Mikelly Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 ...Found my hot water heater leaking tonight... It is going going... Not quite gone... Anyone ever replaced a gas hot water heater before?? How complex is it? On the plus side I did get a couple of shelves hung and managed to put a bad hole in the wall in my nice new paint on the garage... Moving in slowly... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRJoe Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Mike, replacing a gas hot water heater is pretty easy. I've seen your Z work, so a water heater is no big deal. The hardest part is moving the darn thing around. There should be a valve where the line to the heater connects to the gas pipe. I replaced mine a number of years ago and added valves on both sides (hot-out, cold-in) and used couplers so that when it comes time to replace it again all I have to do is close the valves, drain the tank, close and disconntect the gas, open the couplers and pull it out. You can give me call if you want better instructions. One suggestion, get to it quickly, once the start to leak it goes downhill to flood city pretty quick. Oh yea, tell Donna hello - Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Yeah pretty simple. I replaced my first one a couple of years ago. When I drained the water out of it before disconnecting it, I used the hot water to rinse the driveway after cleaning it.....worked wonders.....waste not want not! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 This reminds me of a joke: A guy was going on his first skydiving jump. He was nervous and all the way up he was trying to recall his recent training. As they pushed him out of the plane, he counted 1..2...3 PULL! Nothing happend! "OK lets try the reserve chute" he thought. 1..2..3..PULL! Nothing! As he was looking down at the ground quickly rushing up at him, he noticed a little object coming up! As the object came closer he noticed it was a man! As the two men crossed in mid air, the guy on the way down said, "Hey, do you know anything about parachutes?". The guy on the way up said "NO! Do you know anything about gas water heaters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 yea, install it yourself, its not too hard. Over at sears we charge around $200+ to install one, and I hear its a ripoff. but hey, some people just aren't technically inclined, so we offer the service for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 It's very easy, Mike. Just be sure to drain that bad boy before you tackle it. Also, shut off all gas too!! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 I had some water heater problems and got to where I installed a neighbors in about an hour and a half. Would have been quicker but I had to cut a board to correct for the shorter heater. Home Depot sells hot water heater installation kits. Has two flexible copper tubes with couplers. Really simplifies the install. You may need to tinker toy in some new sections of gas pipe depending on the configuration. Just remember to use soapy water to check for leaks before lighting it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 OK, now I'm totally confused... All water is GONE and I start moving more stuff into the new garage. Later I find a little moisture and VERy little water just below the bypass valve/ overflow valve... What is that all about? I don't think the unit is leaking... I think the bypass valve is burping it out... Is this normal??? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 No this is not normal! Something is certainly amiss and you should probably replace the unit since they are not that expensive at places like Home Depot. I bought a jumbo 50 gallon, mega-year warranty, self-cleaning unit for my home. It took all of a couple of hours to install it and get it up and running. What takes the most time is having to replumb because the building codes have changed since 1972!!! Arg. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 If it`s more than 5 or 6 yrs old, i would replce it with a newer,bigger, more efficient one. I got the BIG 50 gal from Lowes for 350.00 about 5 years ago. I have never run out of hot water and it cost less to run than the 30 gal antique I had before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Mike Hey before you go replacing the thing. There is a lever on the pressure release valve you mentioned that was leaking (in Hybridz lingo I call it the BOV ). Get a container under it then work the valve off and on a bit, maybe you have some crap in the valve that caused it to leak a little. Then check the thermostat temp of the water in your heater maybe its to hot; and is maxing out the press. release valve. If it is; turn the heater down. If that doesn't stop it from leaking. Then go to Home depo and buy a replacement pressure release valve and install. If that doesen't work then replace the HWH. To replace HWH.Turn off gas at valve. Dissconnect the Cold (intake) and Hot (exaust) lines. then attach a garden hose to the drain; so you can turn on the drain tap to drain the HWH water at a good location outside. Then remove and reinstall new HWH using directions they provided. Note they sometime come with two orfaces for either propane or Nat Gas. Install the one that pertains to your application. Then use the $200 you save to buy yourself a BEER! Use teflon tape at connections, if you need to cut the pipe, buy compression fittings and flex pipe of correct lenght to reinstall the new HWH. Good luck; If I was nearby I'd help Ya! Len Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 OK, now I'm totally confused... All water is GONE and I start moving more stuff into the new garage. Later I find a little moisture and VERy little water just below the bypass valve/ overflow valve... What is that all about? I don't think the unit is leaking... I think the bypass valve is burping it out... Is this normal??? Mike You have the new one in and water is burping out of the relief valve? Perfectly normal IF you didn't install an expansion tank. The pressure valves will lift as the cold water expands as it heats up. If this is the case I would STRONGLY encourage you to install an expansion tank so the tank can absorb the pressure cycles without relying on the relief valve (which take my word for it can clog from repeated use causing the pressure to be relieved in other, less desireable ways). Also you need to plumb the relief valve into a drain or your sump in case it every really lets go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 Nope, Jim I haven't installed the new one yet. With the snow I just went home to check it last night and found the water gone. Later in the evening I saw evidence of water on the relief valve and a little moisture on the wood below the valve which lead me to believe that the valve is the culprit. I will lower the temp on the unit first to see if that is the case. It does have an expansion tank on it. My home is only 15 years old, so I suspect most of the recent code changes from the ealry 80's apply to my home... I WILL be swapping this thing out, but I'm moving into the other garage as long as this HWH holds up... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Check your water pressure at an outside water spicket, if you have over 80psi water pressure your pressure regulator for the house is shot. When this happens high pressure from the city water line goes through the house, and your water heater. That extra pressure will push water past the bypass valve. This happened to my house, but it didn't drain the whole water heater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.