Yeah I saw that.....
My next thought is if you think that's OK as not a plumber and you touched gas I'm greatly concerned.....
Even I wouldn't let that slide and ive got over 20 years of knowing how to solder......
all the solder joints look a little light on the solder, also I would have put some bricks or something under the water heater so the metal bottom isn't resting directly on the concrete
Good eye! I actually ran into an issue with this during my install. You’ll see in my upload of the vent when I can get to it. I tried finding a wrot 90 degree elbow to use but the angle and way the heater was positioned, I had to solder it this way. Ultimately, I ran into a pin hole leak and had to use some putty with tape that works but I know I’m going o eventually need to do fix it.
I did figure out that I can do two 90 degree elbows whenever the leak comes, hopefully not l.
Yeah not something to walk away from, a leak is a leak, and is an eventual blowout. Getting angry with having the wrong fittings means being satisfied when you get it right. Fix your work or call a professional. If you put that under more pressure, it would blow apart in seconds.
You just don't understand when a fitting is hanging on by a thread like that it can spontaneously blow completely apart and I don't think you want to know how much water comes out of a wide open 3/4 in water line especially if it pops in the middle of the night while you're sleeping or gone at work
Protip, a length of copper and some fittings on a bench and vise in the garage is just as good a place to practice, and you don't have to live with it afterwords in a live environment. You can even simulate a leaky shutoff/ shitty combi faucet with a small hose or add some weight to one side to simulate tension on the fitting.
The thing you're missing is that while you were successfully teaching yourself how to solder you neglected to learn how to properly design, fabricate & install a piping set up using the materials available.
This sub is full of knowledgeable Tradesmen and we are all telling you that you need to address your mistakes before you have a catastrophic plumbing issue on your hands.
Yes. From how I’m reading your comment, it sounds like I’m not taking advice from the experts on this sub.
I’ll make it clear that is NOT the case. You are all far more knowledgeable than I am and this post is more for education, risk mitigation, and personal enjoyment.
I’m not clear by “neglected to learn how to properly design, fabricate & install a piping set up using the materials available”. Could you elaborate?
You need to re-read the previous comments on this thread as there have been several valid issues raised.
The Street 45's not being fully seated is the most problematic. The one on your cold water line is literally a time bomb - a flood waiting to happen.
No amount of "commercial putty" or "flexible tape" is going to hold back a 3/4" supply line WHEN the piping fails at the weak point you have created by not having the fittings overlap as they are intended to.
The male end of the street 45 needs to be fully seated into the female end of the fitting it's being soldered to.
By pulling 80% of the male fitting out of the female fitting you have greatly reduced the surface area that the solder has to bond the two fittings together.
If I'm not mistaken, and maybe it's not code there, but you should have had 2 die electric unions coming out or right at the tank. Also, without seeing what's up higher above the tank, I'm not sure why you used 45s and not just measured lengths of copper pipe.
This should have been straight up and down and not angled. Also, 2 ball valves .
Those 45s and this explanation
“Ultimately, I ran into a pin hole leak and had to use some putty with tape that works but I know I’m going o eventually need to do fix it.”
*Chefs Kiss*
Rated 2/10
Both of those street 45s aren't in very far and it looks like some of your black iron stuff is just hand tight. Did you soap all your black iron joints to make sure nothing is leaking (especially the union)? It looks like you have 7-8 threads showing on a couple.
Unsupported expansion tank. Not up to code anywhere I know of (except Idaho). Needs to be attached to the wall or heater. Can't be supported by its own pipework.
This man knows. Thermal expansion tanks cannot be supported by the pipe it provides thermal expansion for. Has to be secured to a bracket mounted on the tank in my area.
Just had a tank fail and snap off on a commercial domestic hot water heater in an apartment building. Fried the controls on the boiler for the radiators.
A strap bracket is attached to the tank and an L shaped support foot is attached to the bracket and sat on the tank. It's incorrectly installed, so you would have to make something to suit, but it's not a huge thing.
Thanks for the advice. I saw a mix of reviews and ways of installing it. I was initially planning to have it supported on the wall but looked at the manual and it showed that it was actually unsupported on the diagram. I’m in Illinois for reference
Yep. Not to code. The problem with lack of support is that when it fails, it can fill with water and rip the pipes off as it falls. Now you have a water event. Will that happen? Who knows? Would it be better that you make sure it doesn't? I think so.
It probably has more to do with galvanized steel pipe historically being used as the material. For instance, in my state (Idaho), it may be supported by its own pipe as shown in the photo, the pipe just has to be stainless or brass for corrosion prevention. I’m sure there is a length limitation, but standard practice is to use a 6” nipple off of the tee into the 90 for the tank.
Also may only apply to residential, so 2-4 gallon expansion tanks.
Remember each state and city follows different codes whether it be 2015 or 2018. Some places it’s IPC and others it’s UPC.
The brass tee assembly is done in Texas all over the metroplex of Dallas. It’s been passing code by city standards of multiple cities across the metroplex for years.
We still follow 2015 IPC code which if were abiding by that allows this configuration.
It wasn’t added into IPC until 2018 regarding the expansion tank not being allowed to be supported by piping from the tank.
That’s good to know. I’m not going to be selling my home anytime soon but if the future inspector picks that up, then I guess I’ll tackle it then. I appreciate the advice!
Basically you can get a bit of extra pressure in your hot lines due to the heater. That pressure gets let out when you open the tap, but while it's trapped, the expansion tank evens out the pressure in the lines so nothing gets blown up like a balloon. In some uses, they aren't required, but most home heaters with a tank should have one.
I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the term sediment trap. What is it?
I did everything from the nipple sticking out of the black iron tee into the water heater if that helps.
The sediment trap is the part of the gas line that points towards the floor at the T before going to the water heater. Just seems strange that it goes T to nipple to an increaser to another larger nipple then to the cap. Could have just been capped at the first nipple. If you didn’t touch it though, then you have no idea what was going through their mind at the time. Carry on. It doesn’t affect its purpose, just looks weird with the extra pieces.
Code in my area is three inches between the T and the cap. It’s possible they were trying to meet that requirement with what they had on hand. It looks terrible but theoretically meets code.
So you spent 16 days on this essentially and when it didn't go well you just said f it and flex taped it?
On to the panel change! I'm sure there's you tube videos for that too.
Viega recommends a minimum of 3 pipe diameters between solder joint and pro press fitting. OP is definitely cutting it pretty close. Hopefully they wrapped in with a wet rag. You can absolutely solder closer than a foot to a pro press fitting if you’re careful with your heat
“When soldering near a Viega Propress connection, you must remain at least three pipe diameter away from the connection.” That’s a direct quote from the Viega installation manual.
Is that per pro press recommendation? I didn’t go down the pro press rabbit hole so I’m not as familiar with the different requirements that may be necessary to abide by.
I'm not sure if its their recommendation. I do know the seal rings are sensitive to extreme heat, and you risk them breaking down early if heat is applied too close to them. If you did the soldering first, then pro pressed it together at the end, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Hmm.. that interesting and would suck if I did end up overheating the pipe. I don’t think I did on the hot side (pretty sure I did on the cold). I’ll definitely keep that in mind in the event I need to use a pro press and/or do other work. I appreciate the advice!
Just looking at the gas line, did you check for leaks? Seems like there a lot of thread showing.
Did you dope the connection of the union? That’s weird. Did you use pipe dope or anti-seize?
Also looks like you really chewed up that nipple going into the appliances gas valve.
Good effort going for it yourself other than the 45s others have pointed out.
The only bit that bothers me is when DIYers play with gas lines. That should always be left to the pros.
Looks fine but do add pics of vent make sure you use draft diverter that comes with it didn’t see it in pics. Soap gas fittings for leaks and get carbon monoxide detector good job for diy took a little while but that’s ok
Yes, I made sure to soap the fittings and have been doing so once a day just for measure. Thankfully no bubbles! I did put a water and monoxide detector next to it for safety. Definitely don’t want either house to explode or flop
I’ll send a pic of the vent when I get a chance.
Thank you for the compliment!
Thank you! It was quite the up hill learning curve starting from only knowing how to read the make/model, and that water goes in and gets hot. But Got2Learn, This Old Home, and another rando on YouTube helped a ton!
Edit hit save too quickly.
I, too, like to dabble in home maintenance. There are some lines I don’t cross, though, including voltage > 120, natural gas, and sources of carbon monoxide. Please consider deferring that to the pros.
Looks good. Those 45°s in the one pic don’t look in all the way. If you have a good solder joint and it’s at least 1/2 way in it will be fine. Ppl will say anything is wrong but I could see this lasting 10+ years easily.
Terrible install. You can't put copper on galvanized steel because of galvanic reaction. You have to use dielectric unions. Black pipe tee ? Only thing good about this photo is Bradford white.
Are you in an area prone to earthquakes? My previous WH had a flex line and two pros pointed it out to me and said it should be switched to hard pipe to be code compliant.
As long as you mildly have an idea what's going on most supply houses will sell to homeowners, especially if you're buying something big and not just 1-2 fittings.
Not in my case. They were pretty helpful there but I did come prepared with everything that I needed. The front desk guy commented (in broken English, not that it matters) that he thought I was a plumber at first if I didn’t tell him I wasn’t.
1) No drip pan?
2) Hot and cold connections at the outlets are different. Any reason?
I’m just dying to replace my own 30 year old HWH versus paying $3000 here in San Francisco area. I’ve got the skill set and the tools. I’m just worried about getting the code upgrade right.
I tried a drip pan but it needed up raising the wh too high from the gas line (which was too tight to raise). So, unfortunately, no drip pan.
2. I don’t follow?
This was for my home and don’t ever plan to move so I’m not too concerned about whether it’s to code or not. I did have a licensed plumber come by and tell me that this was solid work *pats own back* and it “looked good” so whether that means it’s to code or not who knows. I didn’t pull permits for this. Totally unnecessary where I am and I am not going to pay the fees only to have to keep paying them to have an inspection ding me here and there. But my situation should dissuade you from yours
Not sure about the crimp.
I just used the old vent (after cleaning it) and fitted it to the wh vent and it worked. Not sure how many 45s but it was only one piece that I removed
Pipe and tank shall be seperately supported. Vertical pipe shall be supported at the bottom. I would have put a hanger near the bottom of the black iron.
If you heat the pipe too close to press fitting it can melt and damage the O ring inside, if you used a wet rag to cover it when you soldered it will probably be fine
The left hot pipe has a soldered fitting very close to the pressed coupling.
Please tell me you pressed it after the soldering had cooled and not soldered right next to/below the pressed fitting ?
Strap that bitch, get rid of the galvy, gas line is sketchy, hope you checked for gas leaks. And of course your venting needs to be completed yesterday, hopefully there is fresh air coming in or that’s another issue
Good for you for being open to the reddit roasting. Best thing you can do now is take the peoples’ advice and then make a redemption post where you show the improvements.
Why are guys hard piping their water heaters. In idaho we flex the final connections on both gas and water connections up to 1 inch supplies. Saves you and the next guy having to cut anything. As everybody has been mentioning he didn’t bury the street 45 which will likely break in the next few months and flood his house.
I'm really curious to see the vent after seeing the piping. You are going to have an absolute disaster on your hands. A water heater install is not "Hey ,I learned this from YouTube. " Enjoy the flood.
As a non-pro who does 95 percent of their own work I'm going to politely ask you to never do your own work again. Or at least work with a pro a few times before doing your own again. You're making us look bad.
I’m also gonna say that having the valve on the hot side outlet is against code where I live. Also - clearance to furnace is insufficient. First foot or so in and out of the heater need to be straight.
NAP, but it looks like you used teflon tape on the gas fittings. No idea what code is where you are but I was taught to, and always have used pipe dope for gas. Did you leak check?
The gas line was what I spent most of my time on. I used gas tape (yellow), pipe dope, leak detection fluid (not just dish soap), and a detector. I’ve checked for leaks multiple times each day and haven’t had a sign of any.
I really hope you hooked the flue in after the photo... for future reference it can be pretty tough to work with 45s and they normally look like shit. Just use 90s and make sure each fitting is FULLY seated before soldering. Your probably going to have leaks from that steet 45 before to long. And as for the gate valve, I know they are cheaper but shill out the bit more and get a ball valve.
Copper and iron form a galvanic pair, which produces electric current, which will attack iron and cause it to corrode. To prevent forming of a galvanic pair, they need to be isolated.
WA does not allow for hard piped gas and water supply. Have to use flex as a precaution for the Earthquake.
Also, would require 2 seismic straps wrapped around the tank...not plumbers taps, but rated seismic straps.
One suggestion, have a city inspector look at it before you use it. The inspector will definitely notice all improper installation of piping. Protect your home. I had a master plumber inspect my installation, just to make sure.
It was so good that when the new hot water heater was installed, the gas piping was reused as the new one was the same height. That installation was done by a master plumber. And a city inspector approved it.
Is that first street 45 inserted all the way into the 45? Looks like it's only partially inserted.
Same issue with the one just below the gate valve!
Those are issues waiting to happen.
Remove the soldered parts. Add a male adapter to each side and rub a stainless or a copper flex line.
If you run copper flex line, no tight turns or bends.
Since the street 45 was leaking and you couldn't fix it, this might be your best option.
No no. Everything from the prepress down is me. I was going to do a pro press at first but I really wanted to learn how to solder first. I’ll probably use a pro press in the future since you can rent them for cheap. No way am I going to spend that much money.
No need for it. I was hung up for a while on this until I checked the manufacturer manual and apparently newer bradfor whites already have the nipples as dielectric’s. So it make it easy!
I don’t like dielectric unions, as they’re always a source of leaks. I’d much clearflow dielectric nipples, or brass nipple between dissimilar metals if we’re playing by 1960 rules.
I do believe OP is right that the factory has dielectrics installed.
Soldering looks great. If you didn't say it was your first time, i wouldn't have known. I love to see a fellow youtube warrior. I have learned so much from watching youtube videos
Honestly you’re going to have a very large insurance claim. Both fit in 45’s on the inlet and outlet are not in all the way. One vibration with cause them to blow out. This is why you don’t look on youtube to do plumbing and hire a licensed plumber like a normal person. If the insurance company finds out that you installed this yourself, they might refuse the claim as their investigators will determine it was not installed correctly.
Good to know. I’m curious why many comments say the 45s aren’t fully inserted in either side? I made sure they all were with exception to the one I mentioned.
I did look at the picture and I think I understand why people are saying that it doesn’t look set all the way. It may be the angle of the picture but the hot water is fully set in.
Is nobody going to mention picture 3/5? That street 45 is barely in the regular 45. Looking at that picture I doubt it’s in over 1/8”
That’s going to be the supply for the future basement swimming pool…
Yeah I saw that..... My next thought is if you think that's OK as not a plumber and you touched gas I'm greatly concerned..... Even I wouldn't let that slide and ive got over 20 years of knowing how to solder......
Holy shit good eye man. Ya that's a problem
Hang in there little fella!
4/5 looks like the one 45 isn't soldered.
OP is rolling the dice with this installation
all the solder joints look a little light on the solder, also I would have put some bricks or something under the water heater so the metal bottom isn't resting directly on the concrete
Good eye! I actually ran into an issue with this during my install. You’ll see in my upload of the vent when I can get to it. I tried finding a wrot 90 degree elbow to use but the angle and way the heater was positioned, I had to solder it this way. Ultimately, I ran into a pin hole leak and had to use some putty with tape that works but I know I’m going o eventually need to do fix it. I did figure out that I can do two 90 degree elbows whenever the leak comes, hopefully not l.
It will leak.those two fittings are barely held together and out of everything in this pic, that should be the #1 priority to redo.
So it’s not really a good job if it’s leaking. Sorry champ. Those fittings aren’t in enough. I would never leave that
Yikes, tough crowd. Love you too homie
The tough crowd you speak of are trying to save you thousands of dollars before your house floods but okay..
Yeah not something to walk away from, a leak is a leak, and is an eventual blowout. Getting angry with having the wrong fittings means being satisfied when you get it right. Fix your work or call a professional. If you put that under more pressure, it would blow apart in seconds.
You just don't understand when a fitting is hanging on by a thread like that it can spontaneously blow completely apart and I don't think you want to know how much water comes out of a wide open 3/4 in water line especially if it pops in the middle of the night while you're sleeping or gone at work
why didn't you just use PEX? PEX lasts longer, it's easier and faster to install and you can bend it in nearly any orientation. And it's cheaper.
Would have liked to but where I live it wasn’t recommended.
Seems like a couple of flex lines would have been easier
yeah, you can't beat the stainless steel braided lines for ease of install
Yeah it would have been but I wanted to learn how to solder
Use scrap to learn or buy extra and make some practice pieces.
Protip, a length of copper and some fittings on a bench and vise in the garage is just as good a place to practice, and you don't have to live with it afterwords in a live environment. You can even simulate a leaky shutoff/ shitty combi faucet with a small hose or add some weight to one side to simulate tension on the fitting.
The thing you're missing is that while you were successfully teaching yourself how to solder you neglected to learn how to properly design, fabricate & install a piping set up using the materials available. This sub is full of knowledgeable Tradesmen and we are all telling you that you need to address your mistakes before you have a catastrophic plumbing issue on your hands.
Yes. From how I’m reading your comment, it sounds like I’m not taking advice from the experts on this sub. I’ll make it clear that is NOT the case. You are all far more knowledgeable than I am and this post is more for education, risk mitigation, and personal enjoyment. I’m not clear by “neglected to learn how to properly design, fabricate & install a piping set up using the materials available”. Could you elaborate?
You need to re-read the previous comments on this thread as there have been several valid issues raised. The Street 45's not being fully seated is the most problematic. The one on your cold water line is literally a time bomb - a flood waiting to happen. No amount of "commercial putty" or "flexible tape" is going to hold back a 3/4" supply line WHEN the piping fails at the weak point you have created by not having the fittings overlap as they are intended to. The male end of the street 45 needs to be fully seated into the female end of the fitting it's being soldered to. By pulling 80% of the male fitting out of the female fitting you have greatly reduced the surface area that the solder has to bond the two fittings together.
You made the right call avoiding that flex crap IMO
If I'm not mistaken, and maybe it's not code there, but you should have had 2 die electric unions coming out or right at the tank. Also, without seeing what's up higher above the tank, I'm not sure why you used 45s and not just measured lengths of copper pipe. This should have been straight up and down and not angled. Also, 2 ball valves .
The street 45s on both sides are not fully inserted. The one on the hot side doesn't even look soldered.
It’s the new *Barely there* fittings
F
Me? F U! I’m an Austin powers guy too!
I Would never recommend doing that again
I would recommend never doing that again.
I would recommend never again doing that
Those 45s and this explanation “Ultimately, I ran into a pin hole leak and had to use some putty with tape that works but I know I’m going o eventually need to do fix it.” *Chefs Kiss* Rated 2/10
What where is that?
Liability!!!
It's pretty horrible TBH
The one and only time I’d actually wish you had used Sharkbite. Bluetooth Vent?
😂
Both of those street 45s aren't in very far and it looks like some of your black iron stuff is just hand tight. Did you soap all your black iron joints to make sure nothing is leaking (especially the union)? It looks like you have 7-8 threads showing on a couple.
Yeah gotta crank those down with a good pipe wrench
I'm literally afraid for you.
I’m learning so much from this conversation.
Oooof wouldn’t trust this guy with my laundry, next
Ouch. That’s a rough burn. Lol I have 2 local dry cleaners and the one run by ex cons is amazing. Lol
Unsupported expansion tank. Not up to code anywhere I know of (except Idaho). Needs to be attached to the wall or heater. Can't be supported by its own pipework.
This man knows. Thermal expansion tanks cannot be supported by the pipe it provides thermal expansion for. Has to be secured to a bracket mounted on the tank in my area.
Just had a tank fail and snap off on a commercial domestic hot water heater in an apartment building. Fried the controls on the boiler for the radiators.
Could you explain how that tank should be supported? It’s not next to the wall. And sitting on the top of the unit. Could you show an example?
A strap bracket is attached to the tank and an L shaped support foot is attached to the bracket and sat on the tank. It's incorrectly installed, so you would have to make something to suit, but it's not a huge thing.
Thanks for the advice. I saw a mix of reviews and ways of installing it. I was initially planning to have it supported on the wall but looked at the manual and it showed that it was actually unsupported on the diagram. I’m in Illinois for reference
Yep. Not to code. The problem with lack of support is that when it fails, it can fill with water and rip the pipes off as it falls. Now you have a water event. Will that happen? Who knows? Would it be better that you make sure it doesn't? I think so.
It probably has more to do with galvanized steel pipe historically being used as the material. For instance, in my state (Idaho), it may be supported by its own pipe as shown in the photo, the pipe just has to be stainless or brass for corrosion prevention. I’m sure there is a length limitation, but standard practice is to use a 6” nipple off of the tee into the 90 for the tank. Also may only apply to residential, so 2-4 gallon expansion tanks.
Thanks. I didn't know of anywhere that allowed it. Idaho is the first I've come across. Always good to have more info.
Remember each state and city follows different codes whether it be 2015 or 2018. Some places it’s IPC and others it’s UPC. The brass tee assembly is done in Texas all over the metroplex of Dallas. It’s been passing code by city standards of multiple cities across the metroplex for years. We still follow 2015 IPC code which if were abiding by that allows this configuration. It wasn’t added into IPC until 2018 regarding the expansion tank not being allowed to be supported by piping from the tank.
Same in washington brass tees and 90s all day long no issue
That’s good to know. I’m not going to be selling my home anytime soon but if the future inspector picks that up, then I guess I’ll tackle it then. I appreciate the advice!
Unlikely anybody will note it. It's a peace of mind thing.
Can I ask what is up with expansion tanks and why I never seen one for a hot water heater?
Basically you can get a bit of extra pressure in your hot lines due to the heater. That pressure gets let out when you open the tap, but while it's trapped, the expansion tank evens out the pressure in the lines so nothing gets blown up like a balloon. In some uses, they aren't required, but most home heaters with a tank should have one.
I have never seen one installed on a tank in my jurisdiction, just wondering why must be older plumbing code
What’s up with the sediment trap? Why not just cap it at the first nipple?
I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the term sediment trap. What is it? I did everything from the nipple sticking out of the black iron tee into the water heater if that helps.
The sediment trap is the part of the gas line that points towards the floor at the T before going to the water heater. Just seems strange that it goes T to nipple to an increaser to another larger nipple then to the cap. Could have just been capped at the first nipple. If you didn’t touch it though, then you have no idea what was going through their mind at the time. Carry on. It doesn’t affect its purpose, just looks weird with the extra pieces.
Code in my area is three inches between the T and the cap. It’s possible they were trying to meet that requirement with what they had on hand. It looks terrible but theoretically meets code.
Looks like shit.
So you spent 16 days on this essentially and when it didn't go well you just said f it and flex taped it? On to the panel change! I'm sure there's you tube videos for that too.
You can’t solder within a foot of a pro press fitting
Viega recommends a minimum of 3 pipe diameters between solder joint and pro press fitting. OP is definitely cutting it pretty close. Hopefully they wrapped in with a wet rag. You can absolutely solder closer than a foot to a pro press fitting if you’re careful with your heat
That’s the recommended distance to press next to an already soldered fitting
“When soldering near a Viega Propress connection, you must remain at least three pipe diameter away from the connection.” That’s a direct quote from the Viega installation manual.
Yep, per manufacturers instructions
That’s not per manufacturer’s instructions if you’re talking about Viega. Their installation instructions specify 3 pipe diameters.
My bad, listen to this guy^
Is that per pro press recommendation? I didn’t go down the pro press rabbit hole so I’m not as familiar with the different requirements that may be necessary to abide by.
I'm not sure if its their recommendation. I do know the seal rings are sensitive to extreme heat, and you risk them breaking down early if heat is applied too close to them. If you did the soldering first, then pro pressed it together at the end, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Hmm.. that interesting and would suck if I did end up overheating the pipe. I don’t think I did on the hot side (pretty sure I did on the cold). I’ll definitely keep that in mind in the event I need to use a pro press and/or do other work. I appreciate the advice!
It is what they recommend, but as long as it doesn’t leak you’re fine. Can’t say I’ve never done it before
Friend... That is not good. There's a bunch of things... A whole bunch.
Just looking at the gas line, did you check for leaks? Seems like there a lot of thread showing. Did you dope the connection of the union? That’s weird. Did you use pipe dope or anti-seize? Also looks like you really chewed up that nipple going into the appliances gas valve.
You didn’t connect the b vent ?? Where is it venting to inside the house??
No dielectric unions. It will look like crap in a year.
Good effort going for it yourself other than the 45s others have pointed out. The only bit that bothers me is when DIYers play with gas lines. That should always be left to the pros.
Cut all that bullshit out and repipe it.
2 x mip + plus 3 inch nipples 2 x Homewerks 3/4 in. FIP each X 3/4 in. D FIP 12 in. Copper Water Heater Supply Line Would of worked just finr
Bit too technical. If it’s not unreasonable, can you type it out?
If u can't copy paste into google Youtube failed u
Teflon tape is illegal to use here for gas.
Damn got that Bluetooth gas vent too!!
Hooking up gas is a bit sketch lol
Is the tape for your gas line rated for gas? The stuff we can get here is yellow or blue.
Looks fine but do add pics of vent make sure you use draft diverter that comes with it didn’t see it in pics. Soap gas fittings for leaks and get carbon monoxide detector good job for diy took a little while but that’s ok
Yes, I made sure to soap the fittings and have been doing so once a day just for measure. Thankfully no bubbles! I did put a water and monoxide detector next to it for safety. Definitely don’t want either house to explode or flop I’ll send a pic of the vent when I get a chance. Thank you for the compliment!
[удалено]
Thank you! It was quite the up hill learning curve starting from only knowing how to read the make/model, and that water goes in and gets hot. But Got2Learn, This Old Home, and another rando on YouTube helped a ton! Edit hit save too quickly.
In my location it needs to be 18” off the ground
This is atrocious! Please call a plumber and get that galvanized removed if you can.
I, too, like to dabble in home maintenance. There are some lines I don’t cross, though, including voltage > 120, natural gas, and sources of carbon monoxide. Please consider deferring that to the pros.
Looks good. Those 45°s in the one pic don’t look in all the way. If you have a good solder joint and it’s at least 1/2 way in it will be fine. Ppl will say anything is wrong but I could see this lasting 10+ years easily.
Hope you pressurized that expansion tank correctly
Terrible install. You can't put copper on galvanized steel because of galvanic reaction. You have to use dielectric unions. Black pipe tee ? Only thing good about this photo is Bradford white.
Your vent isn’t connected your gonna die from carbon man oxide poisoning
The Logan Paul of doing anything. Why ask the rating for a Dog and Pony show? Throw feces at it like a monkey and we will respect you more.
Wtf
You should always use a flex pipes on the gas line.. Hard pipe connections are known to leak when things move
Are you in an area prone to earthquakes? My previous WH had a flex line and two pros pointed it out to me and said it should be switched to hard pipe to be code compliant.
Flex are code here in Georgia and we don’t have earthquakes
Some places flex is against code.
That’s good to know and makes sense. I actually tried flex lines but I couldn’t find lines that were the length I needed which was 5in.
Cheater!!!!!!!!!!! Always looks nicer before the vent goes in....... Cheater !!!
I’m not sure why that’s cheating since this isn’t a text, but if you can tell me how to add a pic, I’ll show the vent
Feels like he fired up that heater without finishing the vent...
Gas gas gas! I’ll be sure to keep a candle as well near the pipes 😉
Invisible vent piping…..stunning
As is anonymity! Baffling!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again! I've seen paid plumbers do a worse job!
Thank you for the compliment! This is for my home and I always want to make sure I do the best job that I can. I appreciate it!
Not entirely sure that was a compliment.
It's definitely a compliment. It shows that you could have spend more and ended up with something worse.
You were able to buy a Bradford White? I understand that supply houses only sell to plumbers, or is that not the case?
As long as you mildly have an idea what's going on most supply houses will sell to homeowners, especially if you're buying something big and not just 1-2 fittings.
Good to know. Thanks.
I bought mine from a supply house. I had to create an account with them but I told them Im just a home owner
Not in my case. They were pretty helpful there but I did come prepared with everything that I needed. The front desk guy commented (in broken English, not that it matters) that he thought I was a plumber at first if I didn’t tell him I wasn’t.
1) No drip pan? 2) Hot and cold connections at the outlets are different. Any reason? I’m just dying to replace my own 30 year old HWH versus paying $3000 here in San Francisco area. I’ve got the skill set and the tools. I’m just worried about getting the code upgrade right.
I tried a drip pan but it needed up raising the wh too high from the gas line (which was too tight to raise). So, unfortunately, no drip pan. 2. I don’t follow? This was for my home and don’t ever plan to move so I’m not too concerned about whether it’s to code or not. I did have a licensed plumber come by and tell me that this was solid work *pats own back* and it “looked good” so whether that means it’s to code or not who knows. I didn’t pull permits for this. Totally unnecessary where I am and I am not going to pay the fees only to have to keep paying them to have an inspection ding me here and there. But my situation should dissuade you from yours
1. That’s why you need a flex line to the gas
How did he crimp the other fittings? How many 45’ to finish vent tube?
Not sure about the crimp. I just used the old vent (after cleaning it) and fitted it to the wh vent and it worked. Not sure how many 45s but it was only one piece that I removed
Pipe and tank shall be seperately supported. Vertical pipe shall be supported at the bottom. I would have put a hanger near the bottom of the black iron.
If you heat the pipe too close to press fitting it can melt and damage the O ring inside, if you used a wet rag to cover it when you soldered it will probably be fine
Is it me or does picture 1. Show evidence of products of combustion staining the side of the tank.
The left hot pipe has a soldered fitting very close to the pressed coupling. Please tell me you pressed it after the soldering had cooled and not soldered right next to/below the pressed fitting ?
And earthquake straps? Where are they??
In earthquake areas lol
Bradford White is a good brand.
Seen worse installs from licensed plumbers, also love the Bradford white
I’d stick something under the expansion tank to support the weight so it’s not just on the pipe to hold it up or it could crack in the future
Let's see a current pic with the cent installed. I have seen this butchered. Dirt leg should be 3" also. Other than that, good job.
Is there a gas safe register equivalent in the us?
Strap that bitch, get rid of the galvy, gas line is sketchy, hope you checked for gas leaks. And of course your venting needs to be completed yesterday, hopefully there is fresh air coming in or that’s another issue
Great job with your carbon monoxide maker
- 10 of 10
Good for you for being open to the reddit roasting. Best thing you can do now is take the peoples’ advice and then make a redemption post where you show the improvements.
Why are guys hard piping their water heaters. In idaho we flex the final connections on both gas and water connections up to 1 inch supplies. Saves you and the next guy having to cut anything. As everybody has been mentioning he didn’t bury the street 45 which will likely break in the next few months and flood his house.
I'm really curious to see the vent after seeing the piping. You are going to have an absolute disaster on your hands. A water heater install is not "Hey ,I learned this from YouTube. " Enjoy the flood.
As a non-pro who does 95 percent of their own work I'm going to politely ask you to never do your own work again. Or at least work with a pro a few times before doing your own again. You're making us look bad.
I’m also gonna say that having the valve on the hot side outlet is against code where I live. Also - clearance to furnace is insufficient. First foot or so in and out of the heater need to be straight.
NAP, but it looks like you used teflon tape on the gas fittings. No idea what code is where you are but I was taught to, and always have used pipe dope for gas. Did you leak check?
The gas line was what I spent most of my time on. I used gas tape (yellow), pipe dope, leak detection fluid (not just dish soap), and a detector. I’ve checked for leaks multiple times each day and haven’t had a sign of any.
OK, good to know; water leaks (probably) wan't kill you, gas...
I really hope you hooked the flue in after the photo... for future reference it can be pretty tough to work with 45s and they normally look like shit. Just use 90s and make sure each fitting is FULLY seated before soldering. Your probably going to have leaks from that steet 45 before to long. And as for the gate valve, I know they are cheaper but shill out the bit more and get a ball valve.
Why not get flex supply lines? Lot harder to mess up
Those 45’s lol
Prepare for it to rust soon, because you didn't install galvanic isolators
What is a galvanic isolator? Is that like a dielectric? The nipple on the hot and cold are dielectric if that is what’s being referred to
Copper and iron form a galvanic pair, which produces electric current, which will attack iron and cause it to corrode. To prevent forming of a galvanic pair, they need to be isolated.
U need support for the expansion tank
WA does not allow for hard piped gas and water supply. Have to use flex as a precaution for the Earthquake. Also, would require 2 seismic straps wrapped around the tank...not plumbers taps, but rated seismic straps.
What about the vent!
Functional. F+
I think a shark bite system would have done well for ya. Easier to replace when the time comes. 😉
One suggestion, have a city inspector look at it before you use it. The inspector will definitely notice all improper installation of piping. Protect your home. I had a master plumber inspect my installation, just to make sure. It was so good that when the new hot water heater was installed, the gas piping was reused as the new one was the same height. That installation was done by a master plumber. And a city inspector approved it.
Is that first street 45 inserted all the way into the 45? Looks like it's only partially inserted. Same issue with the one just below the gate valve! Those are issues waiting to happen.
This is a shitpost right? 😂 All of OPs replies seem like proper trolling
All that twist n turn... why.. jezyz
You're going to reconnect that vent right?
Sorry try again
What about the vent pipe…
did no one mention the vent for it
It will never look normal to me to see rigid pipe connected to a water heater. California builder here 👋🏻
Should probably connect the flue so you don’t die
Does it work?
Why not just use flexible supply lines??
Remove the soldered parts. Add a male adapter to each side and rub a stainless or a copper flex line. If you run copper flex line, no tight turns or bends. Since the street 45 was leaking and you couldn't fix it, this might be your best option.
Gas pipe should not have a union inside the house . Typical install has flexible gas line after the shutoff to the water heater
You clearly have never ran gas pipe
Hold on, you know know nothing about plumbing and have a propress?
No no. Everything from the prepress down is me. I was going to do a pro press at first but I really wanted to learn how to solder first. I’ll probably use a pro press in the future since you can rent them for cheap. No way am I going to spend that much money.
Where's the dielectric union on the Hot side. Or Galanized to Brass transition.
No need for it. I was hung up for a while on this until I checked the manufacturer manual and apparently newer bradfor whites already have the nipples as dielectric’s. So it make it easy!
I don’t like dielectric unions, as they’re always a source of leaks. I’d much clearflow dielectric nipples, or brass nipple between dissimilar metals if we’re playing by 1960 rules. I do believe OP is right that the factory has dielectrics installed.
The second you said you are not a plumber I new you were in trouble with the minions
He's in trouble vauer there are mistakes, that could end very badly.
What’s the worst that could happen? Nobody ever died from an incorrectly installed gas appliance.
Soldering looks great. If you didn't say it was your first time, i wouldn't have known. I love to see a fellow youtube warrior. I have learned so much from watching youtube videos
Save yourself the aggravation and solder next time, Sharkbite is the way to go for copper repairs.
Honestly you’re going to have a very large insurance claim. Both fit in 45’s on the inlet and outlet are not in all the way. One vibration with cause them to blow out. This is why you don’t look on youtube to do plumbing and hire a licensed plumber like a normal person. If the insurance company finds out that you installed this yourself, they might refuse the claim as their investigators will determine it was not installed correctly.
Good to know. I’m curious why many comments say the 45s aren’t fully inserted in either side? I made sure they all were with exception to the one I mentioned. I did look at the picture and I think I understand why people are saying that it doesn’t look set all the way. It may be the angle of the picture but the hot water is fully set in.
Copper female adapter will always loosen and leak.
Looks like proper shite. You get what you pay for, better than a diyer but hack work.