SO YOUR A HANDEYMAN,EH

Jackmartin

I hope this finds everyone and your family healthy,this COVID crap could get on your nerves. I was flipping through the channels on YouTube the other night, usually I stick to mechanical channels, but there was nothing new posted. Unfortunately, I hit upon a channel called The HANDEYMAN, it is out of the USA. I decided I could waste twenty minutes and watch this person I thought he would be building a fence or something. Nope, it seems he knows all about everything and he is smug about it to boot. This idiot is going to change a hot water tank —— well cause he knows? The tank he is changing was obviously installed by someone who knows the trade. The hero disconnects the solid piping to the tank and proceeds to hook up,the gas with a suicide connector at least two feet long. The connector is so long he bends it in a circle so it would fit up. The piping for the water was done in copper ,idiot cuts them off and installs the amateurs solution, braided connectors with shark fittings ,also bent in a semi loop because they too long. Then he stands back and tells YouTube that he’s not licensed but look how good I did,yuk,yuk. I have a point to this rant ,in Winnipeg ,if you were caught doing this for money the first offence is a fine, the third offence you are going to jail for five days. I am asking our community in the USA to find out if this idiot lives in your state and bring the enforcing authority down on his pointy little head, he is going to hurt someone badly, if not cause their death. I am all for people building their own fences etc. but ,when it comes to our trade hire a licensed person your family deserves to live a long life,not have it cut short by an oilly s.o.b with an entitled attitude. Stay Well and Be Blessed Jack

EdTheHeaterMan

I have looked at 3 different water heater installs by "Handyman" "The Handyman" and one other. They seem to be in line with the code within this jurisdiction. Other states may have more strict requirements. The flexible connectors are appropriate for the job. I may not have looked at the one you are referring to so I would like the see the link to the YouTube video you are referring to.

One of the videos did use a set of earthquake straps that are not required here. None of the videos I viewed has a person that "knows all about everything and he is smug about it to boot" I would really like to see this and make comments referring the the "Problems" of a poor installation as you indicated.

The "Appliance Connector" or suicide connector as you call it, is approved for use in this jurisdiction (within reason). A 24" or 36" should not be used where a 12" or 18" is appropriate. There are also some flexible water connectors that are approved for use in some areas. I have used them on occasion, but not the "shark-bite" type. I have used a connector with mechanical threads on both ends.

I can agree that some people should not do many of the things that require a Professional Licensed Tradesman. There are also many who are qualified to work on their own home with better craftsmanship than some of the so-called pros.

Hope you also have a great day. Here in the USA it is Thanksgiving Day, So Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating.

pecmsg

Rules and regulations are only as good as the enforcement. That is lacking.

Jamie Hall

pecmsg said:

Rules and regulations are only as good as the enforcement. That is lacking.

Unfortunately, the enforcement is only as good as the enforcer. There are some who really know what they are doing and, more importantly, why. There are others... perhaps not so much.

Solid_Fuel_Man

If it's the same Handyman channel I'm aware of I know what you mean. 

He does a lot of electrical and tells us how he is so much smarter than an electrician. Well, I'm a master electrician and I can tell by his videos he really thinks he has it all figured out. Residential electric is pretty simple, and he has a decent understanding of it. But by no means is he a master and good troubleshooter. Just a wire runner.

I've also watched I believe the same water heater video you are referring to. 

It looks like a handyman did it that's for sure. Is it unsafe? That is debatable. Sharkbite fittings are designed for the DIY or the trunk slammer types. Would you ever see me, or any of us for that matter, use them for anything but a temp fix? NO. There will always be people who think they are smarter than everyone else who went to school and has decades of experience in a particular field. 

There are also tradesmen who have 40 years of experience who have repeated the same year 40 times, then there are those who have 40 consecutive years, each one better than the last. 

SteamingatMohawk

The video I looked at had flex copper lines sweated to the house copper and threaded connection at the water heater (obviously). The replacement is a braided hose with threaded connections at both ends, not shark-bite and the hose is pretty close to the same length as the flex copper.

The gas line connection reuses the grey flex hose ( where I live the hose is yellow, not sure if that's a technical issue). In any event the only issue seems to be the tight bend radius at the water heater end.

Is this the video you are talking about?

If not, please point me to the correct one.

I have owned houses and rental properties since 1970. Whenever I replace a water heater, I always install isolation valves (if they aren't already installed) on both the inlet and outlet of the water heater to make the next replacement easier (flow restriction is minimal). I use stainless steel braided hoses instead of the looks-like stainless braided hoses. They cost a little more, but I believe they are better quality.

If the gas line was hard piped and can fit up properly, I don't change it, but that's not always the case. If I do go with flex hose, I use the shortest one that fits without having to make really tight bends.

hot_rod

sounds a lot like the work that licensed pros do, in my area.  Any code violations?
I’d put most of those shows in the “Reality TV” category 🚑

Leon82

It looks like he has two.

World's fastest water heater change with the yellow connection

And how to replace a water heater with the grey connection.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Sharkbite, Propress, PVC, PEX..................Wonderful materials! So much so, that a homeowner or handyman must be tempted to think, "How hard can it be?"

Larry Weingarten

Hi, I've worked on many thousands of water heaters and can count on one hand where absolutely everything was done right. Nearly always something/s could have been done better, but it's the ones like pictured here that make me wish the "handyman" had stayed home that day.

Yours, Larry
ps. Hope this isn't too far off topic!

EdTheHeaterMan

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. LIFT-OFF! we have "lift-off" thru the roof and into the sky, Relief valve plugged and the bottom of the water heater has separated from the main tank. Water has expanded to 1700 times its volume and the vessel has rocketed into the atmosphere. Houston, we have a successful launch.

ratio

100% efficient to boot! Take that, electric water heater fanbois!

I particularly like the inlet preheater to scavenge heat from the flue.

retiredguy

It is obvious to me that most people see a water heater as just a tank that can supply hot water to a home or building and most people in the TRADES see them as a potential bomb if not installed correctly. We have all seen the devastation an improper installation can produce. As @EdTheHeaterMan said 1700 times it's volume and don't forget about the fuel supply.

motoguy128

Where I’m at, I see maybe 1 in 10 that actually have the relief vented to the floor.

Leon82

https://youtu.be/28ixJLtQBCc

SteamingatMohawk

Seeing the TPV outlet capped off takes me back to the 1980s. I owned a house in Newark, DE while my oldest son was going to college there. The house had baseboard hot water and an expansion tank that had a rolled seam. The system was in a closet on the first floor, no basement.

Short version of the story...one day he noticed the system seemed to not be acting as it had. He was going to call me after lunch. While eating, he heard fire engine siren(s) and said to his classmates, "I hope it's not my house". When he walked back home, it was.

Apparently, something happened within the system such that the pressure built up enough for the expansion tank to self destruct and go flying through one wall, into the living room and came to rest in the living room at the "next" wall, which saved it from heading toward the street. The end cap went in the opposite direction and loosened an exterior wall that was built up from a half wall. Needless to say, the town condemned the house until it could be repaired.

No one got hurt.

$20,000 (1980s cost level) later it was fixed. We never did find out the true root cause, but it was quite an event.

On the "bucket list" of things you don't want to happen, I got rid of that one a long time ago.

rick in Alaska

Remember this one? Still making hot water when I shut it down.
Rick

Leon82

The washing machine hoses are a nice touch. 

EdTheHeaterMan

motoguy128 said:

Where I’m at, I see maybe 1 in 10 that actually have the relief vented to the floor.

How many relief valves are vented to the outdoors in the below-freezing areas? ...you know, so the floor does not get wet. They are my favorite. They are only bombs for the winter.

Here is a little perspective:

An explosion of TNT increases the physical size of the explosive by about 1000 times its original (non-gaseous) state

Water expands 1700 times its size when it changes from the original liquid state to the gaseous state.

Water at sea level at any temperature above 212°F (100°C) must be under pressure higher than atmospheric pressure

If the pressure is instantly reduced to 0 gauge pressure, then the water is instantly able to boil and become the gas we know as steam. This rapid expansion is more powerful than a TNT explosion of the same volume as the water in the ruptured vessel.

The MythBusters video is still more interesting than the explanation.

Thanks @Leon82

426hemi

I see it all the time pex used on hot water, crimped copper fittings, sharkbite fittings rubber couplings used instead for lead and oakum (pack and pour)  ect bad plumbing can unfortunately still be to code. 

hcpatel78

I just got this picture today. T & P valve leaking... no expansion tank installed...

mattmia2

That's the cadillac install compared to most of what i've seen.

Solid_Fuel_Man

Looks like a grounding jumper from H to C, it is actually vented to the outdoors, and there is even a drop of pipe to the floor from the T&P. 

The sketchy gas line wouldn't let me sleep well. 

ethicalpaul

I've often wondered about the code where he is located. He states that there are many places in the US where his work would not be legal, implying that he is in an area where licenses aren't required but I have no idea.

I just know that if he were in my area, what he's doing would be a violation of the law.

Gsmith

"I just got this picture today. T & P valve leaking... no expansion tank installed..."

i was under the impression that an expansion tank is only required on a hot water heater if there is a backflow preventer or check valve on the cold water service or cold water feed to the hot water tank. If there is no BFP or check valve the water can expand into the cold water line by slightly raising the pressure which will dissipate into the public water system. If this is a well fed system then I agree an expansion tank should be provided somewhere, but they usually are part of the well package.

hcpatel78

city water and exp. tank mandatory in this town.