How To Install A Gas Water Heater

We are removing and installing a new gas water heater in a mobile home. Someone decided to get creative when they put the old water heater in and we had to come fix the mess.

If at all possible, we always replace old pipes with pex because it can freeze and come back without breaking. Cost a little more, but so much better in the long run.

When we work for this customer, we’re always limited on the budget.

⏱️⏱️Chapters⏱️⏱️
00:00 Intro
00:22 Somebody over tightened the fittings
00:40 We couldn’t get hardly any water until pull the pressure relief valve
01:20 Why you don’t want the fittings to be so tight, no pipe dope on flare fittings
02:00 You don’t want to kink your gas lines
02:30 When working with gas, ALWAYS know where the meter is
02:50 Pulling the hoses off
03:30 At the same time you don’t want it to be so loose you can pull the hoses off with your hands
03:55 Remember where each hose went, might mark it?
04:35 Water coming out of the hose
05:15 Trying to decide where they want to put the water heater
05:30 No idea why they decided to build a platform to put the water heater on
05:44 We cut away to get the water heater out, it was a mess
05:55 Trying to get the weird platform to move
07:00 Don’t think they wanted the platform to move
07:30 And… Now we know why they built the platform, didn’t want to change the rigid pipes
08:50 How he plans to support the water heater
09:47 What a mess… And why they built the weird platform
10:05 What we need to do to fix the plumbing
10:35 Put it back together with Pex
10:45 Tearing the pipe apart
13:00 Now we can put a regular shut off
15:47 Pex: Blue is cold, white is main supply and red is hot
16:40 Wood supports
19:30 Marking cuts for support
21:45 Measuring for the plywood
22:15 More support
23:36 Installing plywood
23:52 Putting the new water heater in
24:55 It’s in, floor is unlevel
25:05 Check the gas lines with soapy water
25:58 Follow us

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Goodness gracious, folks. Ain’t no need in it being that tight. That was hard. Oh, by the way, we had could not hardly get any water out of this thing till I did what I normally do, which is pull the pressure. Pressure relief valve or pop off, as John said, valve and open it up.

Sometimes you end up with having to replace that valve because it’s old, but it does. This one doesn’t look very old and it leaks around the rubber.

“We actually replaced this one. Remember? It was leaking down there.”

I’ve done so many of these things, they all get to be a blur.

“You want to explain to the people why you don’t make it so tight.”

It’s really hard. And…

“With the flare, the flare It tries to strip it.

“Fittings.”

By the way, you don’t have to put don’t put pipe sealant on flare fittings. You’d have no need to do that. And what I call a flare fitting is like that rounded.

“It’s gas.”

These things are notorious for leaking. That’s why they outlawed those and now it’s all ball valve. See there’s no need for the pipe dope on that. This is flare fitting against rounded egdes, and it’s such that’s real tight.

“Also, don’t recommend kinking this.”

Ya, ah don’t kink it. This should have been turned a little bit so that pipe wouldn’t be so tight or you could use a longer one of these pipes. But big time.

“I smell.”

It’s leaking a little bit. Too far back. I’m going to miss room with it and it’s not going to work at all here in a minute. We’ll have to find out where the meter is.

“Right there.”

Right over there. Okay. In case I do something bad. There we go. I need to know where to set it off at the meter. All right, let’s go inside and pull the water hoses loose, then get past you there. John, you want to go ahead?

“I don’t even know where you’re talking about.”

On top of water heater.

“Up here.”

“Where’s the room at though?”

Right behind that door. Good night. You don’t got to vacuum clean there. So, I mean.

“It’s right here. Really, you can reach around.”

If I had to I could.

“Oh you’re trying to the top of the water heater.”

Yeah, they got rubber gasket there they use again and again. That loose?

“Yeah. I mean it’s loose.”

“I just can’t get hold of my hand and turn it.”

That’s not good. You should have been leaking. Remember where each one whet. Is one different looking in the other?

“Yeah, one of them look new, one of them look old.”

Just remember which one goes where.

“This is hot.”

Save time. That’s the hot side?

“Yeah, it was hot when I had, when I touched it.”

So this the bigger one is supply line. And this is hot water side of it.

“Yeah, I’ve got hot water holding it in my hand. I can tell it’s hot.”

All right. Hey, got new lines. Unusual. Spray the water at the cameraman. Show the water coming out of house.

“You don’t want to go put your hands in this really hot water.”

“I guess that one’s a little bit tighter. And that one is copper. I don’t think you want to take that off, John.”

He’ll need to put it back. I need that line off because we’ve got barely any room to get this water heater out.

“You can set the water heater in here, brother.”

“No, he’s taking the water heater out.”

He’s saying I can put it inside there. Take it out. Shut the door. That door. Don’t shut. You put new flooring isn’t too hard. Get back in. I. I know. I don’t know what they was thinking. Built a platform for it. And that platform caved in.

“Now, the same person done that, done in front of the hallway and the bathroom door.”

You missed it. I had a hard time pulling the water heater over because it wouldn’t go through that way. Opened up the gas valve accidentally twice. And then I got to try to get this engineer, by Arkansas hillbillies.

“Alright, you making fun of me?”

Me to.

“A little more hillbilly than we.”

Yeah, they were trying to make it work on a budget. Ain’t supposed to screw that tow by they drilled holes. So, we need a pry bar and the screw gun. Oof! I’m out of breath. Nails, screws, tape. Let’s see if I can pull this up. It’s got three nails. Four or five nails.

“It’s all rigid pipe. Is that something somebody in your family would have done?”

My uncle, my cousin. I hate to admit it, but yeah, it was hard to get out, but I got it out. Tape measure? We got a mess. Still pretty sturdy, but I don’t trust it. All right. 24 inches, 24 inches, twice. I’ll run a block down there, or brick to support this with a two by. And these gas water lines are just a mess. She didn’t want me to spend a bunch of money, and I certainly could right here.

Oh. What a mess. This is too high. That’s why they built this weird looking platform up, so they didn’t have to mess with the plumbing. But it also meant the water heater had to go way up. Difficult to deal with, but what I’m gonna have to do is take all this out. Take this union loose right here, which is what allows you to take two pieces of rigid pipe and put it together when it’s really hard, when you’ve got it solid on both ends, you can take that.

But I’ve got to get all these heat the heat tape off of it and take this loose right here, take all this out and put it back together with pex so it doesn’t freeze, or at least there’s not as much and lose it. So yee-haw. All right, so now we can put a regular shut off.

“Oh that was the shut off you had leaking?”

It wouldn’t shut off. Yeah, that’s didn’t turn forever. That might work a few more will get in the water. Hold on out outside when we put it in. Yeah. Nothing may idling and give, I’m afraid. I don’t know what’ll happen now. That’s the hard it’ll give it. Oh, I don’t get anything more than waterers like I got. We need to take that out and put a I mean get some three quarter pexs.

“So blue is cold, white is main supply.”

I think the blue or white.

“Now, we’ve got to work on the floor.”

“Done here.”

The woods all swelled up, but that’s not right at the top and quarters this. Well, get this out of the way I think. the.

“You need me to hold that for you?”

I don’t know. Let’s see if I can get this first one and I’m good. Right. 27 and three quarters by 24.

“Twenty-seven three quarters by 24 plywood?”

Ya, then we’re going to have some notches in it. I don’t know about that.

“Put a screw in there?”

You need a hammer, knock it out as we know. All right. As long as we’re pretty straight along through here and a quarter inch at 18 and then at 18 and a quarter to 19 and a quarter, 19 and a half. Where’s that piece and I’ll mark on it here because.

“The shape I just want to go back there to notch it.”

Well you need to look at here.

“That’s what I said what were you coming from back there.”

I don’t care you’re the one cutting it here. I’m going to write down measurements and all that stuff and I’m going to be. You want to go in there? I don’t know what you can hold. I’ve got to go over that gas line and then I’ll push those lines back right. Just hold them back in. I can step over here. You’re going to have to help me lift up.

“Let’s put it over there in front of the hole kind of.”

But how about we sit sitting right there and we’ll move this right here.

“You want me to put the camera down and help you?”

I’m afraid we got to lean this thing in big time.

“Yeah. So…”

We got to be watching that.

‘You. Yeah.”

“You mean that gas thing?”

Yeah.

“I’m going to put this down.”

We’ve now been, like, busy bees finishing up. Guess the floor in here. Still out of level, even though I went with the floor joists. I’m going to slide a shim underneath this thing to make it look pretty. Doesn’t have to check the gas lines with soapy water, any leaks we tighten it.

We relit the pilot by following the instructions and then turned it on to the point that they had it. We briefly hooked up all the lines.

“No leaks?”

No leaks, not even one, which is odd. It’s good to have that every now and then not have to worry. Fix something while you’re underneath the house. I haven’t had a problem in a while. I don’t, I think it’s about a quarter inch
out of level. I’m going to try to put something underneath it anyway.

There you are on another adventure. Ta-da.