water heater move part 2

..because stephen asked ;-)

jambaloney here!

sorry - no trout fishing but here was our first frost!

we waited for a perfect day - read, no upcoming visits in case the heater didn't work - first thing i did was some prep work - here i pre-installed a sillcock so there is hot water available in the basement:

the sharkbite fittings are great - it allows you to set up pex in advance - red for hot coming out of the heater with a t-junction to the new sillcock and white for cold inflow with a shut-off valve just in case.

styrofoam down on the stand to insulate the bottom - free @ Home Hardware because it was cracked ;-)

 
 and it needs some osb on top to spread the weight...

now it is time to shut off the breaker - i made this guide, which is easier to read than...

this!

power is off - now to start disconnecting the heater

electricity first!

here are the wires  - notice the green hose on the floor - we are currently draining the water heater..

while we wait - we can install the extra wire to reach the basement! that toolbox has all my electrical tools in it - good to keep them separate.

here are the wires in the junction box - i will put it on the wall when the heater has been moved.

time to cut the copper - it is sheathed in foam

a hacksaw is useful - and emery cloth to sand of the burrs from the cut pipe...

the sheathing is removed and the pipes will be cut in the basement where the copper pipes are showing ..

FAIL - there is not enough room against the wall to use the hacksaw - good thing i have an angle grinder!!!!

here are the pipes cut and sanded

and here are the new fittings popped on top! if you don't know about sharkbites - learn !! they make plumbing waaaaay easier and they are removable - you can dis-connect and re-connect time and again!!! here is the link:

http://www.sharkbite.com/

w probably doesn't approve ;-)))))

now to cut off the pipes upstairs...

 code states that at least 18" of pipe from a water heater needs to be metal - i left a generous 30"......

moving the water heater (long since drained)  - k moved the dolly while i lifted when necessary... interwebs stated that water heaters empty are 90 lbs - this was a LOT heavier than 90 lbs !!!!!!

in place in the basement - home stretch now - woot!!!

elbow fittings connected the heater to the  other ends of the red and white pex...

plumbing is complete!!!!!

back upstairs to drill the junction box to the wall and cover....

and connect the wires in the heater - we are done!!!

last step is to fasten the pipes and wires securely to the wall and then turn on the breaker.. after 6 hours we had hot water!  it made some noise pushing the air out when we first turned it on, plus the water was a bit "rusty" in coulour... but after 15 mins or so, all was back to normal - a BIG success - tons of storage available now!!!

nice fall sky out back ;-)

hope you are all getting fall chores done - cheers!

kymber adds: woohoo! now we finally have a utility closet in the house...and our friends c &b gave us a really nifty cabinet thing that will hold all kinds of stuff - mason jars and lids, seeds and who knows what else!!!! picture of utility closet coming soon.

we are off to our halloween dance in fourchu tonight - woohoo - we are pretty excited! pics of us in costume coming in the next post! have a great weekend!