Install a Tankless Water Heater

[Music] you know folks are always saying to me Ron everything always goes so smoothly on the show it's never like that when I take on a home-improvement project well I can tell you as a homeowner and a do-it-yourself guy I'm not immune from the kind of surprises that are part of just about any home improvement project as an example I want to tell you about something that happened to me the other day it all began when I came into the kitchen and turned on this faucet instead of a nice smooth bubbly steam of water I got a lot of spitting and sputtering I've seen this before and it almost always means debris is clogging the faucet aerator so I unscrewed the device disassembled it and sure enough I found small white bits of material which I carefully picked out [Music] then I washed the aerator thoroughly and replaced it [Music] but a few days later the sputtering was back then I went to take a shower up here in the master bathroom but there was practically nothing coming out so I unscrewed the showerhead took a look inside and found more of that same debris that had clogged my kitchen faucet then my washing machine stopped working it wasn't getting any water i unscrewed the hose and sure enough you guessed it well it seemed like it was time for a little research I got on my computer and did some poking around so my online research has led me to believe that the culprit in all this might be right there in the form of something called sediment now sediment can collect in a water heater from dirt sand or minerals that are suspended in the water supply over time these deposits can build up quite an accumulation on the bottom of the tank cutting down on burner efficiency incoming water can stir up the sediment and send it to faucets aerators showerheads dishwashers clothes washing machines and any other water using appliance in the house the online advice that gotten said I should flush my water heater and instructed me to turn my gas valve to the pilot position connect two hose to the spigot at the bottom of my water heater shut off the incoming cold water open a hot water faucet somewhere in the house and then twist open the spigot on the water heater sure enough out came the water and with it quite a bit of what looked like sand and more of those curious white chips that I'd found clogging up my plumbing fixtures it looked almost like fragments of plastic I was baffled so it was back online for some more research to my surprise and amazement I discovered that back in the mid 90s some water heater manufacturers had unknowingly installed defective plastic tubes called dip tubes in thousands of water heaters over time these tubes could disintegrate it appeared that my unit was one of those affected so I decided to take out my dip tube inspect it and replace it if necessary [Music] well this is not good news this is the nipple that I took out of the top of the water heater it's supposed to have a plastic tube attached to it like this called a dip tube well in my case that tube has actually broken off and dropped into the tank now if you could see inside the tank you'd find the dip tube lying there on the bottom and if you look more closely you'd see those tiny fragments of plastic scattered about just waiting to be carried through my pipes and into my plumbing fixtures Hank I can't think of any way I'm gonna get that out of there and as long as it's inside it's going to continue to deteriorate and contaminate my plumbing system so I think I'm gonna have to replace the water heater well what started out as a sputtering water faucet has so far led to the need for a new water heater barnard at my local Home Improvement Center listens to my story and then directs me to something called a tankless water heater so you're saying that this water heater can produce as much water as these it's so much more Barnard explains that a conventional water heater works by keeping a tank full of water continually hot and ready for use tankless versions on the other hand only heat water on demand when hot water is turned on anywhere in the house the unit starts and water is brought up to temperature instantaneously as it continuously flows through the internal heat exchanger well I'm sold so I love my tankless water heater onto a cart and into my truck now being the do-it-yourself type I entertain thoughts of installing it myself and perhaps I could have but in the end I opted for professional help the first thing plumber Micahel vana does is install a tee and valve and my existing gas line then he and his partner Jim Morissette begin running the new supply line this is called corrugated stainless steel tubing and in many communities including mine it can be used in place of conventional black iron for gas lines now Mike and Jim move on to the water lines first they tie in the new lines to the existing ones then get ready to run the copper pipes the last few feet to the new water heater these brackets called Bell hangers will hold the pipes securely in place and prevent them from coming into contact with the walls this will make it possible to apply insulation later and prevent chafing damage to the pipe itself before copper can be soldered the pipes and connectors have to be cleaned to remove oxidation then soldering flux is applied this paste enables the solder to flow more evenly and prevents the copper from oxidizing again when it's heated next the pipe and connectors are slipped together the copper is then heated with a torch when it reaches the correct temperature the tip of the solder is touched to the metal it melts instantly and is drawn into the joint by capillary action now I notice how Mike has bent the solder into an L shape so he can easily reach all the way around the pipe I've built this platform from two-by-fours and plywood so that I can mount the heater about four inches out from the wall this will allow the vent to clear the floor joists as it passes to the outside after drilling holes using a carbide tip bit I drive in these tapcon screws they're masonry anchors that actually cut threads into concrete [Music] once I've secured the platform cover in place a single screw will allow me to hang a water heater on the front then I can drive in additional screws that secure the mounting brackets [Music] now the plumbers can come back to make the final hookups first Mike connects the gas shutoff valve and sediment trap that's the short section of pipe running down [Music] then attach the corrugated stainless-steel supply line Jim now makes the last few connections between the water shut-off valves and the heater then does a final bit of soldering [Music] with the gas turned on and the air bled out of the line a sniffer is used to make certain there are no leaks [Music] this is heat-resistant silicone sealant that I'm applying to the heater vent next I slip on a connector and secure it to the vent with a hose clamp then I put on the first section of stainless steel vent pipe pull the retaining ring down into place and bend over the tabs that lock the ring in position next I set a 90 degree elbow in place then using a long shaft quarter inch bit bore through the rim joist to the outside at a point that will be the center of the vent hole outside I use the metal wall thimble as a template tracing the outline onto the shingles using a spade bit I bore a one-inch hole near the edge of what will be the opening then I grab a reciprocating saw insert the blade into the hole and begin cutting [Music] now I need to remove a few shingles around the edge of the opening so that the flange on the wall simple can set directly against the plywood sheathing underneath the purpose of the thimble is to prevent the vent pipe from having any direct contact with wood as it passes through the wall silicone caulk applied to the outer flange will ensure a watertight seal on the outside next I drill pilot holes through the stainless steel flange then drive in screws that pull it into tight contact with the sheathing finally I seal the screwheads and the building paper with more silicone from the basement side I slipped the interior flange into place attach another straight section slide the retaining ring into position and bend over the tabs to lock it all together now from the outside I slide through a section event with an elbow attached and connected to the vent inside finally I slip on one last vertical section of pipe on the outside with two ninety degree elbows on the end that form au to prevent rainwater from entering one last connection and the vent is finished the final job outside is to replace the shingles I removed earlier [Music] all that's left now is to plug in the power for the thermostat an onboard microprocessor insulate the hot water pipe coming from the heater turn on the gas and fire it up now one of the obvious benefits of this system is that I've replaced a rather massive tank in my basement with a relatively compact unit it's up out of the way on the wall but the real payoff is that I will now have enough hot water don't wash the dishes give the kids a bath and take a shower all at the same time in addition to the main thermostat I also have a bedroom unit that allows me to control the water temperature remotely if I choose so that's my story of how a simple sputtering faucet led to a discovery about sediment and defective dip tubes which required me to replace my old water heater with new technology which ended up providing this with unlimited hot water yep there's no question about it home improvement can be a journey and an adventure

Channel: Ron Hazelton

Views: 908,666

Keywords: Install a Tankless Water Heater, Water Heater, Tankless Water Heater, Tankless, DIY, Ron Hazelton

Id: af-LpUSzod0

Length: 15min 47sec (947 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 18 2019