On borrowed time


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Old 08-11-20, 11:06 AM
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On borrowed time

So im 10yrs in on a 6yr WH. I plan on doing the DIY thing but im curious where more seasoned installers would cut the copper on the pic here...the new WH will be 1 inch taller. im afraid the current 3.5" spacing i have would be too tight.

so if not there, where would you cut?
 
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Old 08-11-20, 11:22 AM
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Where does the water line go? If it's rigidly mounted so you can't push it up 1/2-3/4" then installing your new heater will be a bugger. If the water line can't be pushed up a bit then I'd consider adding a section of flex to allow room for threading the new fitting into the heater.

If the water line can be pushed up I'd cut at the very bottom of your 3.5" to preserve as much pipe as possible. Then you can cut the pipe to the final length after you have the new heater in position.

 
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Old 08-11-20, 11:22 AM
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You can shorten the distance between the valve and the WH. One important thing to remember is to not sweat a fitting directly attached to the WH.

In other words..... attach the copper pipe to the connector before screwing it on to the WH.
Then you could use a connector to rejoin the two pipes.

Cut it at the blue line. Remove the fitting and pipe from the WH. Attach that same fitting to the new WH but shorten the pipe an inch. Use a coupler to reconnect the pipe.

 

Last edited by PJmax; 08-11-20 at 11:38 AM.
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Old 08-11-20, 11:25 AM
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I'd consider adding a section of flex
Or a union could be used, more compact!
 
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Old 08-11-20, 11:57 AM
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you dont see an issue of melting the solder at the bottom of the valve when i solder the connector and a potential pin hole?
 
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Old 08-11-20, 12:46 PM
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No.... heat just the fitting and slightly below it. Work quickly.
 
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Old 08-11-20, 02:11 PM
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I like Marq's idea of union fitting.
 
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Old 08-12-20, 04:35 AM
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You have to cut the pipe no matter how tall the new water heater is..

You cannot unscrew the nipple from the water heater to unhook the latter without cutting the pipe.

I am thinking about cutting the 3-1/2 inch section in the middle.

Attach elbows to both the lower and upper section cut ends. I would recommend ultimately using a new flexible section to reconnect with.

Assemble the new water heater connection with nipple using the lower cut section but do not screw it into the water heater until all of the soldering to the elbow is done..


 

Last edited by AllanJ; 08-12-20 at 04:51 AM.
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Old 08-12-20, 04:40 AM
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Only 10 years old. Mine is from 59 and still going strong. ( Just saying this scares the hell out of me)
 
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Old 08-12-20, 05:18 AM
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Mine is from 59 and still going strong.
A water heater from 1959, 61 years old????

 
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Old 08-15-20, 12:23 PM
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Or a union could be used, more compact!
A lot of new water heaters come with heat trap nipples pre-installed today. I still like to install dielectric unions on those nipples.
 
 

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