Plumbin’
April 4th, 2006
Tonight my uncle Brian and I tried to put in a new hot water tank. Our old hot water tank was 25 years old and it still worked but one of the elements was broken and they had already been replaced once. And since we are having house guests soon it was decided we would replace the entire tank.
I’ve never claimed to be a plumber but I do know a thing or two about being an electrician. I possibly could have been one but I went to university.
My mom decided to buy a Rheem as that was the manufacturer of the tank that lasted 25 years. However although the manufacturer was the same, the tank was set up quite differently. Instead of having one water connection on the top and one on the side it now had both the hot and cold water on the top. Furthermore we didn’t really have any parts to work with, we basically scavenged parts from the old tank’s setup and our no longer active, solar hot water heating system and did the best we could.
Getting the water to drain from the tank and the pipes was problematic. We had to shut off water going into the house. We also had to use bread. We even prayed to the God of Plumbing Ralph.
In the end we were undone by two cracked brass pieces. While we were dismantling the old plumbing they must have busted, we had trouble getting some of the old solders to come undone, but we were surprised to discover two cracks in thick brass pieces.
As a result of all this we have no water until I can buy replacement parts tomorrow. I went without power in China so going without water for a day shouldn’t be so tough.
We also are replacing our 25 year old fridge but our replacement may be one eighth of an inch too wide which will require dismantling some cabinets and putting in a tiny spacer.
The fridge will be installed, plumbed and wired by Sears, but I and possibly Brian will have to dismantle and modify the cabinets. If you have advice on plumbing or home improvement you can leave them below.
This entry was originaly posted on , it was last edited on and is filed under: DIY, Hobbies, & Interests and tagged: Home Improvement, Plumbing.
Mclusk, there is still time to be a plumber if you want to. I just hope you and the uncle did the plumbing thing justice by showing an appropriate amount of ass crack.
I was in Beijing last week for 3 nights. Amazing place. Food is freakin cheap… and Asahi super dry was like 45 yen in the corner stores… how weird is that! I had power the whole time, though I saw a few places that may have been going without.