Repair Day

We have three water heaters.

It's not that we really really really like hot water (which we do). Nor are we lovers of foolish waste, consuming mass quantities of natural resources for no apparent reason (which we are).

The house was formerly a group home and so they required a steady flow of hot water to keep everyone clean and happy.
We have only been operating on two water heaters. There is the one main water heater which used to be set up in tandem and then there is another water hater which runs the laundry primarily.

A while back I noticed the carpet in the basement was a tad dampish.

Closer investigation revealed a leaking water heater. I decided it was time to pull it out and replace it with the one we disconnected years ago in anticipation of just such a need.

So I made note of how it was connected to the water lines, and where the electrical connection was.

Then it was just a matter of draining the old tank, moving it out of the way and replacing all the fittings and wires onto the reserve tank. Simple!

"Ha!", I say unto thee, "Ha!"

I connected the hose to the drain outlet and had a great deal of difficulty getting any water to come out. I eventually had to call my Emergency Help Friend Jerry (E.H.F.) to give me some advice.

He suggested I try sticking a coat hanger up the valve as it is probably caked thick with calcium from our hard water.

I wanted to get everything back up and running before Susan returned from church where she was helping prepare Meals on Wheels for Easter Sunday. So I managed to move the full water heater out of the way and proceeded in an orderly fashion to efficiently and correctly reattach that which I had detached.

That all went well and we currently have hot water.

I man handled the old water heater into the laundry room and over to the proximity of the floor drain. After a good deal of struggle and toil, I managed to fish a coat hanger into the faucet outlet and, sure enough, got a stream of water draining from the tank, along with a great deal of calcium chips. It took a good long time and I had to occasionally adjust my wire in and out to get an new stream going.

The tank is now drained and waiting for a strong friend to stop by in the future who I can wrangle into helping my lift this bitch out of the basement.

So for now, I'm pretty pleased with myself and am ready to have a beer as a reward.