Gas water heater replacement. Possible to DIY?

[okierider]

why do you assume it is going out? i have had water heaters last much longer. my tankless is 0ver 20 years old

Copper does not rust .... just saying LOL. You may run into a clogged line if your water is not filtered but other than that those tankless are awesome!!

And @GC7 do not buy at the big box stores . Go to Locke supply. Also understand that in the last few years they have added a bunch of safety's and the new unit will require quarterly cleaning to keep it from throwing the shutoff do to lack of air flow. It is in the instructions . Also it is easy to do like @Catt57 said gas leak is the biggest worry. Iff your gas line has a flexible length of pipe between the gas shutoff and the HW tank replace it . If it is hard piped you could have a time reconnecting depending on where the inlet is on the new unit.
Take a pic and post it if ya want.

 

[Catt57]

Is it worth the hassle to try changing out the anode rod? I don't believe it has ever been done before and I've heard they can get very mineralized and seized in there.

The tank doesn't appear to have any leaks at this time. Just me thinking proactively so I don't have to swap out the unit when I don't have the luxury of time.

OK, Wall of info incoming. I'll try to break it up a bit.
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The anode rod is “self-sacrificing” and will continue to corrode until eventually it must be replaced. When there's no sacrificial metal left on the anode, the tank can rust out, eventually causing it to burst.

Also consider (while no one actually replaces the things like they should), they are only expected to last around 5 years. So at 17 years I'd say it needs replaced. Hence the probable need to also flush it out.

It just might be worth have a trustworthy plumber look and see if it actually needs replaced or just needs a little maintenance.

Last place I lived the tank was flushed and the rod checked every 2 years. Replacing the rod as needed. That tank was 35 years old, never had any issue with it, and was still working when the house was sold.

Sediment on the coils can insulate them causing it not to heat the water properly.

FYI, A simple flush is easy. Turn off the water and gas/electric to the tank. Open the hot water faucet in the kitchen to allow air in. Drain it (Garden hose usually fits on the drain spout). Leave the drain open, turn the faucet off and the water on and let it run until the water coming out is clear.
Then close the drain, turn on a hot faucet in the kitchen again and let that go until all of the air is out of the system. LASTLY turn the gas\electric back on and let it go back to heating your water.

 

[Catt57]

Copper does not rust .... just saying LOL. You may run into a clogged line if your water is not filtered but other than that those tankless are awesome!!

And @GC7 do not buy at the big box stores . Go to Locke supply. Also understand that in the last few years they have added a bunch of safety's and the new unit will require quarterly cleaning to keep it from throwing the shutoff do to lack of air flow. It is in the instructions . Also it is easy to do like @Catt57 said gas leak is the biggest worry. Iff your gas line has a flexible length of pipe between the gas shutoff and the HW tank replace it . If it is hard piped you could have a time reconnecting depending on where the inlet is on the new unit.
Take a pic and post it if ya want.

It may not rust, but it can still corrode under the right circumstances... :-P (Rust is just iron corrosion after all...)

 

[okierider]

It may not rust, but it can still corrode under the right circumstances... :-P (Rust is just iron corrosion after all...)

Hopefully he is not running anything that will corrode copper, you can run into that on well water in some parts but generally in OK it is calcium he will have to contend with. Pipe blockage from calcium is definitely a deal round this part of the world .

 

[John6185]

Get a friend or neighbor or even a relative to help you change out the tank. It's easy so easy that you can go to youtube and watch a video on how to change a hot water tank.

 

[John6185]

Also if you don't have it already you have to have the tank sitting up on an 18 inch stand now according to code. I think that started in the early 2000's maybe before?

. I was building house and the plumber told me that the tank had to be on an 18" stand and I said because gas fumes wont creep up that high and cause an explosion? He said yes and I said, that's an electric tank there is no pilot light. He said it doesn't matter it's code. I laughed at him. He just didn't want to be wrong.

 

[chadh2o]

Wow. Too much to explain. If u can do it, have at it. Personally, if it ain't leaking don't eff with it. Mine is 1978 model and still cooking.
As to the 18" rule. If it is in the garage, garage closet or anywhere combustible liquids are stored, then yes, it has to be raised, even electric.
If the heater is gas and inside, the closet has to have door seal and threshold, but does not need to be raised, proper fresh air ventin tho.
As to code requirements, too much to explain. Pan, pan drain piping, t&p drain, water hammer arrestor, expansion tank, gas drip leg, flexible gas connector, shut off valve, venting (exhaust and fresh air), electrical disconnnect (electric heater or ignition).
Your case may vary.

 

[dennishoddy]

Wow. Too much to explain. If u can do it, have at it. Personally, if it ain't leaking don't eff with it. Mine is 1978 model and still cooking.
As to the 18" rule. If it is in the garage, garage closet or anywhere combustible liquids are stored, then yes, it has to be raised, even electric.
If the heater is gas and inside, the closet has to have door seal and threshold, but does not need to be raised, proper fresh air ventin tho.
As to code requirements, too much to explain. Pan, pan drain piping, t&p drain, water hammer arrestor, expansion tank, gas drip leg, flexible gas connector, shut off valve, venting (exhaust and fresh air), electrical disconnnect (electric heater or ignition).
Your case may vary.

We live in Osage county in the country on well water. Huge issue with hard water. Water softener in use.
We have to exchange our electric water heater every 7 to 8 years as the tank starts leaking. I do it. Not a big issue. Takes about two hours. No water hammer arrestors, expansion tanks. Double ball valves and flex lines. We have never had an issue with water hammer or any other issue.
Fast forward to a month ago at Mother in Laws home in Broken Arrow. Tank was leaking into the drip pan. All the fittings were dry so I looked around at some prices and decided to replace it myself.
Hell NO! BA city codes required a plumber and had to be inspected and certified before they would turn the gas on. The house can't sell without the inspectors cert on the installation. $1500 for the installation.
I'll take my country living over all those codes. I understand where water hammer comes from, but we don't experience it.

 

[chadh2o]

We live in Osage county in the country on well water. Huge issue with hard water. Water softener in use.
We have to exchange our electric water heater every 7 to 8 years as the tank starts leaking. I do it. Not a big issue. Takes about two hours. No water hammer arrestors, expansion tanks. Double ball valves and flex lines. We have never had an issue with water hammer or any other issue.
Fast forward to a month ago at Mother in Laws home in Broken Arrow. Tank was leaking into the drip pan. All the fittings were dry so I looked around at some prices and decided to replace it myself.
Hell NO! BA city codes required a plumber and had to be inspected and certified before they would turn the gas on. The house can't sell without the inspectors cert on the installation. $1500 for the installation.
I'll take my country living over all those codes. I understand where water hammer comes from, but we don't experience it.

Water hammer is real. Not as bad on a well with a pressure tank, aka expansion tank. Hammer is when a valve shuts off quickly. Toilet, washing machine, ice maker, dishwasher. Flood a house pretty quick when the toilet valve/ plastic supply fitting nut breaks. Washing machine hose burst. And the one no one ever thinks about - sink faucet with the old style connection, copper pipe, gasket, brass ring. Some parts of OKC run 100#+ in line pressure to the house. I've seen 120# in Quail Creek. I had a gauge peg 150 one time when the toilet valve snapped shut. Sure hope the soldier or crimp holds.
Old town OKC you can hear the pipes banging. Strapping helps, but need to eliminate the hammer. Most new toilet fill valves slow the flow before they close, not washing machine, ice maker or dishwasher.
Add... there are state plumbing inspectors. They roam the state doing spot inspections. New build south of Norman had one such call. Not a good scene (it wasnt me). Codes are not only for cities, but state wide.

 

[dennishoddy]

Water hammer is real. Not as bad on a well with a pressure tank, aka expansion tank. Hammer is when a valve shuts off quickly. Toilet, washing machine, ice maker, dishwasher. Flood a house pretty quick when the toilet valve/ plastic supply fitting nut breaks. Washing machine hose burst. And the one no one ever thinks about - sink faucet with the old style connection, copper pipe, gasket, brass ring. Some parts of OKC run 100#+ in line pressure to the house. I've seen 120# in Quail Creek. I had a gauge peg 150 one time when the toilet valve snapped shut. Sure hope the soldier or crimp holds.
Old town OKC you can hear the pipes banging. Strapping helps, but need to eliminate the hammer. Most new toilet fill valves slow the flow before they close, not washing machine, ice maker or dishwasher.

We had a lot of water hammer in the power plant I worked at because of emergency valves shutting off quickly and so on.
We are at 129' above the well on a ridge with 3/10 mile of water line and a pressure tank so we have a lot of cushion.
Spent most of my adult life in the country with well water so maybe that's why residential water hammer isn't an issue.
Edit: we have to run over 100 lbs of water pressure at the well to overcome the head pressure of distance/height so we get about 60 lb at the house.
Everything is low volume like the showers and the toilets are low gallon to help our septic system.