How to ( or how not to ) Install a Hot Water Heater

[josephsiler]

Hey, I replaced my electric water heater and when I turned on the new one, white stuff came out of the faucet. What's that about?

[kodiak410a]

I would so do the guy in this video. He's hot! But seriously, cool video.

[gypzies]

LOL The dog is barking at his shadow. Each time he began to talk the dog see his shadow moving on the hot water heater. I think the dog is just trying to alert him that some strange dude is standing beside him. LOL. So Cute

[FreeMTrider]

For a true DIY guy, the dogs are about as real as it gets! Mine hangs out with me when I'm under a house working on pipes. Cool dogs by the way.

[erochow]

@FreeMTrider thanks, not sure why people don't like dogs, but what can you do. mine bark a lot when they are happy. thx, eric.

[commonsense369]

You are easy to follow, smooth seemingly effortless presentation, thank you. All youtube demonstration vids should be as good.

I love dogs, more than most people in fact but I prefer dogs who bark to alert rather than incessant noise. It's not a big deal as i can skip past it.

Thanks again for the info!

BTW, nice looking labs!

[HFDPIPE]

great vid, loved the Genny Cream sitting on top of the water heater, looked like a 3 Genny project.

[attofarad32]

If you put a loop in that flex, it will keep hot water from rising in the pipes when not flowing, which will waste less energy.

[armorhelix]

LOL

This video is awesome.

[s14sr]

Great video guys. How 'bout one on gas.

[CarvinAc275]

Hey thanx... I'm gonna try it. But my valves are old as .... well you know. I wasn't aware of the hoses for waterheaters. That should make things easier. Still have to sweat in a new valve though. Once again.... Thanks very much.

[CarvinAc275]

Hey thanx... I'm gonna try it. But my valves are old as .... well you know. I wasn't aware of the hoses for waterheaters. That should make things easier. Still have to sweat in a new valve though. Once again.... Thaks very much.

[trochero80]

thank you for the info

[modette99]

To not set the wood on fire simply soak a rag in water and drape it on the wood (behind where your working)...learned that trick from my Grandfather. Obviously you will need to not have too much water in the rag. If a pesky fitting you might need to re-soak the rag...also the rag allows you to pickup hot pipes and cool pipes so keep a few around with a bucket of water.

[erochow]

@modette99 that's a good suggestion, thx

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@erochow The wet rag works great. I use a brazing blanket. No pesky water vapor cooling off my work area and combustibles don't combust.

[unibrook]

Lose the barking dogs for the vdo session, plz. You made this look VERY doable for a fairly handy homeowner, thx! You mean, I DON'T have to pay $500 to a plumber to connect the pipes?????? firkin revelation!!!!!!!! EXCELLENT !!!!!

[juujuubee29]

Thanks for the vid, very informative.

[akengland]

THANKS for the video. I really liked the friendly "how to" explanations. Found it amusing seeing some mistakes made because no one is perfect. All in all great points and tips.

[ejd155]

Great video, dogs make the video.

[damonlauzon]

you forgot the flux on the soldering

[erochow]

@damonlauzon yeah, i forgot to show the part where i applied the flux. thanks for pointing that out.

[malachy1847]

@damonlauzon Should not also the P.R.V outlet be ducted out from the basement if same tripped and did not reseat properly there would be serious issues in that basement...... An automatic Sump pump in a tank would be a good idea in any basement.... plus an alarm to denote operation of same.. [Belt and Braces...]

[lifearoundhome]

this DIY is very imporatant. installing a heater can be fairly dangerous if not done properly.

[lmind2]

Love your dogs man! Seems like they have a great personality. Oh, yeah, and I guess your instructional vid was good too! haha.

[cowboysqueeze]

@chackett99 I love own dogs and all animals but gee how is one to hear you if your dogs are barking. Plus there is a safety issue which you can't reason with animals so they dont know what they can and can't touch.

[erochow]

@chackett99 hey sorry you don't like the style of GardenFork, lots of people seem to watch, sometimes just for the dogs, thx, eric

[shumanitutonkaowachi]

Thanks

[toymotorlux]

soLder not sodder!

[PrimaryDirective]

You don't solder from the top down, you solder from the bottom up, you "braze" from the top down, and you should use mapp gas not propane, mapp burns hotter, and you didn't ream your pipe, and where's your sand cloth, and what kind of flux did you use, was it water soluble? And you didn't wipe off your fitting, and where's your fire extinguisher and heat shield, and where's your seismac straps for the water heater? Who taught you this method??

[cdleeman]

@PrimaryDirective

Maybe you should go spout this at the yearly Solderer's Convention, then someone might care. Hey it works and the solder looked pretty smooth to me, so get off your high horse.

[mellonsed]

great video bro

[hustlerblackie28]

@tooz56 LOL yes your right!! Poor video

[12344505]

how many volts does it have

[erochow]

@tooz56 sorry you don't like the dogs, most people do, and I certainly do. thanks for watching. eric.

[Matyme]

@erochow heheh I'm one of the "most" people. My dog barks at me when I hug the other dog too...really funny. Thanx for the video. I found it very helpfull. My  husband and I might get a house soon and the one that we are looking at now might need a new water heater.

[hustlerblackie28]

@erochow I like dogs. Its a not a good video thats plain simple

[foggymtnbreakdown]

The teflon tape is really useless in those places where you have used it. The flexible hoses have "rubber" seals/washers/gaskets at both ends. That is what makes them watertight, not any teflon tape. The teflon tape might act as a lubricant. Teflon tapes or dopes are needed where male metal threads meet female metal threads and where there are no washers or ferrules (as in compression fittings). Put teflon tape where the 2 nipples seat into the tank. It is metal against metal there.

[erochow]

thanks for the comment and good point. if i remember correctly, those connects did not have rubber seals, or i would not have used the teflon on there.

i run across the teflon tape on a compression seal or a rubber seal a lot when i go do a repair at a friend's house. they have usually tried to fix it themselves and can't figure out why its leaking. i remove the teflon tape, which is ususally getting in the way of the rubber seal, and then it works fine.

thx, eri.c

[malachy1847]

Just Teflon tape on threaded stainless Fitting not a good idea!!!! The tape tends to be shreeded by the S.S threads.. Joint paste with same might also help as a 'Belt and Braces 'solution as if a leak starts later your into more hassle to fix same at a later stage..

[IMDARKFIRE007]

i cant solder to save my LIFE.....i have a stubborn leak and want to say screw it and go with the flex hoses like you did.....how the hell did you screw it onto the copper pipe??

[ayyoovod]

How can I know if the tank is full of water before I turn the electricity on??

Thanks for the vid

[erochow]

you should turn on the hot water faucet somewhere up in the house. if water comes out, the water tank should be full.

[albertojmo]

i used to be a plumber installer for the home depot and let me tell you something, replacing a water heater is not that easy and you need to fix all the code violations!!!!

[malachy1847]

there might be a need for dielectic union fitting used when conecting dissimilar metals together.. on top of this tank outherwise electrolyis may occur at a later stage..

[TheBeerBox80]

your video is great. thanks for the how to.  but could you not say "hot water heater"?

[erochow]

can't . its burned into the neurons on my brain. not sure why.

i also say 'unloosen' when taking off nuts and bolts.

thanks for watching. eric.

[chompychomps]

Actually, niether your "show" or the dogs are particularly helpful.

[erochow]

hey there, sorry we couldn't help you. a lot of people have been helped!

[JustAHumbleMumble]

ooh i forgot please keep the noise down on the dogs yes there are some people in this world that dont like barking dogs

[JustAHumbleMumble]

lolololo rofl lmao hahahahalololo

first the old isolation valve is frozen no good if you cant find your main feed valve...red face

then the first easy soldering attempt leaked lolololooops drain down again...red face

then to top it all off you burn yourself on the hot copper lololooll sorry man lolololololhahahahahahahhahalo­lolololo

ooh a quick question if you please...what if the cylinder isnot sitting on blocks how to drain please???

ps hehehohohohahahah

[seatownsauce]

say what you want about his dogs...etc

BUT BIIIIIG THANK YOU!

I did my 1st ever hot water tank change. :D

saved well over $350 because of service charges & labor for install from homedepot or sears

[erochow]

glad to hear this helped you. more stuff is on our site if you want to check it out. thx, eri c.

[firefox0091]

Between the barking dogs, dropping the water heater, burning himself, and the leaky pipe, this has to be the worst DIY video I have ever seen.

[erochow]

maybe its because most DIY videos are fake. they always come out perfect, that's not what the real world is like, and its not how my world is either. i make mistakes, so do you, so does everybody. i try to do stuff and make videos about the process.

have you ever made a mistake?

[HonuStyleImports]

this looks like how a real installation goes. I don't think there are many "perfect" installations. This video adds the human reality element to DIY. Thanks for the information.

[verbosity53531]

Just remember before you do any work to talk to your local building inspector. Here in Deerfield, WI we can do our own work if we get the proper permits, but I know in some areas electrical and/or plumbing must be done by a professional.

I'm glad you used 18" flexible connectors, and I'll also add a thumbs up to Sharkbites - no soldering, just push/twist into place and they can be removed. If you ever choose to use PEX, Sharkbites will still work with that plumbing too.

[erochow]

thx. i'll look for those Sharkbites, have not seen them around h ere. certainly easier than soldering. eric.,

[bigyist]

thank u for your video and please don't listen to silly people.

[kendong31]

Hey yeh cool dogs....really healthy bark.

[erochow]

thx, can you believe some people don't like barking dogs?

[lanegjones]

Shark bite is quicker and neat have you used them

[loprestodavis]

The first thing you need to do is get rid of that barking dog!!!!!!!!!

[lanegjones]

you got that right

[ItsAnSS]

@loprestodavis I watched for about 45 seconds and had all I could take.

[Inform4u]

very helpful - thanks!

[jorgekluney]

Thanks for putting this up.

I'm going to be a first time home-owner soon and I want to know as much as possible.

Very clear and understandable video.

[Fubar411]

I can't figure out why my "hot water heater" has no electricity run to it.  I do keep burning my hand on the vent.

[djilyaz]

it's probably gas, not electric

[jackass112587]

you should try sharkbite fittings. no solder, no leaks

[Mumwaldee]

"And now we have...a leak..." 

Hilarious. I love watching your vids, but why don't we ever get to see Lynn?

And it's a water heater. Hot water doesn't need to be heated :-P. Could make a drinking game with this vid. Every time he says "hot water heater" take a drink!

[erochow]

yeah, like i said, 'hot water heater" so you can now have another drink. enjoy. and thx for watching. eric.

[mikesadick]

Did you pull your permit first? lol

[erochow]

you don't need to get a permit to switch out a hot water heater in our town. thx.

[mywootgarden]

turning your water heater down to one of its lowest settings can help aviod burns caused by hot water! one of the most preventabel household accidents and potenialy one of the most hazzardous. <3

[erochow]

very true. most new faucets have anti-scald feature on them, the old ones don't thx, eric.

[theoldstigster]

@mywootgarden

Ever heard of Legionnaires' disease? Please don't go turning your hot water down at source. A potentially deadly thing to do especially if you take a lot of showers in that water.

[mywootgarden]

@theoldstigster

yeah thanks for the heads up, i found about 30 ppl get it a yearin the usa, and it has a 30 % fatality rate , a scary thing indeed!

500,000 people a year in the usa are treated for burns in ERS, i think both these issues are very important and everyone shold have access to this knowledge . Thanks Internet!

[pokadotdoor]

@mywootgarden

water has to be at at least 140 deg or legionairs is a risk , try a mixing valve instead

, but great thought about the safety issue .

[russtex]

Thanks for the instructional video!!

Wish I knew this a couple of months ago...lol.

[erochow]

i've made plenty of mistakes myself, so you're not alone. thx, eric.

[Kaaaaami]

Thank you for the informative and good video. :) This will help a bunch.

[erochow]

hey thanks for watching.. you might like our viewer forum on our website also. thx, eric.