So, for one reason or another, your water heater went out. You know that you can buy a water heater for cheap, but then you call around and get some water heater installation quotes, and decide that it may be better to go ahead and try to install the water heater by yourself. This can save you a lot of money instead of hiring a plumber. On the other hand, it can cost you a lot of money if you do not install it correctly, especially if your water heater is located up in an attic, or if you are in a condo that is above the first floor. Either way, you must know what you are doing when attempting water heater installation or you could flood your entire home and ruin everything.
Replacing a Water Heater
There’s more than one type of water heater. There are gas powered, solar powered, electric, tank and tankless water heaters. This article is going to cover the installation of electric tank water heaters only. Future articles may be written on the other types that are out there.
You are going to need the required tools for replacing your water heater. You are also going to need the required parts too. Some of the tools you are going to need are some channel locks or heavy duty crescent wrench, volt meter, screw driver, and possibly a hand truck to remove the old water heater. Some of the parts you are going to need for water heater installation are new hoses, diaelectric nipples (or regular nipples), Teflon tape, water heater drain pan, compression fittings (depending on copper pipe size) – shark bite fittings (not recommended) – or couplings along with solder and a torch, pvc or cpvc to connect emergency water drain.
Turn Off the Power
Verify that the power is off to the water heater with your volt meter. There should be a metal plate on top of the tank water heater secured by a screw or two – if you don’t know how to use a volt meter to verify the power is off, you should not be installing a water heater, you need to call someone that knows what they are doing.
Drain the Water Heater
The way that I always drain them is by using a garden hose, which should connect to the spicket valve at the bottom of the water heater. As long as the garden hose is going down hill from the water heater….it should drain completely with no problems. Depending on how many gallons the tank holds, this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Once you have the water heater draining, you can unhook the hoses, and remove the old nipples as this will act like a vent and speed up the process of draining the water heater.
Remove the Old Water Heater
Ensure you know which water lines are which before doing this. Meaning label the cold water coming in – the hot water leaving – and the relief valve line (optional). Nothing sucks more than hooking up the water lines backwards and wondering why you are getting no hot water. (yes I’ve done it before ;( )
This is usually a two person job. Remember, the only reason you drain the old water heater in the first place is to make it a lot lighter and easier to remove. Once you got the old water heater removed you can either store it somewhere, put it out by the road, or put it in your truck and scrap the metal for it at a metal scrap yard, where you can get anywhere from $15-$50 for old water heaters. (Depending on where you live and current metal pricing of course)
Installing the New Water Heater
Place the new water heater where the old one was. It is highly recommended that if you are on a second floor or above, or an attic, that you have a drain pan under the water heater, and the drain pan has a pvc or cpvc line that is going outside as an emergency drain in case the water heater leaks one day.
Ensure that the water heater is level when you are putting it in the pan. In most cases it should be. Connect the water heater hoses to the nipples on the water heater. If you purchased the water heater from a home improvement store such as home depot the heat loss nipples should be pre-installed with Teflon tape.
Whether you are using compression fittings, shark bites, or soldering in couplings to connect the water lines, ensure there are no leaks before walking away. Once you have the water lines hooked back up, turn on the water into the water heater. Open a couple of hot water valves throughout the house such as the kitchen faucet and bath tub faucet. When water starts to come out of the spouts you know that the tank is full. Shut the faucets off. Now the tank water heater is going to be pressurized. Ensure that there is no leaking from any of the water line connections. Remember even the slightest leak can become detrimental to your home when talking about damages.
Turn on The Power to the Water Heater
Hook up the electric to the water heater either while the tank is filling up with water or after. Ensure that there is no wire exposed and you are using proper conduit as described in Electricians Code or State Laws. Only turn the power to the electric water heater on once the tank is full of water. If you turn the power on when the tank is empty, the water heater elements will heat up, over amp, and either trip the breaker or just burn out. This is extremely important.
Water heater installation is usually not that hard. You have to have some mechanical aptitude though and be good with hands on handyman stuff. Prices for water heater installation vary greatly depending on where you live, but I used to charge about $300 and that’s outbidding most of the reputable plumbers in the area.
Comments and Questions welcome and Encouraged.