Who needs dielectric fittings anyway?

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WorthFlorida

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Hold your breath. This is the electric 80 gallon Rheem water heater at my church's Parish Hall. 40 years old, manufactured July 1982. It maybe original to the building and it is not leaking. It is in the kitchen with a few floor drains so a leak will not be catastrophic, I'm working on getting it replaced.

wh church.png
 
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WorthFlorida

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There are two water utility companies. Both annual reports show that the PH is adjusted to prevent corrosion and leaching of lead and copper. This might have to do why electric water heaters last so long in Florida. Ground water is only about 75º and warmer so expansion is less stressful on the tank.

"At the treatment plants, sodium hydroxide is added to the water to increase the water’s pH and thus prevent corrosion."
 

Sylvan

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Dialectric fittings are a joke and seem to corrode shut quite often in our area..
Flexible SS and copper connectors seem to last forever with no issues
I never had a problem with a dielectric nipples or a dielectric union that was made in the USA
 

Sylvan

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Hold your breath. This is the electric 80 gallon Rheem water heater at my church's Parish Hall. 40 years old, manufactured July 1982. It maybe original to the building and it is not leaking. It is in the kitchen with a few floor drains so a leak will not be catastrophic, I'm working on getting it replaced.

View attachment 88220
I wonder how the installer figured the T&P would be replaced?

Strange to see a globe valve as the shut off

How did they solder the fittings attached to the tank as you need either a heat sink or 6" above the tank?

I wonder what the inspector thought when this was installed seeing no protection of mixing dissimilar metals
 

WorthFlorida

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I finally replaced the water heater. Surprisingly, the old forty year old heater drain never clogged up with sediment but there was some. The drain valve was removed and a screw driver was inserted and no obstruction at all. Installed a 50 gallon with a Cash Acme thermostatic mixing valve. WH set to 140º, the outlet temperature is less than 120º. With the mixing valve set to the maximum outlet temperature, it would not go over 120º. This Friday Lenten Fish Fry starts, therefore plenty of hot water needed for cleaning will be no problem.

IMG_6813.JPG
 

Chefwong

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The most current heather swap, 1st time ever I put in copper flex.
I usually do a ridgid tie up.
Main reason was on the hold tank, brass nipple on hot side, it was plugged up about 80% ! Wouldn't have never noticed until the tank died and I remove the nipple

So I took a deep dive on di-electric. On the flex lines, aside from the step pex lined nipples that wrap the edges, the flex has a washer that touches the face. I don't like the look of the install. Looks -cheap and handyman- compared to a ridgid tie up but we shall see....
 

John Gayewski

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The dielectric unions corrode instead of the tank. You can see in the picture how the corrosion effected the tank. They were made thicker back then. My water heater is a Montgomery ward brand from 1986.
 

Jeff H Young

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Original install definately not desireable but if they all went 40 years it wouldnt be such a bad world , I guess as homeowners we would complain that they dont last long enough though. but as plumbers it might not be so good, Im always happy to have a water heater job (well mostly happy).
 

Master Plumber Mark

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I finally replaced the water heater. Surprisingly, the old forty year old heater drain never clogged up with sediment but there was some. The drain valve was removed and a screw driver was inserted and no obstruction at all. Installed a 50 gallon with a Cash Acme thermostatic mixing valve. WH set to 140º, the outlet temperature is less than 120º. With the mixing valve set to the maximum outlet temperature, it would not go over 120º. This Friday Lenten Fish Fry starts, therefore plenty of hot water needed for cleaning will be no problem.

View attachment 91014

I guess the work looks tolerable being that it was all done in sharkbite fittings and with cpvc pipe


From the picture, I am Just wondering if you have secured that thermal expansion tank to the back wall or is it just hanging in the wind ---
waiting for the day that cpvc elbow snaps off from the weight of the tank??

I hope you secured it somehow
 

Jeff H Young

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Yea I think it looks good George, I see t and p on top . I dont see why the shark bites rather than glue fittings, and I keep thinking plastic cant be withen 18 inch of water heater maybe thats for gas or out dated code When I ran CPVC in the mid 90s we converted to copper inside the wall for W/H and hosebibs and the service main . only plastic stubs were lav, sink , and toilets.
Even the Tandp I think was prohibited in plastic I thought
 

WorthFlorida

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The expansion tank is screwed into a steel stud with self taping #12 screws. I'm on the Home Depot Seeds program that provides free products to use and you must write a 250 word review. In December, I was able to get five different push and connect fittings, four of each except the ball valve. I used some at my son's house and few here. I only had to buy the 90º shark bite. I used a few glued elbows because my goal was the the WH or the expansion tank could easily be disconnected without cutting pipe. I thought about using copper but CPVC is used everywhere in Florida, it is very easy to cut and able to trim a little off if needed. The church is in unincorporated area in Orange County.

My son's house we did in January with the same fittings and with two teenage granddaughters, a tank booster was needed. Tank is in the garage. The hot water pipe was too close to the wall so the tank had to be angled. The expansion tank bracket is Tapcon'ed to the cement block wall.

This past week my second son called and there was water in the drip pan. We're pretty sure it's the T&P valve opening. A gauge one time read 120PSI yesterday. Water temp is 120º so no runaway thermostat. Each heating element draws 18.7 amps so no shorted out element making steam. Placed the T&P drain pipe inside a bucket and a little water does shows up over night and there is a back flow preventer at the meter. In two weeks he is on spring break (math teacher) and we'll install an expansion tank. Want to see something with his water heater!
It took me awhile to get it figured out. He bought the home about 8 years ago and the water heater was install in 2012. Don't worry it's all legal, just not pretty. I have it all figured out and when he day comes for a new heater, it will be all changed out, so will the electric. At one time the home had a solar panel of domestic hot water which I believed contributed to the mess.

rheem.JPGmatts1.jpgmatt2.jpg
 

Jeff H Young

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I think the issue with plastic pipe at water heaters could be limited to gas heaters and the 6 inch distance from a single wall vent connector
 
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