It was a week or two ago that I noticed some water near the base of the hot water heater and it was evident that it was leaking somewhere around the top heating element and with the age of the unit, it was time to replace it versus attempting a repair.  This is a 40 gallon capacity hot water heater manufactured by A. O. Smith and what they refer to as a short model.  I believe it was 44 inches in height and it was elevated on a couple pieces of square tube and channel iron to bring it up to the desired height for easier plumbing in.

Above pix of the existing hot water heater and plumbing.  I might have drained water from the tank at least one time in the past, but not sure.

Here the water leak is visible and I earlier removed the Styrofoam protector to verify where the leak was coming from.

Normally when it comes to major plumbing repairs, I tear up more stuff than I fix, grin if you must, but after viewing many YouTube videos, I ascertained that this project was doable in my humble opinion, especially with fittings and couplings that do not require soldering.  It has been over forty (40) years since doing any copper pipe soldering and here in Anson County, North Carolina, there is definitely a shortage of qualified and certified plumbers and will leave it at that! 

GOING BACK IN TIME

Going back in time to the early 1960s, of which I helped wheel barrow brick and mortar during the summer months for my uncles Doug Coley and Baxter Bowers, there were several good plumbing contractors and plumbers in our town of Wadesboro, NC and will mention those that I remember:  Coggin Brothers, Johnny Wagner, Jimmy Ormsby, Johnny Hildreth, Jack and Dorton Gilmore and there were a few others that I cannot recall at this time.  Most of the plumbing was either copper or black iron pipe and the sewage drains were of cast iron.  Materials used today have definitely changed with PEX replacing copper lines since it is less expensive, more flexible and easier to install.  PVC definitely has a lion's share in the plumbing industry and last longer than PEX.

BACK TO THE INSTALL

As with my normal MO, modus operandi, got side tracked and went on line and found a 40 gallon capacity hot water heater manufactured by A. O. Smith available at Lowe's in Rockingham, NC , however it was 50 inches in height versus the 44 inches in height of the old unit.  I got the tape measure out and figured it would fit to the existing plumbing if I leave off the square tubing and channel iron base supports.

Above pix of info on the replacement hot water heater and below a close-up pix of the old unit:

There definitely is a lot of soldering on the hot water side of the hot water heater to bring the connection up to the hot water line.

TOOLS REQUIRED

After getting into the hot water heater replacement, I needed a few additional things such as nut drivers and a short Phillips # 2 screwdriver and of course some extra lighting.  I did use an electronic voltage tester, but I have not been impressed with them, but would rather use a volt/ohm meter instead.

LETS GET STARTED

First order of business was to trip the breaker for the 240 volts AC at the breaker box aka power panel to the hot water heater.  I then closed the incoming water line value to shut the water supply off.

I attached a water hose to the drain outlet on the hot water heater tank and ran the hose outside under the basement garage door.  The faucets were opened up in the house and the screw was opened up on the tank valve, however no water came out the hose when the value was opened.  I then used my air compressor to blow air through the water hose into the tank and then the unit started draining.  I probably took over two (2) hours to drain the tank, due to sediment deposits on the bottom of the tank near the drain valve which restricted the water flow from the tank.

Once the water was drained from the tank, I then proceeded to cut the 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch copper lines to the tank and then removed the power cable to the unit.  Since there was a shelf over the hot water heater, it was close quarters to get a standard pipe tubing cutter to make a full 360 degree rotation on the 1/2 inch copper line, however it cut the tubing ok.  Both lines were deburred using a Shark Bite deburring tool which is also used to mark the length of the tubing that goes into the Shark Bite fittings.

Before doing the above, I had to disconnect the dryer and relocated it out of the way in my basement woodworking shop.

The old hot water heater was removed and I dragged and/or walked the unit to the basement garage door and placed it outside for later disposal. 

I had earlier marked the hot and cold water line where it needed to be cut and needed about three (3) inches length of the 3/4 inch copper tubing to connect from the water supply cut off valve to the Shark Bite line to the tank which was 12 inches in length.  I cut the 3/4 inch supply line about 2 inches from the elbow in the line.

I applied 4 to 5 turns of Teflon tape to the hot water and cold water FIP connection at the tank.

When applying the Teflon tape, you wind in a clockwise direction.

The Shark Bite Max stainless steel braided water hoses were connected to the hot and cold water lines and I then turned the main water supply line on to check for any leaks and there were none.  I did notice that the cold water supply line Shark Bite stainless steel hose did distort some due to the tight bend to make the connection.  If there is a problem in the future, hopefully not, I will have to go to plan B and get a right angle Shark Bite fittings for the 3/4 inch cold water supply line to the in line Shark Bite ball cut off valve which will raise the braided line upward reducing the tight angle bend at the tank connection.

Next was to connect the 240 volt AC line to the unit using twist lock connectors and placed the steel cover over the connections.

The in line Shark Bite ball valve was opened and water was allowed to drain into the hot water heater tank.  I left a couple faucets, hot water side open to purge any air out of the hot water heater as the tank was being filled with cold water.

As stated earlier, no leaks were detected and the acid test was to turn the power back on to the unit and check for any leaks since when the water is heated up, the pressure will build up in the tank.  I ran hot water from a sink to allow cold water to fill back into the hot water heater tank and allowed the heating elements to do their thing.

So far, there are no leaks and hope the Shark Bite fittings will perform as they should.  I believe I did my part getting the copper pipes prepared for them and pushing them to the marks made on the copper tubing.  It did take some effort to seat the fittings properly.

Tomorrow, our Lord willing of course, I will connect the dryer back up and give our utility department a call to come by and pick up the old hot water heater.  Lowe's charges a  $ 3.00 disposal fee for the old tank.  I wonder where those funds end up, grin if you must!

HOT WATER TANK AUTOPSY

I wanted to see how much sediment was in the hot water tank and decided to cut open a panel out of the bottom section.

My Milwaukee small angle head grinder with a 4.5 inch diameter friction cut-off wheel was not larger enough to go through the walls of the tank which had a 2 inch thick insulation.  Therefore, I had to skin aka peel the outer metal cabinet housing and then remove the insulation giving me access to the actual water tank itself.

As evidenced by the above pix, there was a considerable amount of sediment deposited in the water tank and that is why the tank drain valve would not allow water to escape from the tank until I forced air through the valve cutting loose some of the sediment.  The hot water tank is resting on its side when this pix was taken.  The bottom of the tank is dome or convex shaped for strength and evenly distributes the weight of the water better.  The top of the tank is also dome or convex shaped.

There is a blue glass coating on the inside of the tank and quote from the internet:  "In 2004, A. O. Smith reaffirmed its mastery of glass lining technology by introducing patented Blue Diamond™ glass coating on its best Conservationist® residential water heaters.  Blue Diamond™ provides the ultimate protection… over twice the corrosion resistance compared to industry-standard glass lining."

The left portion of the inside of the tank is where the valve is in the tank and you can see the sediment deposited all around the valve.

I turned the water tank upright and drained most of the existing water out for photographic purposes.  I might scoop out most of the sediment and ascertain how much was left.  There was a good amount that exited when I placed the tank upright and on its side.

CLOSE UP OF SEDIMENT AND MAGNESIUM ANODE ROD

I scooped out the sediment from the tank and found what was left of the magnesium anode rod. 

I didn't measure the amount of sediment, but it is at least a gallon and found what was left of the magnesium anode rod which was just about totally eaten away.  The rod hangs from the top of the tank and is a few feet in length.

Close-up pix of the remaining magnesium anode rod.

All the water did not drain from the tank, but most of it did and due to the restriction of the sediment at the output valve, it took about two (2) hours to drain the tank which was then manageable even for an old man, grin if you must!

I did not see a magnesium rod which no doubt was eaten away to help get rid of some of the calcium deposits. 

I think the majority recommend you drain the tank yearly to help remove the deposited sediments from the tank.

TANK WALL THICKNESS

The tank wall thickness is a little over 3/32 inch thick and showed no sign of corrosion and this unit was very well made. 

DIDN'T DO ENOUGH RESEARCH USING SHARK BITE BRAIDED STAINLESS STEEL HOSES

I recently reviewed several complaints and issues using the Shark Bite stainless steel braided hot water heater hoses and there definitely is a problem with the interior black plastic lining breaking down with black flakes getting into your hot water supply.  In fact, there is a lawsuit against Home Depot and Reliance Worldwide addressing those issues that is making its way into the court system as I type.

I went on line and filled out a form at Reliance Worldwide asking if any changes had been made to the rubber plastic lining in the Shark Bite braided stainless steel hoses.

I received a reply from Reliance Worldwide, however they did not address my question, but gave hyperlinks if I wanted to file a claim, of which I do not!

I plan to replace the Shark Bite hoses with PEX pipe as soon as possible and will get a refund from Amazon for the Shark Bite stainless steel braided plastic lined hot water heater hoses.

I guess this is a product of myself being too frugal not wanting to pay a plumber to solder copper pipes back in place.  Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy for such things, grin or frown if you must.  I need to learn to solder copper pipes again and get the current updated solder and flux; old school flux stuff was acid core and 60/40 and corrosive as evidenced by old copper pipes turning green where the flux was left on the pipe. 

REPLACED HOT WATER HEATER HOSES

I replaced the Shark Bite stainless steel braided hoses with PEX and had to add the appropriate Shark Bite fittings for the 1/2 inch and 3/4 hex pipe and the 3/4 inch FIP connections to the hot water heater hot and cold.  Prior to making the PEX connections, I turned the power off to the hot water heater and turned the input cold water valve off to the hot water heater tank.  After the connections were made, checked for leaks after turning to cold water input valve on and then tripped the 30 amp. breaker to the on position and purged the hot water line(s) and checked for leaks and everything looked good, no leaks.   There is some local codes that prohibit placing PEX directly to the hot water heater, especially if it is a gas unit and required at least 18 inches or more before adding to PEX.

PS  I have an LED light source giving some light to the dark area.

The cold blue side PEX was about a perfect fit with the fittings, but the red hot side PEX was not perfectly aligned, but close enough.

Web page uploaded by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 07-18-2024 and updated on 07-19-2024, 07-20-2024, 07-22-2024 and 07-25-2024.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.   

Ephesians 2:8 - 2:9 8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Open this link about faith in the King James Bible.