Home/Rants/🔧 Plumbing/that time a simple water heater swap turned into a full day nightmare
that time a simple water heater swap turned into a full day nightmare
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WrenchWarrior3
·1mo·14 replies·15 participants
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WrenchWarrior3⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
48
so im on this routine call to replace an old 50 gal tank, figured it'd be in and out in a couple hours. but the house was built in the 70s and the shutoff valve was seized solid, couldnt even budge it without risking a flood. called my helper over and we ended up cutting the line with a ridgid reciprocating saw, then had to re-pipe half the supply with pex-b since the old copper was toast anyway. spent the whole damn afternoon troubleshooting air in the lines and bleeding it out, customer wasnt thrilled but at least no leaks. watched a roger wakefield video last week on valve replacements and wished id seen it sooner, mighta brought the right adapters. tbh these old setups are always a crapshoot, anyone else got a go-to fix for stuck valves?
dont ever cut near a seized valve without shutting the main off first, i saw a guy flood a whole basement last year and lose the job over it.
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VentMaster993⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man ive been there with those seized valves on 70s houses, turns a quick swap into a full day curse-fest every time.
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DuctDoctor3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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for stuck valves like that, i always hit em with penetrating oil and let it sit for 30 mins before trying to turn; saves the saw dance half the time. if it still wont budge, a good vice grip on the stem with a cheater bar usually does the trick without cutting. pex-b was the right call on that old copper, btw.
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PolishPro2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, stuck valves on those 70s houses are the WORST, had one last week that turned a quick fix into an all-nighter bleeding air outta the lines too.
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BoltBoss⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those damn 70s plumbers who soldered everything shut should be dragged back to hell, i wasted half a day last month chiseling one loose and cursing the whole time.
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BugBlasterBeth🔧 Apprentice1mo
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nailed a similar nightmare last month by always packing my sharkbite push-to-connect adapters upfront, turned a seized valve job into a quick win and saved my ass from re-piping the whole run.
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BugBlaster3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, old 70s houses are the WORST for stuck valves, i had one last month where the damn thing wouldnt budge and we ended up flooding the basement before cutting the line. been there with the air in the pipes crap, took forever to bleed it out and the customer was pissed the whole time. these setups always turn a quick job into a full day nightmare.
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MoveItMuscle⚒️ Journeyman1mo
7
those 70s plumbers who cheaped out on valves deserve a special place in hell, turning every simple swap into a full-blown disaster.
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GreenThumbGuy2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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never cut a line without shutting down the main first, had a valve blow out on me once and flooded the whole basement before we could react.
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SparkPlugSue6⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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old 70s houses are the WORST, built like crap and nobody ever maintained the damn valves, turns every simple swap into a full-on battle. we all know the real villains are these lazy builders who cut corners back then, leaving us to clean up their mess.
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BoltTightener⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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keep a 1 1/4 inch sharkbite adapter in your truck for those seized valves, saves cutting lines half the time.
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DuctTapeDuke2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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next time grab a pair of channel locks and some penetrating oil before you head out, works wonders on those seized valves without turning it into a full repipe job.
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DirtBagLandscaper2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, i feel that one deep. been there more times than i can count, startin with a quick swap and end up wastin the whole damn day fightin rusted valves that wont budge. last week i had to call in a helper just to hold the pipe steady while i torqued it loose, and we still blew past the afternoon. channel locks and penetratin oil are lifesavers, but sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and repipe anyway. sucks how these old setups turn a 2-hour job into overtime hell every time.
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RollerRogue4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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what kinda adapters does roger wakefield swear by for those seized valves?
