Are you so anal as to...

Sac Arrow

Sac Arrow

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Snorting his way across the USA
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Brasso your repair job. No, I didn't do this tonight, I did the copper piping three or four years ago but I still had the Brasso and I was drunk and I thought it would be cool to re-Brasso the piping and post it up on the POA gratuitously. I already know @Clark1961 and @timwinters are going to rip me a new one on my solder joints (hey, it's a vent line) but whatever, I'm okay with that.
 
Uhh, nope. I'm sure I've done something similarly unnecessary, but nothing comes to mind.
 
Reminds me of some of the valves I saw on a recent Navy Destroyer. The particular passageway was owned by the electricians. They apparently had entirely too much time on their hands.
 
Your sweat joints are what they are. It's not like any silver was wasted. Where the design fails is the lack of a union to facilitate replacement of the heater or the PRV. It's a common thing and the pro's don't care because they get time and materials when they fix something. I also dislike vents that do anything but go down to the drain pan or floor drain. I suppose that code lets you put elbows and crap in there. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
 
Clark1961 said:
Your sweat joints are what they are. It's not like any silver was wasted. Where the design fails is the lack of a union to facilitate replacement of the heater or the PRV. It's a common thing and the pro's don't care because they get time and materials when they fix something. I also dislike vents that do anything but go down to the drain pan or floor drain. I suppose that code lets you put elbows and crap in there. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
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Look the elbows and crap were economics. This is the third water heater that went in to the place. I used what I had, supplemented with what I had to buy, to make it work.
 
Why all the elbows?? (I did an elegant curve to mine to get it to wrap around the tank!)

PS, you know once you polish it, you must keep it up. Expect request for current photos in 2 years.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Why all the elbows?? (I did an elegant curve to mine to get it to wrap around the tank!)

PS, you know once you polish it, you must keep it up. Expect request for current photos in 2 years.
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Excellent question. This is the third water heater I have had to install. I'm a cheap bastard and don't like buying more copper than I must.
 
Yeah a union or two would have been nice. Agree with Clark there.
 
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Sac Arrow said:
Look the elbows and crap were economics. This is the third water heater that went in to the place. I used what I had, supplemented with what I had to buy, to make it work.
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Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
 
Clark1961 said:
Use the pro trick and wipe the joint before it cools.
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The last “pro” I had working on mine installed a natural gas water heater in a propane house. And then tried the old “I’ll get a check from the wife one day and the husband the next.” trick.

I told him to finish what he was doing when he tried to get that second check out of me and then we would talk, then told him to GTFO of my house. LOL.
 
The trick here is to make sure the joints are hot enough that the solder will flow by capillarity action. Patience, son, patience.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I hope I am not seeing PCV shrouded copper
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Naw, the copper terminates a couple inches inside the PVC. All the plastic does is direct effluent to the floor drain and there is no physical connection between copper and plastic. It's an accepted method to avoid running hot water out on the floor.
 
Sac Arrow said:
The trick here is to make sure the joints are hot enough that the solder will flow by capillarity action. Patience, son, patience.
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When you see green in the flame...
 
denverpilot said:
The last “pro” I had working on mine installed a natural gas water heater in a propane house. And then tried the old “I’ll get a check from the wife one day and the husband the next.” trick.

I told him to finish what he was doing when he tried to get that second check out of me and then we would talk, then told him to GTFO of my house. LOL.
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Pretty much any time i hire anyone to do a job i regret it. With possible exception of my tax guy and AC guy.
 
Heh every one of those I’ve ever seen has been straight down and open a foot or so off the ground.
 
“Brasso your copper pipe” is that what the kids are calling it these days?
 
No pretty pictures of solder joints, but here's the water heater. It serves well as a decal repository, as I can't bring myself to slap these suckahs on the airplane or car.

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Geeze, I'm not even anal enough to have plumbed the relief valve into anything. I should probably get that done.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
No pretty pictures of solder joints, but here's the water heater. It serves well as a decal repository, as I can't bring myself to slap these suckahs on the airplane or car.

View attachment 61890
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What cracks me up in that photo is your strap for earthquakes. If my house ever shakes like that my water heater is just going to bust loose and wander somewhere. Of course it’s also not out in the garage like yours where it would freeze. Basement.
 
cowman said:
Heh every one of those I’ve ever seen has been straight down and open a foot or so off the ground.
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These days there is supposed to be a drained containment under the water heater and the vent should be directed to a drain. I suspect the insurance companies finally figured out that water damage from leaking water heaters and PRVs costs them money so they make builders/buyers pay for better installations.
 
I've never soldered drunk. Done a lot of other things drunk; I think I waxed something when hammered once. . .
 
Sundancer said:
I've never soldered drunk. Done a lot of other things drunk; I think I waxed something when hammered once. . .
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That was my dad’s method for waxing vehicles. A six pack and a nice day and you could “enjoy” waxing and buffing and cleaning for hours.

I don’t think I’ve ever downed the whole six pack doing it, but a cold beer on a hot day cleaning vehicles isn’t a bad way to spend a day if you’re going to get all crazy about detailing.

Since our driveway is dirt and dust doing nice wash and wax jobs has slowed a bit. The white truck will be greyish tan by the next trip to town. Or in winter it’ll just be brown again. Ha.

Maybe beer is what I need to motivate me to go clean the airplane belly. Ugh.
 
Regarding pipe soldering......has the solder changed in last 15 years? I soldered some joints 15-20 years ago and it was relatively easy......tried to do some recently, different materials and I could not get the damn thing right.
 
Clark1961 said:
Use the pro trick and wipe the joint before it cools.
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But don’t do it to many times with same rag. There was this tract of houses that started getting leaks in a lot of the houses. They found out it was from ‘flux’ in the wiping rag.
 
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