Corp000085 Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 I've got two issues here. first, the water heater is leaking, second, the cold water shutoff for the water heater has failed. the valve is still watertight but its a gate valve and the gate won't go up or down. luckily it was stuck open. one end is copper, the other is flex tubing, going into the wall. I've bought all the copper tubing, couplers, bends, and the compression fixture for the flex tubing, as well as the water heater itself. The problem is, i've never soldered anything before. I'll obviously follow the instructions to a T. Basically, how long does it take to solder one joint together? are we talking seconds? does it have to cool for a while before water starts to flow? I just need to get that cold water shutoff valve attached as quickly as possible because I had to cut the water main, so that means no toilets, and my inlaws are here. Needless to say, I need the toilets and sinks running as quickly as possible. Hopefully this will be a 10 minute job to get that new valve on. I'm also going to assume that the complete water heater install will be hours upon hours of fun as well as gallons upon gallons of beer consumed. I had a 12-15 year old ruud 50 gallon tank, replacing it with a whirlpool 50 gallon tank, both are electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 ...and my inlaws are here. Get different in-laws, preferably one where the father knows how to do plumbing. This is the only way I can help you... How to Solder Copper Pipes at This Old House.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 I was able to get it done. Whole thing took about an hour. the plastic lines in the wall were cut at the copper connection and I put new connectors on as well as the valve and the copper. Hooked up the electrical, then filled it, turned the power on, and waited 30 minutes. hot hot water. Now the garage floor will be dry for the first time in 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Cincy brought it up a while back and he is right... They work awesome... Go the SharkBite route if you don't want to sweat pipes. I will never use any other type of fitting again besides a sweat or SharkBite adapter... Forget compression fittings or anything else that is older. They make them for all kinds of applications. Really... I replaced my water softener after over 12 years of service last spring... I added a post filter housing... I sweat most of the connections and the final hook-ups I used SharkBite adapters to the threaded connections on the devices... What a great looking job! The only thing is... If you break continuity (SharkBite copper to plastic) and your electrical system is bonded/grounded to the water pipes... DO NOT FORGET TO PUT THE PROPER JUMPER IN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Exiled, I used two sharkbites. I had a compression fitting for the plastic line to solder to copper, but the tubing was just a hair loose, so i went tot he hardware store and they pointed me to the sharkbite things. They worked beautifully from the plastic to copper on the hot and cold ends. I soldered the rest of the copper. All it took was a 90 degree bend, a length of copper, and a female end for the hot and cold lines, and the new ball valve. From start to finish, it took an hour... hell, installing my dishwasher took longer than that due to the tight work area. I'm supremely confident in my soldering abilities now. I'm just a little concerned about the placement. I put it up on a ring of about 6 bricks to get the tank off of the floor. I'm assuming that just using bricks to raise the tank violates a code, but oh well... If we ever move, i'll just take the bricks out and solder in more length of copper. As for the tank itself, I'm very pleased. It has the double length heating elements in it (instead of looping out once, it loops out twice the length and it's bent back over) , the controls are on top of the unit, and it has a vacation setting. Just from looking quickly, the insulation is much more substantial than my old tank. Again though, I won't be pleased till I see a dry garage floor! Now that I'm way more confident, I want to replace all the spigots outside as well as the gate valve on the water main. If the exact valve failed on my water heater, who's to say it won't fail on the main at some time in the near future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Exiled, I used two sharkbites. I had a compression fitting for the plastic line to solder to copper, but the tubing was just a hair loose, so i went tot he hardware store and they pointed me to the sharkbite things. They worked beautifully from the plastic to copper on the hot and cold ends. I soldered the rest of the copper. All it took was a 90 degree bend, a length of copper, and a female end for the hot and cold lines, and the new ball valve. From start to finish, it took an hour... hell, installing my dishwasher took longer than that due to the tight work area. I'm supremely confident in my soldering abilities now. I'm just a little concerned about the placement. I put it up on a ring of about 6 bricks to get the tank off of the floor. I'm assuming that just using bricks to raise the tank violates a code, but oh well... If we ever move, i'll just take the bricks out and solder in more length of copper. As for the tank itself, I'm very pleased. It has the double length heating elements in it (instead of looping out once, it loops out twice the length and it's bent back over) , the controls are on top of the unit, and it has a vacation setting. Just from looking quickly, the insulation is much more substantial than my old tank. Again though, I won't be pleased till I see a dry garage floor! Now that I'm way more confident, I want to replace all the spigots outside as well as the gate valve on the water main. If the exact valve failed on my water heater, who's to say it won't fail on the main at some time in the near future? Awesome! I think they make a pedestal for water heaters?... If it is gas, I think they are saying it should be higher now... I don't know... But, I will find out soon. With the hard water I have, I have no doubt my water heater will be going out soon (it is going on almost 15 years.) EDIT: You did say it was electric! My bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Exiled, I used two sharkbites. I had a compression fitting for the plastic line to solder to copper, but the tubing was just a hair loose, so i went tot he hardware store and they pointed me to the sharkbite things. They worked beautifully from the plastic to copper on the hot and cold ends. I soldered the rest of the copper. All it took was a 90 degree bend, a length of copper, and a female end for the hot and cold lines, and the new ball valve. From start to finish, it took an hour... hell, installing my dishwasher took longer than that due to the tight work area. I'm supremely confident in my soldering abilities now. I'm just a little concerned about the placement. I put it up on a ring of about 6 bricks to get the tank off of the floor. I'm assuming that just using bricks to raise the tank violates a code, but oh well... If we ever move, i'll just take the bricks out and solder in more length of copper. As for the tank itself, I'm very pleased. It has the double length heating elements in it (instead of looping out once, it loops out twice the length and it's bent back over) , the controls are on top of the unit, and it has a vacation setting. Just from looking quickly, the insulation is much more substantial than my old tank. Again though, I won't be pleased till I see a dry garage floor! Now that I'm way more confident, I want to replace all the spigots outside as well as the gate valve on the water main. If the exact valve failed on my water heater, who's to say it won't fail on the main at some time in the near future? Out here in CA you have to anchor the water heater to the wall with straps because of quakes and in most towns, you have to have it inspected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Awesome! I think they make a pedestal for water heaters?... If it is gas, I think they are saying it should be higher now... I don't know... But, I will find out soon. With the hard water I have, I have no doubt my water heater will be going out soon (it is going on almost 15 years.) EDIT: You did say it was electric! My bad... I saw one at lowes, which was about a 2 foot high stamped steel stand. I didn't want to raise it that high, so I went with the brick method. From what I saw, gas heaters come with their own stand. Electric can sit on the ground, but then you're risking drawing moisture up from the concrete and causing the bottom to possibly rust. As for the CA codes, they are specific about them in the install manual in regards to strapping it to a wall and raising it a certain amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 I was able to get it done. Whole thing took about an hour. the plastic lines in the wall were cut at the copper connection and I put new connectors on as well as the valve and the copper. Hooked up the electrical, then filled it, turned the power on, and waited 30 minutes. hot hot water. Now the garage floor will be dry for the first time in 2 weeks. You're a lucky man! We have a cat that keeps missing the litter box, in the garage, and our garage floor is never dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 You're a lucky man! We have a cat that keeps missing the litter box, in the garage, and our garage floor is never dry. I had part of a cat stuck on my tire once... does that make us even? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Just read about these this morning.... Heat Pump Water Heaters The article said you could retro-fit an existing electric hot water heater with them to save $$$ on your electric bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Out here in CA you have to anchor the water heater to the wall with straps because of quakes and in most towns, you have to have it inspected. Ya... I noticed in my softner manual, they tell you that YOU HAVE to set the electronics for "salt saver" mode in Cali... WTF? Do they have "mattress police" that come and check your softner so as you are not using too much salt to clean your softner's resin bed? Man, I am a liberal but the greenies really get me... If I want extra soft water and want to extend the life of my softner by using more water and salt... So be it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Newest thing out here is the fireplace cops. They have "spare the air"days when the pollution gets high. I can see it in the summer. Now they say if there are certain conditions (seems like it only happens when it's cold (it is getting down to the low 40s here)at night that they are banning using your fireplace or wood burning stove unless it is your only source of heat. They have "fireplace cops" going around on those nights to look for smoke from chimneys and will fine you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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