DIY Water Heater Installation

When your water heater begins to leak, you have to install a new one fast.

Time

A full 24-hour interval

Complexity

Intermediate

Toll

$101–250

Introduction

When your water heater begins to leak, yous have to replace it fast. Nosotros'll prove you how to install your ain gas h2o heater in less than a mean solar day. Even if y'all don't demand a new water heater right at present, chances are you will inside the side by side few years. Water heaters tend to concluding seven to fifteen years. If yours is getting old, this article is also for you lot. Replacing a h2o heater isn't difficult if yous're handy with bones tools and have a bit of experience soldering copper.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Discharge pipe
  • Fittings
  • Pipe thread chemical compound
  • Force per unit area relief valve
  • Solder
  • Venting piping and connectors
  • Water and gas piping

Getting Started Installing Your New Hot H2o Tank

We're replacing a natural gas water heater in our demonstration. The steps for replacing a propane water heater are exactly the aforementioned, and those for an electric h2o heater are similar.

In any case, when you're planning a water heater replacement, play it safety. Call your local department of inspections and enquire if you demand a permit. And make sure a plumbing or electrical inspector checks your work.

Installation Costs and Labor

Plumbers typically charge $45 to $65 an hr and can usually install a water heater in a day or in six-8 hours.

Nigh residential water heaters toll $150 to $400 for either gas or electric, plus $200 to $450 if you have a plumber install it. More expensive gas water heaters with special venting systems besides are available. Only they're more difficult to install, and we won't deal with them here.

H2o Heater Parts and Breakdown

  • Flue pipage
  • Cold h2o shutoff valve
  • Draft diverter
  • Temperature and pressure relief valve
  • Overflow pipe
  • Hot water outlet
  • Anticorrosion Anode Rod
  • Dip tube
  • Elements
  • Insulation
  • Drain valve
  • Thermostat or command valve
  • Burner
  • Thermocouple
  • Gas supply valve

When to get a new water heater

Your water heater is dead when the tank leaks. The telltale sign that your h2o heater needs replacing is a slow baste underneath, normally showing up as a trail of rusty water. This ways that the steel tank has rusted through and tin can't exist fixed. Other symptoms, such as insufficient or no hot water, usually signal other water heater repair problems that yous can fix.

If you spot a drip, plan to replace the water heater right abroad. Don't look until the leak gets bad.

New water heaters come with installation instructions and lots of warnings to make sure you handle the gas, electrical and other connections safely. In this article, we'll supplement those basics with techniques and "existent world" advice from several professional plumbers.

But take listen: Y'all'll be working with natural gas, propane or electricity, all of which are hazardous. If you don't feel confident, call in a pro to take care of the tough parts. And have your work inspected when information technology'southward done.

Plumbing codes vary by region. Describe your planned installation to your local plumbing inspector, including the types of materials you intend to utilise for your new connections. Better to get guidance first then y'all don't have to change things subsequently!

Effigy A: Gas H2o Heater Details

Water Family Handyman

To print out this image, see the Additional Info at the end of this article.

Figure B: Connections for Steel and Plastic Pipe

Family Handyman

Many homes have galvanized steel or plastic (CPVC) h2o supply pipes. Galvanized steel pipes are difficult to supplant. We recommend that you lot remove the pipes back to the nearest tee, screw on a plastic-lined galvanized nipple and complete the connections with copper as shown in our photograph series.

Considering of potential oestrus buildup, keep plastic piping at least half-dozen in. abroad from the vent and tank. Make a transition from plastic to copper with a special coupling that's available wherever CPVC is sold.

Flexible copper connectors are easier to install than solid copper, especially when the existing pipes and the tank inlets don't line up. Merely not all local codes allow them. If yours does, have special care not to compression or kink them. You could get a leak.

Project pace-past-step (12)

Step 1

Close off the gas and h2o

gas

Plow off the gas to the h2o heater by turning the nearby shutoff valve a quarter turn. When off, the handle should be at a correct bending to the pipe. Shut off the main h2o supply too and bleed the lines by opening a faucet on the lowest flooring.

Step 2

Drain the water in the tank

hose

Attach a garden hose to the drain valve and drain the water left in the tank. Caution: The h2o volition be scalding hot! Disconnect the gas line at the nearby marriage with a pair of wrenches and unscrew the pipe from the gas control valve with a pipe wrench.

Footstep iii

Cut off the water lines

Unscrew

Unscrew the vent pipe from the vent hood and move it to the side. Then cutting the hot and cold water lines with a tube cutter. (Unscrew unions for galvanized pipe or the nuts on flexible connectors if you have them.) Slide the old water heater out of the way.

Step 4

Attach the relief valve

Wrap

Wrap the threads of the new temperature and pressure relief valve with Teflon tape (iii turns). Spiral it tightly into the tank with a piping wrench. Adhere a copper belch pipage (run across Fig. A for routing details).

Step 5

Attach pipe assemblies

Solder

Solder new copper adapters to 6-in. lengths of iii/four-in. copper and spiral the assemblies into the hot water outlet and common cold water inlet ports in the elevation of the tank. Add short, plastic lined nipples to shield against galvanic corrosion, peculiarly if you have difficult water or if they're required by local codes.

Step 6

Attach the h2o lines

Slide

Slide the new water heater into place, recut or extend the quondam tubing to meet the new, and solder the tubing together using copper slip couplings. If the tubing doesn't line up, offset the lines every bit needed with pairs of 45-degree elbows.

Stride 7

Reattach the vent

Reconnect

Reconnect the vent. Shove information technology tightly over the draft hood and anchor it with 3 3/8-in. No. 6 sheet metallic screws. Predrill the holes. The vent should rise at to the lowest degree 12 in. vertically before turning at the starting time elbow.

Step 8

Utilise two wrenches to attach the gas line

pipe

Reconnect the gas line. Glaze the threaded ends with pipe joint compound and screw the offset nipple into the gas valve. Utilize two piping wrenches to avert stressing the valve. Reassemble the remaining nipples, finishing up with the matrimony (Photo 2). Then follow these four steps to make full the tank: (1) Close the drain valve; (2) plow the h2o back on at the main shutoff and open the common cold h2o valve to the water heater (leave it open); (3) turn on a nearby hot water faucet until water comes out; and (four) inspect all the joints and fittings for h2o leaks.

Step 9

Check for backdrafting

Most h2o heaters rely on a natural draft to draw combustion fumes up the flue. If the draft doesn't work, those fumes, maybe containing deadly carbon monoxide, volition spill out into your home. Later on completing your installation, check the typhoon.

Close all exterior doors and windows and turn on your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. Then open up a nearby hot water faucet until you hear the gas burner in the water heater ignite. Subsequently a infinitesimal, move a smoking lucifer around the edge of the draft hood (Photo vii) on meridian of the heater. The smoke should exist drawn up the vent pipe. If the smoke doesn't describe, the fumes from the burner aren't venting. Turn off the gas to the water heater and call a licensed plumber to correct the problem.

Step 10

Cheque for leaks

Await for bubbles at connections

bubbles

Turn on the gas and cheque connections for leaks by brushing a 50-fifty mixture of dishwashing liquid and water over the joints. If the mixture bubbles, you have a leak. Tighten or reconnect joints that leak. Wipe the joints dry when finished. Call the plumbing inspector to check over your work. Follow the how-to communication that accompanies the photos to make certain the connections are tight.

Step 11

Calorie-free the pilot light

Employ a lighter to light the pilot calorie-free

lighter

Light the pilot light according to the manufacturer'south directions. (For electric water heaters, plough the power on at the primary panel after the electrical inspector checks your work.) Finally, set up the temperature to 120 degrees F., following the installation instructions. Lite the pilot light in the new h2o heater and adjust the temperature setting.

Installation Details for Electric Water Heaters

First turn off the power to the h2o heater at your primary electric panel. And then follow the same draining procedures as for a gas water heater.

When the water heater is tuckered, disconnect the electrical wires from the screw terminals nether the access console, which is ordinarily located near the height. (If yous don't accept electric experience, hire an electrician to handle all the electrical wiring.)

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for wiring the new h2o heater. If the new water heater is shorter and the old wires won't accomplish, surface-mount a 4-in. x four-in. x 1-one/ii in. metal electric box on the wall or ceiling nearby, run the former wires to the box, and then run a new section of armored cable or electrical conduit to the h2o heater. Bank check the instructions and make certain the rating of the erstwhile fuse or circuit breaker is high enough to handle the new water heater. In add-on, the circuit should accept a shutoff switch within sight of the h2o heater.

Call your local electrical inspector earlier you begin the job. You'll probably demand a permit. Then, when you're finished, accept the electrical inspector check your work.

Aluminum wiring requires special treatment. If you have aluminum wiring, call in a licensed pro who's certified to work with it. This wiring is dull greyness, not the tiresome orange that's characteristic of copper.

Step 12

How to Dispose of a H2o Heater

Jeff Gorton, an editor at The Family Handyman, will show yous how to remove and dispose of a h2o heater in our video tutorial. He will also show yous the easy way to carry a water heater out of your home, even if you are working alone.

These tips will make your work go faster and easier:

  • Measure the summit of your old water heater and purchase a new ane the aforementioned acme so y'all don't accept to change the length of the water, gas or electrical lines.
  • The drain valve (Photo ii) on former water heaters oft clogs upwardly. If the water drains slowly, be patient. Caution: It's scalding hot! TIP: Turn your water heater off two hours in accelerate to allow the water to cool.
  • Water heaters weigh about 150 lbs. You'll need a strong helper or a dolly when you lot move the old one out and wheel the new one in. Garbage services typically accuse well-nigh $25 to accept the old ane.
  • Earlier you start, buy the tools and materials shown hither at a plumbing supply or hardware store or a home heart. Check the sizes of the water supply pipes (most will exist iii/4 in. similar the ones in our photos) and buy the right-size fittings. With everything on hand, you lot'll need 4 to 6 hours to complete the job (assuming no big hitches!).
  • The temperature and pressure relief valve is a safety device that limits tank pressure and keeps it from exploding (Photo 4). A new one must be included with every installation. For the valve to piece of work properly, the belch pipe must be kept gratuitous of obstructions (Fig. A).
  • In regions with highly mineralized water, or where required by local codes, utilize 3/4-in. plastic-lined nipples (about $ii each; Photo v and Fig. A) for joining dissimilar metals, usually copper tubing to the steel tank. This slows corrosion.
  • When connecting the h2o lines, solder the copper fittings before you screw them to the tank so you lot don't heat the tank itself while soldering (Photo 5).
  • Apply "skid" couplings to connect the old and new lines (Photo vi). Unlike regular couplings, they don't take an internal stop. You lot tin can slide them on, marshal the copper tubing, so slide them dorsum and center them over the joint.
  • The new inlets and outlets on the tank don't always line up with the quondam supply lines. Solder in a pair of 45-degree fittings to offset each line if necessary. Also replace the old shutoff valve with a new ball valve while you lot're at it (Photo 6). Vent diameters are sized according to the heat output of the h2o heater. You might have to increase or decrease the vent size to ensure the best draft. Circumspection: If y'all're unsure if your chimney has a liner, ask your plumbing inspector.
  • Make gas connections with solid steel pipe (Photo 8) or soft copper with flare fittings (Fig. A). Both are more reliable and less expensive than flexible stainless steel connectors, which are non always permitted. Use rigid copper rather than flexible copper water supply lines for the same reasons.
  • If you locate your water heater replacement where leakage could cause damage to the floor or other parts of the house, set a pan of an approved size nether it (metal for gas water heaters). The pan must have a bleed tube that leads to a house bleed or other approved location (outdoors where permitted). The temperature and pressure level relief valve discharge tube also must lead to a drain if leakage would harm the floors. If routing is difficult, talk over options with your local plumbing inspector.
  • If you live in an convulsion-prone region, strap the water heater to the wall with special straps (Fig. A; bachelor at plumbing stores and home centers). Your plumbing inspector will tell you lot if they're required.
  • Ready the new water temperature setting to no more than 120 degrees F. to avoid scalding.

Additional Information

  • Effigy A: Gas water heater details

Farther Reading

H2o Heater Maintenance: Extend Your Hot Water Heater Lifespan

Fix Water Heater Leaking

H2o Heater Installation

Water Heater Repair: How to Supercede the TPR Valve

DIY Solar H2o Heater

How to Repair or Supplant Lacking Water Heater Dip Tubes

How to Flush a H2o Heater

Choosing a New Water Heater

7 Tankless Water Heater Myths You lot Demand to Stop Assertive

The Pros and Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

Originally Published: Nov 28, 2022