Flipperman2a2w
Member
Hi Everyone-
I’ve decided to replace my 15 year old Bradford White gas water heater. The old one was making banging noises, so I flushed it twice. The water was brown for a day before settling, and now the pressure relief valve drips. It also looks like the sealant between the tank and the burner is peeling off, so I figured it was just a matter of time. With a newborn in the house, not having hot water would be a major problem. I’m replacing the unit with the closest equivalent BW currently makes- 40 Gallon - 35,000 BTU Defender Safety System High Efficiency Residential Atmospheric Water Heater (LP Gas).
I’m having trouble finding a plumber who will return my call in the remote area where I live. I’m pretty confident with the water hookups, as I’ve done a fair amount of PEX maintenance work on my house. I’m a little leery about the gas connection, particularly since the existing connection seems a little wonky to me. I’ve attached a photo for reference.
It looks like 1/2” pipe that connects to the water heater. From there, I think they used an adapter to expand it to 3/4” pipe that goes into a 3/4” ball valve. The piping seems like it gets bigger past the ball valve where the actual gas line hooks up. I assume it’s a flair fitting, and I think it’s a 1 inch connection, maybe? I installed my gas dryer, which had a much smaller line- 1/2” I think, and I replaced the gas regulator on my range with a similar 1/2” line.
Question #1: Can I reuse the existing ball valve and flare fitting? I figure I’ll replace the rest of the piping, since it’s 15 years old and looks rusty. Can anyone tell from the picture if I’m right thinking it’s a 1 inch flare fitting? I’m hesitant to take it apart to check, in case I have issues putting the connection back together. Also, 1 inch fittings are not that common and aren’t readily available at the local hardware store- I found one online for about $27... If I have to do this myself, I want to make sure I have all the necessary parts on hand, in case I run into an issue and can’t reuse the old fittings, ball valve, etc.
Question #2: The reason the existing setup seems sketchy to me is because (unlike my dryer and range) I have to shut off the gas to the entire house to do the install. If you notice in the photo, the ball valve that cuts off the water heater is AFTER the gas hookup. Is this even code? I can’t unhook the gas line, unless I close the main valve on our big propane tank, which is kind of annoying and doesn’t seem right...
I’ve decided to replace my 15 year old Bradford White gas water heater. The old one was making banging noises, so I flushed it twice. The water was brown for a day before settling, and now the pressure relief valve drips. It also looks like the sealant between the tank and the burner is peeling off, so I figured it was just a matter of time. With a newborn in the house, not having hot water would be a major problem. I’m replacing the unit with the closest equivalent BW currently makes- 40 Gallon - 35,000 BTU Defender Safety System High Efficiency Residential Atmospheric Water Heater (LP Gas).
I’m having trouble finding a plumber who will return my call in the remote area where I live. I’m pretty confident with the water hookups, as I’ve done a fair amount of PEX maintenance work on my house. I’m a little leery about the gas connection, particularly since the existing connection seems a little wonky to me. I’ve attached a photo for reference.
It looks like 1/2” pipe that connects to the water heater. From there, I think they used an adapter to expand it to 3/4” pipe that goes into a 3/4” ball valve. The piping seems like it gets bigger past the ball valve where the actual gas line hooks up. I assume it’s a flair fitting, and I think it’s a 1 inch connection, maybe? I installed my gas dryer, which had a much smaller line- 1/2” I think, and I replaced the gas regulator on my range with a similar 1/2” line.
Question #1: Can I reuse the existing ball valve and flare fitting? I figure I’ll replace the rest of the piping, since it’s 15 years old and looks rusty. Can anyone tell from the picture if I’m right thinking it’s a 1 inch flare fitting? I’m hesitant to take it apart to check, in case I have issues putting the connection back together. Also, 1 inch fittings are not that common and aren’t readily available at the local hardware store- I found one online for about $27... If I have to do this myself, I want to make sure I have all the necessary parts on hand, in case I run into an issue and can’t reuse the old fittings, ball valve, etc.
Question #2: The reason the existing setup seems sketchy to me is because (unlike my dryer and range) I have to shut off the gas to the entire house to do the install. If you notice in the photo, the ball valve that cuts off the water heater is AFTER the gas hookup. Is this even code? I can’t unhook the gas line, unless I close the main valve on our big propane tank, which is kind of annoying and doesn’t seem right...