water heater. If the house is very old, or if the original plumber did not meet the UPC, a shut-off for the water heater may not have been included. If you encounter this situation, you will need to shut off the water supply to the entire house at the main shut off, which is usually located at the front of the house, on the exterior wall. This act of necessity is usually not a problem for an experienced plumber, but it can be a scary experience for a novice homeowner or repairman, because after you’ve finished replacing the water heater, you can’t turn the water back on due to a fault. leak or other unforeseen problem. Wives, girlfriends or children tend to get upset when they don’t have water for showering or cooking. Plus, you can almost ruin a marriage when you have to call a plumber at two in the morning on a Sunday and pay him $2,500.00 for an emergency call, after you’ve worked on it all day.
2. Drain the water heater.
Locate the drain valve at the bottom of the water heater. It looks like an outside faucet, and you probably have two or three around your house in different locations. Screw your garden hose onto the drain valve and pull it out to a spot where you can let the water drain out. The water will not harm the grass.
Sometimes these drain valves are clogged with sediment and need to be cleaned in order for water and water to drain in a timely manner. (A wire hanger works well.) Next, locate the temperature pressure relief valve on top of the water heater (also required by code) and open it manually. (Some people call them an escape valve.) This will force air into the water heater and allow it to drain. The reason I do this is the same principle as holding your thumb over a straw, with water in it. The water stays there. When you remove your thumb, the water drains out. Open this valve and start draining the heater.
3. Disconnect the old water heater.
Locate the unions on the hot (output) and cold (inlet) lines at w/h. (Also required by the UPC, no more than 12 inches from the appliance). Break the joints with two pipe wrenches. Close the gas valve on the left side, at the bottom of the water heater, and disconnect that union as well. Disconnect the vent by unscrewing the three dead center sheet metal screws from the draft diverter on top of the water heater. The water heater is completely disconnected and you can continue to the next step.
4. Prepare the new water heater for installation.
It’s time to prepare the new water heater for installation in place of the old water heater. I always use a ¾” x 3″ brass nipple, with a brass ball valve screwed on for the cold side. (Remember, the cold side is the inlet, where the shutoff is supposed to be.) water heater, I am avoiding electrolysis. Electrolysis occurs every time copper is bolted to steel. It will greatly speed up the corrosion process, and the pipe will last about a third of the time, if you use dissimilar metals. Next, I bolt on a nipple brass on the hot side of the water heater, with a short piece of pipe, and I add joints to both sides Any house that is older than eight years or so is probably copper and will need to be soldered The pipe and joints that connect the hot and cold side of the water heater, should be cleaned with a piece of sandpaper made with aluminum oxide and fluxed with a name brand flux, to ensure that the solder takes well in the Make sure that the joints they are the same height from the top of the water heater and solder everything. Also install a pipe of the new temperature. and pressure relief valve exactly six inches from the floor. (Also required by the Uniform Plumbing Code.) This completes the water connection.
There should be a drip leg on the gas connection to catch moisture and sediment so as not to clog the pilot and burners. Install a new gas shutoff and reconnect the gas line to the gas control on the left side of the appliance. Then make sure the vent pipe is the correct diameter size for the BTU rating of the new heater and connect it to the new draft diverter. Be sure to use three sheet metal screws, at each vent joint. Drive them with a screw gun.
5. Turn on the water.
Turn on the water after you have turned on the hot side of the faucet only, in the bathtub. It’s best to open the one furthest from the water heater, to purge air and help fill faster. Also repeat the step you did earlier, opening the temperature and pressure relief valve, until you hear the water almost reach the top of the heater. At first only air will come out. Once the water has run well from the tub, turn off the tub faucet and check for leaks in the water heater area. Open the gas valve and check for leaks in the gas line.
6. Light the pilot
When you light the pilot, use a long match, because most people cannot reach into the small combustion chamber. If you can, you’ll probably cut your hand when you pull it out.
Press the red button while the knob is on the pilot and light the pilot. Hold down the button for about 30 seconds or so. When you release the red button, the light should stay on. Turn the knob to the “on” position and turn the thermostat up, to the position marked “normal.” The burner flame should ignite with a whoosh! Do not be afraid, because this is normal. Inspect burner flame. It should be a nice yellow color, with blue tips on the flame. Clean the area in front of the water heater.
The last thing I should mention is that you will hear a drip, drip, drip sound, which you will immediately think is a leak. Do not be alarmed! It’s the condensation from heating forty gallons of cold water at a time. It will stop in about thirty minutes.
A new water heater has come out, and by code, by September 4, 2007, water heaters will be different with a sealed combustion chamber. These new ones will turn on with the push of a button, and are much safer. You don’t even need to raise them above the garage floor 18″ as used to be code.
I hope it makes it easier for you to replace that water heater when it starts to leak. But remember, don’t panic. Lay a towel around the old, leaky water heater and wait until the next morning to tackle the chore. However, if you need me during the day, don’t hesitate to call me!