Quick connect shark bites and some dawn dish soap to make sure gas line isn't leaking and your done. Like I said, If I can do it anybody can do it. lmao
Hot H20 Tank Issues
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
If the unions were the same brand, I would have had the easiest swap out of water heaters ever.
$500 in the tank and connections. I'll do a step by step on this for future reference. Tomorrow should be a learning experience.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Yeah....learning how to go to the local hardware store 4 times. Good luck.
I did this 4 years ago with help from my father. Our setback was one leak where we sweat two fittings together (cut it out...and start over).
$ 700.00 and a half an afternoon is all it took.
Sharkbite fittings are the way too go buddy. Couple hours and you will wonder why you ever thought it was a big deal to start with. It really is easier than you think.
- 39,146
- 274
For the price of those shark bites you could buy a pex crimper and a bag of rings. I'm telling you man. Get one and never look back. Reduces the need for angled fittings because you're not dealing with rigid pipe too. When I redid my shower it took me half a day to sweat all those connections and cut pipe. When I redid Jessica's I used pex. Shit took maybe an hour and was so easy a child could have done it.
Totally agree. I'm as big a proponent of the sharkbites as anyone, but IMO they're only good for when you need a quick fix or just a couple fittings. The dang things just cost too much to use for bigger jobs. I'm kind of old school and like sweating copper... I like the look of craftsmanship when it's done... But man, the ease and simplicity of pex is just plain stupid. I'd go pex on a water heater job in a heartbeat if I had to replumb even just a few feet of lines.
I had $20 in Sharkbites. Surely I'd have had that in the other stuff and I don't plan on doing much plumbing in my life! Shit always made my dad drop the F bomb! lmao
Joel
Senior Member
I think you guys might be forgetting something. There should only be 2 short lines that need replaced and it sounds like both are copper. If he uses pex for those 2 short lines he still has to adapt to the existing copper and would need 2 sharkbites. So it would be way cheaper than buying pex, rings, crimping tools and something to adapt from copper to pex.
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copper to pex fitting $1.50 x2
bag of 10 rings $2.97.
Crimp tool $20.
2 foot of pex 1.25.
Female threaded pex fitting $2.25 x2
Minus the tool it's about 12 bucks in materials. If he can reuse the threaded female adapters and leave some pipe for 2 more copper to pex fittings it'll be about $10.50 total in materials. He's got $20 in two shark bite fittings. The total with tool would be about $30 for pex. I know he said he didn't plan on doing much plumbing in the future but none of us ever plan to. I had to remodel two showers last year that I never planned to do. For an extra 10 bucks on the job it's worth it to know I'll never have to sweat pipe on another plumbing job.
Mine would be a little more however as I would put a shutoff valve on the hot water output. Most houses only have a main shutoff but it would be nice to have a shutoff on just the hot in the event you need to make a repair. Or you have kids that always take 45 minute showers. Lmao.
Crimp tools run $40 for decent ones. PEX tool is worth the minor investment.
I will never sweat another fitting
I will never sweat another fitting
Joel
Senior Member
I have used copper to pex fittings in that price range but they had to be sweated on to the copper side. Then he would have to add a pex shut off valve, which is like another 8 bucks. I guess I see what you're saying but I think sharkbites were the way to go in this case.
You are not supposed to connect pex directly to the top of the water heater. You should have 18" of solid pipe (copper) before transitioning to pex pipe.