How To Replace a Hot Water Heater Yourself

    

For the past months we have noticed that our hot water was running out not long after turning on a faucet.  Since it has been on a well and about 25 years old, I decided to put in a new water heater.  Our water heater is a forty gallon electric heater.  I have some past experience putting in new water heaters.  I thought I could do this one as well.
     About three years ago I asked a plumber how much he would charge to put in a new forty gallon electric model.  He quickly replied, "$800.00".  With that in mind I went shopping for a water heater.  I found one I liked at one of the home centers in town.  It was a forty gallon electric model for $198.00.  I also bought some compression fittings for about $50.00.  So I had roughly $250.00 cost in heater and fittings.  I saved $550.00 off the plumbers quote.
     It took me a few hours to get everything, take the old heater out, and put the new one in place.  If you, or someone you know have a little bit of fix-it ability, replacing an electric water heater yourself might be something to consider.  A gas water heater is something I would NOT encourage people to replace themselves. 

Getting Started:
     The first thing I did was to turn off the electric breaker marked water heater.  Actually, I turned off all the double pole breakers just in case the breaker panel was marked wrong.  Then I turned off the main water supply which was inside the closet housing the water heater. 
     Because the old water lines were of a different configuration I had to cut some of them in order to put the new water heater in place.  I cut the copper lines using a copper pipe cutter.  This allowed some air to flow into the water and helped some with draining.  At the bottom of the water heater was a drain spout.  However, due to the well water sediment that had built up over the years it took a little longer to drain the water than I thought.  Also, it was heavier to get out.

  
Connecting With Compression Fittings:
   To connect the new water heater to the copper lines I used compression fittings.  Compression fittings are, in my mind at least, the way to go for any DIY person to use when working on copper, pex, or cpvc water lines.  Copper is the best pipe, but one must be competent in soldering to make the connections.  I do not do enough copper soldering to remain competent.  If someone doesn't do a good job on the soldering, they will likely have a leak in the fitting. 
     Compression fittings simply are pushed on to the pipe. Voila! They hold very well and the neat thing is that one can use a special 'removal tool' to take the fitting off the pipe if needed.  The next time you are in your local home center, go to the plumbing department and have them give you a demonstration as to how compression fittings work. 

Wrapping It Up:
     After I reconnected the water lines, I then reconnected the electric lines.  Then I opened some other faucets in the house to allow air in the lines to escape.  After all the water was in the tank and water was running out of the faucets well, I turned on the electric breakers.
     I have included a couple of pictures of my work.  Perhaps you can see the compression fittings.  So far no leaks and the water remains hot.