Price:
$800 materials, $400 labor
Materials:
- Electric water heater
- 3×3 PVC pipe feet
- 3/4″ copper sweat couplings
- 3/4″ copper sweat threaded adapters
- 4/4″ Shark Bite couplings
- teflon tape
- Blue Monster sealant or equivelant
- electrical tape
- flux
- solder
Tools
- worklight
- 3 step platform ladder
- pliers
- screw drivers ( Philips, Flat, 1/4″ nut, 5/16″ nut)
- pipe cutter
- reamer
- torch with spare fuel tank
- clean white cotton rags
- Sharkbite removal tool
- vaccuum
Proceedure:
- Arrange 3 – 3″x 3″ PVC pipe pieces to support the water heater.
2. Make sure the adapters are soldered on to your pipe stubs and cool properly.
3. Apply liquid sealant to both sets of threads.
4. Wind the male pipe nipples with three or four wraps of Teflon tape, turning clockwise when looking down.
5. Set the new water heater into place, aligning the hot and cold water pipe nipples with the existing plumbing.
6.Open the temperature/pressure relief valve before continuing
so that pressure will not build up and cause leaks in your solder joints.
7.Cut your pipe to length.
8. Use a reamer to remove the burr from the inside of your pipe cuts. This will decrease turbulance and therefore increase water flow.
9. Brush, flux, and solder the pressure relief pipe onto the threaded adapter.
I like to use Fluxuator liquid flux
10. Attach all three threaded adapters, leaving your temperature/pressure relief valve open.
11. Brush the outside inch and a half from the end of the pipe and the inside of the coupling until they are completely shiny and clean from oxidation.
12. Apply flux to the male pipe ends only to prevent flux from running into the inner surface of the pipe and causing cloudy water.
13. Wrap wet rags around the base of the pipe to keep from melting the nonmetallic tank connections.
14.Solder the coupling from the bottom up to prevent the heat from sucking the top half dry when you do the lower half in an incorrect method.
or use SharkBite fittings with a 25 year warrenty, which is longer than a typical 6 year electric water heater lifespan.
14. Twist the wires together with your pliers at least three wraps.
This is code.
This is important.
Do not depend on the spring inside of the wire nut to hold the wires together through all of the heating cycles that it will be required to serve.
That could create arcing and failure.
15. Confirm that your drain is closed but leave your pressure valve open and fill the water heater with water before restoring power.
16. Open the cold water fill valve
Leave the hot water system valve closed for now, to keep the water from draining out of your pipes and creating air pockets.
17. Place a bucket under the relief valve pipe.
18. Cut and install your hot side insulation while the water heater fills.
19. Confirm that water is at least as high as the temp/pressure relief valve in order to cover both elements.
20. Flip the power supply breaker back on and wait to confirm that water is being heated properly.
21. Open your hot water valve and run the hot water in the nearest faucet until the air and cloudy water is cleaned out of the system.
22. Check your pipes to confirm that all of the joints are dry.
23. Confirm with the homeowner that the water temperature setting is correct before leaving.
24. Write the date of installation on the unit and save the documents.
