Last year I replaced the hot side water heater connector because of a pin hole leak. Last night I had a pin hole leak on the cold side connector. The old connectors were braded style and I replaced them with the aluminum ribbed style. Is one better than the other? How long before I should consider replacing? Does the hot side tend to leak before the cold side? First pic is the before, second pic is the after. Thanks.








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? why am I NOT surprised to see duck tape on the flue joints ?

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

It is the "universal" sealant. It was used on the braided supply line connection also.

The duct tape on the supply line was only there for a couple hours to prevent water spraying on the igniter while I ran to the plumbing store

Looks ok
you did not need to use thread teflon tape on the connections

That's not Teflon tape. That is a plastic piece that was part of the connector when I bought it.

that would be a 'dielectric' connection

you may, or may not, need to 'bond' the supply and outlet piping electrically

if you are 99% sure, you still do not KNOW


imo: only plumbers should perform plumbing since there may be 'intangibles' involved such as ELECTRICAL safety issues

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

There aren't any electrical safety issues on a claw foot tub that wouldn't be solved by having a competent electrician when the wiring was installed.

Where did the claw foot tub come from in this posting? WE were discussing a water heater.

w/o starting a long discussion

for the O/P's info:

there are cases where the metallic plumbing system must be bonded/grounded electrically

'messing around' with water heater piping may, or may not, affect such bonding

most plumbers can 'deal with it'

if you, as a DIYer, have changed or removed anything from original (including metallic plumbing) ~ have an electrician inspect your home ASAP

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

sorry, I thought I clicked the other thread with the leaking bathcock pipes, my mistake. The point is still valid with respect to proper electrical grounds however. (the bathcock was directly above this one)



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I will budget a new water heater installed by a licensed plumber. The heater is from 05 and has had water leak on top and flood underneath. I spent $7600 on excavating and rerouting my sewer main, reattaching an ejector pump and installing a pump bucket - all right next to my water heater. I wish he had brought up the water heater being not acceptable but then again I probably wouldn't have been very receptive because of the flooding and being broke.

When you get a new heater installed, get it plumbed in with 3/4" copper tubing, a full port ball valve, and preferably dielectric unions on the tank. If you stick with gas, be warned that the new style Flammable Vapor Ignition Resistant tanks have a ceramic or metal filter that clogs easily and you will need to be able to access the filter with a shop vac(or hose attachment) to remove any pet hair, dust, etc.

quote; I wish he had brought up the water heater being not acceptable

He didn't bring it up, because there was nothing "unacceptable" about the installation, at least as he could tell visually. Your supply line leaked because it was a piece of hose inside a braided metal jacket. It was NOT an 'all metal' one like your replaclements.

ditto hj

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Being a novice I have to ask: is the hose inside the braded metal more acceptable than the ribbed stainless steel that I have now? And by more acceptable I mean safer from an electrical hazard standpoint. I'm assuming the hose is a bit more likely to leak than the ribbed stainless steel, but I'd prefer a pinhole leak over an electrical explosion.

Those hoses are pex inside. By the code around here you need a minimum of 18" of metallic piping extending from the hot water tank, and those do not meet that requirement.

There is NO WAY you can get an "electrical explosion" by using the "wrong" water heater connector. I prefer the ribbed copper or stainless steel connectors, but the braided ones are also used by many plumbers. It is a personal choice.

They are usually "surgical rubber tubing", NOT PEX.

I believe (may be wrong) that the s/s braided 'liner' is actually some type of vinyl.

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

The ones I checked on a few years ago were polyethylene according to the manufacturer, but those might be different. Regardless, they still don't meet the code requirements in this area.

vinyl / poly eth / poly butyl / poly X linked (pex) / plastic = same new junk

IMO

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

I was using "rubber" in a generic way, since most of them are made of surgical tubing, whatever that material is.

That size PE or PEX would be too stiff to make the bends those supplies can make.

PEX = Cross Linked Polyethylene

better then 'plain' PE but we will see 'down the road'



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

I KNOW what PEX is, and no one even mentioned PE in this chain of posts.

? do you actually read the posts ?

Quote

The ones I checked on a few years ago were polyethylene according to the manufacturer, but those might be different. Regardless, they still don't meet the code requirements in this area.

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Yes, but I don't believe it. The polyethylene ones used around here were "bare" plastic.

the 'bare' plastic ones are probably either PEX or Butyl

the reinforced ones are inner ? with an outer reinforced nylon jacket

the braided s/s ones most likely have a PE liner/tube

the good practice ones are plated/finished annealed copper

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

They were PE with braided jacket.

A PE liner would NEVER be able to make the sharp turns a braided connector can make, at least not without kinking. That would be with faucet supply lines, a 3/4" one for a heater would be almost impossible to "loop" or make a sharp turn down to the heater.

hj,

I think you are confusing PE (very soft and flexible) with PEX (semi rigid, but bendable).

however:

there is HDPE (semi rigid used in industry) and LDPE (very flexible used for consumers).

PEX is formed by crosslinking the molecules of HDPE

an example of HDPE:



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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That "milky" pe tubing is usually labeled "not for pressure use", although I do use it for R/O systems. In any case, the ones I have used DID have a lining of surgical "rubber" tubing, the same as many kitchen pull out spouts.



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the 'not for pressure use' aspect is why they entrap it (the 'thinwall version') within s/s braid to avoid a 'blow out'


as I have repeatedly stated: JUNK

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638