Water, Water, Everywhere It Shouldn't Be...

About the only thing that comes close to the disconcerting smell of fire upon waking up has to be the disconcerting waking up to the sound of running water...where there should not be the sound of running water.

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.