Installing a hot water tank is probably the most common home repair jobs preformed by a home owner today. In the case you don’t know how to install it, you can create more hot water tank problems. Installing a new hot water tank is fairly easy to do as long as you read all of the directions before you start.
Installation: Hot Water Tank Problems
Safety is the main thing to remember in this project. The water you are dealing with may still be hot, or you may be dealing with gas or electricty. All 3 of these things may cause injury, or even death, if not handled with care.
You will have to disconnect and remove your old hot water tank before installing your new tank. The first step is to shut off the power supply to your hot water tank. This could be either gas (valve on pipe) or electricty (removing fuse/switching off breaker).
Now shut off the water supply to the hot water tank. Once this step in done it creates new hot water tank problems, draining the tank. The water inside may still be hot and can cause burns, so use caution when draining the tank from the valve located at the bottom of the tank. Once completely drained, you can start unhooking the water pipes. There will be a cold source pipe and a hot water pipe to disconnect. Older homes may have the pipes soldered together and will take more time to disconnect.
With the old hot water tank now disconnected, You actually have new hot water tank problems! How do you get rid if it properly once you remove it from your house. Contact your local government agency to find out your options.
It is time to install the new unit. You will want to use a dolly or a 2nd person here to prevent any damage to the new tank. You need to position the tank so that all pipes can reach, this includes the gas supply to prevent any gas leaks.
Now its time to reconnect all the pipes and be sure there are no leaks. Refer to the user manual if you are unsure which pipe goes where. This will prevent any more hot water tank problems.
The last step is reconnecting the tank to its power source. If you are uncomfortable with this, contact a professional technician to solve your hot water tank problems.
Looking for solutions to specific hot water tank problems? Be sure to read Gas Hot Water Tank Problems next.