Are you so anal as to...

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.
I'm with you on that one. Or maybe it's just because we're getting older and more incompetent!

And Sac, I definitely won't pick on you for the quality of your sweat joints, mine typically look like a silver bird sh*t all over the side of the pipe. They don't leak though....
 
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.
Solder for plumbing has been lead free for a long time. The lead free stuff is pretty easy to work with.

If ya get into the water soluble fluxes and don’t use MAPP or acetylene then you may have problems as in the joint just won’t sweat. I had trouble with 1” and larger connections. Maybe it’s gotten better since the last time I used it.
 
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.

Last I heard it was also only supposed to be 4 elbows, and sac arrow has 5 visible(plus who knows how many more hidden in that wall). But most of them these days just go one straight pipe to the drip pan as you mentioned.
 
What cracks me up in that photo is your strap for earthquakes....

It's California.

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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.

I just bought an evil cat-back exhaust for the '12 Mustang. On start-up, that's gonna shake the heater more than most earthquakes! #annoyingtheneighborsagainnowthatrivetingisdone
 
5 elbows for 2 feet of copper? I’d be impressed, if I could figure out why.
 
5 elbows for 2 feet of copper? I’d be impressed, if I could figure out why.

The previous water heaters had PRV's in different locations, and that was the easiest way to make it work out without buying a lot of excess copper.
 
The previous water heaters had PRV's in different locations, and that was the easiest way to make it work out without buying a lot of excess copper.
Not seeing how you could need more than 2 to get from the outlet on the heater to the pipe in the wall. At most. But hey, steampunk is cool.
 
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.
For years I thought I was just randomly incompetent at sweating pipes...one time it'd be a breeze. Next time I couldn't get the solder to flow at all.

Keep in mind that it's usually a few years between soldering episodes. The last time t happened I was talking to somebody at work who mentioned that flux has a shelf life...bought a new tin of flux, and I'm an "expert" again!
 
Not seeing how you could need more than 2 to get from the outlet on the heater to the pipe in the wall. At most. But hey, steampunk is cool.

You don't, but elbow fittings are cheaper than replacing the whole thing.
 
You don't, but elbow fittings are cheaper than replacing the whole thing.
I’m slow, but I get it now. I thought you were being anti lazy, but in fact you were being ultra lazy. Extra points.
 
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