The ol' boy just couldn't hold it together any longer
When I walked down the stairs this morning I heard the sound of running water - not running as if from a faucet however, but running as in flowing across a surface.
The former location of the ol' boy
To my annoyance, the laundry room and the garage were underwater - not a lot of water, mind you, but underwater nonetheless. At first I thought it might be from all the rain we have been getting here in Lakewood (I haven't had to water the grass since mid-April), but that wasn't the case.
It was the water heater.
Same day installation in this case meant do it yourself - so I did.
The water heater came with the house when I bought it 15 years ago(!), and had been installed by the previous owners in August of 1991. Twenty-four years is a helluva life for a water heater, much longer than should be expected.
I spent the day taking the old water heater out and installing a new one - whoo hoo! Do not tell me I do not know how to party!
Be sure to deburr and then rough up the ends of the copper pipes
Fortunately, I have adequate Plumber skills. After removing the old water heater, I cut the copper pipes (in and out) so I could replace the old school straight pipe with flexible copper conduit, which allows for the forming of a water hammer arrestor just by bending a nice hump into the FCC.
Be sure to solder properly - heat the pipe, not the solder
Once I had all the proper fittings in place, I hooked up the new water heater and after testing all the connections (my soldering skills are first rate, & I lathered liquid soap on the gas line connections - didn't get any bubbles, good to go), I turned the water back on and filled the new puppy up.
The new ol' boy - hopefully for the next decade at least
I had thought about going with a tankless heat surger dealio, but after a bit of research on the Internet, decided against it.
Admittedly, the fact I could get a new standard water heater today, as opposed to having to wait at least five days for the tankless, had a lot to do with the decision...oh and the price difference - they want real money for a tankless.
And I want a hot shower tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment