Water Heater Question

i think this belongs in the off-topic forum.....

had to beat someone to it

No one would see it in the off topic forum.

Anyways, anyone have any good tricks for getting it off? Its stuck pretty good. I can't get much around it other than my channel locks, and they just slide around it. I even tried them with a 4 foot long piece of 1x2 tube and I just bent my channel locks.

I'm assuming its brass because the channel locks where shaving off material like butter. Is it safe to hit it with a torch?

I'll be back with results. Lol.

Seth do you have a pipe wrench (monkey wrench) at all?? Oh and if you heat it you may wanna make sure the water is down below that valve before you try it. Good luck man.

I have a crescent wrench but it wasnt big enough. I have a larger one somewhere but I may have tossed it because I bent it pretty bad.

Anyways I got it out. I heat it up and still couldnt get it to budge. So I tried hitting it with a hammer. I think it shocked it. It also bent the side and I was able to get the channel locks around the front and I put my makeshift breaker bar on it and it came out.

I'm going to go get another one right now. Thanks for helping me out guys.

Just bear in mind that if that valve was corroded enough to fail, the rest of the water heater may be in bad shape as well! My friends came home this week from a Christmas vacation to a flooded house- their water heater rusted through!! Some newer models will shut the water supply off if they see a huge drop in pressure, but most won't, and they'll just keep pumping water into your garage!

At least your frame is powdercoated, so it won't hurt it to go underwater!!

I had to mention something about your truck, so now this isn't off topic!!

-Phil at FBI

Lol Phil. Yea the water heater is as old as the house. The valve wasnt really corroded though. I did all that with the torch. The funky shit on it is melted insulation.

But I got a new one in there and the hot water is back on with no leaks.

And my frame might be powdercoated, but my cab is still bare metal.

well at least i know if i want to quit f*cking with cars i can become a plumbing consultant, lol

@ plumbing consultant... do you get paid in cookies?