Hot water heater outlet fitting.

MrBibs

I messed up the threads on the outlet fitting that has the little valve like thing in it. Is that valve really necessary? We live out in the country and are on well water so there's no municipal water works to worry about. Can i Just put a regular straight piece of water pipe in there and it be good to go?

JStar

Yes, you can remove it, but you may end up with hot water migrating into your cold pipes.

JUGHNE

That little plastic flapper was a flow check valve . As JStar said the hot will back up into the cold water line. Your old water probably didn't have this flapper. Your cold water line into the heater probably got hot for 2-3' back.

But this was probably also used as a dielectric connector to your copper plumbing. There is a lot of discussion here about the necessity or not of dielectric connections. I would say if you had galvanized piping connected before just use galv piping for this.

MrBibs

OK thanks very much!

MrBibs

Going with a regular open pipe for now until i can find the other to replace it.

hot_rod

heat trapper nipples, usually sold in pairs at plbg supply and home centers A red for hot, blue for cold, make sure you get the H&C correct if you replace them. Sometimes the dip tube/ anode rod is built into the nipple.

MrBibs

Thanks