Capping a water heater supply line
June 5, 2018 2:12 PM Subscribe
How do I cap a water heater supply line?
My water heater is leaking. I can survive until next week when I can get it replaced. There is no shut off valve for the heater. There are two flexible copper pipes with brass fittings on their ends that connect the heater directly to pipes coming out of the wall. I need to install a temporary cap on the cold water supply line so I that don't have to shut down water for the entire house until the heater is fixed. I can't solder. I just want a quick secure way to cap the end of the supply line. What is best way to do this? Is it a bad idea to even try this?
My water heater is leaking. I can survive until next week when I can get it replaced. There is no shut off valve for the heater. There are two flexible copper pipes with brass fittings on their ends that connect the heater directly to pipes coming out of the wall. I need to install a temporary cap on the cold water supply line so I that don't have to shut down water for the entire house until the heater is fixed. I can't solder. I just want a quick secure way to cap the end of the supply line. What is best way to do this? Is it a bad idea to even try this?
Best answer: go to your local home supply or hardware store and get a 3/4" FIP (aka NPT) close nipple and a 3/4" end cap, and a roll of ptfe tape . wrap the nipple (there are numerous YouTube vids on this) with the tape and install it into the brass hose. do the same on the other side of the nipple and install the cap.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:45 PM on June 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:45 PM on June 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: What "the pipes coming out of the wall" look like is important here. Are they also copper? Are they galvanized iron? If iron, you can shut the water off to the house at the meter, take the flex line off and cap the end of the galvanized pipe. That's the cleanest solution. Yes, use pipe *dope*.
Don't forget to shut off energy supply to heater if you haven't already.
For a seriously jack-leg solution - measure the OD of the pipe that goes into the heater from the end of the copper flex. Go buy a say 4" nipple and a cap of that size - in galv. iron. And pipe *dope*. With about 3 hands you should be able to screw this into the output side of the flex copper pipe.
Fair warning, last leak I had at a W/H was where the flex copper tied on, the rubber washer was gone.
posted by rudd135 at 2:49 PM on June 5, 2018
Don't forget to shut off energy supply to heater if you haven't already.
For a seriously jack-leg solution - measure the OD of the pipe that goes into the heater from the end of the copper flex. Go buy a say 4" nipple and a cap of that size - in galv. iron. And pipe *dope*. With about 3 hands you should be able to screw this into the output side of the flex copper pipe.
Fair warning, last leak I had at a W/H was where the flex copper tied on, the rubber washer was gone.
posted by rudd135 at 2:49 PM on June 5, 2018
Best answer: You might need to cap both the supply line and the output line, depending on whether your water heater has a cutoff valve on the output line, because if you have faucets with a single handle which controls water temperature, some cold water is likely to go down the hot water line into the heater and leak out that way unless everyone is very careful to push the handle all the way over to the cold side at all times.
So you could get a very short stub threaded on both ends, and screw both copper lines onto it, if they'll reach.
And if your water heater does have a cutoff valve on the output line -- connected by a short length of pipe to the WH, say -- you might be able to disconnect the flexible copper output line from the cutoff valve, then unscrew the cutoff valve and its length of pipe from the WH, then attach the supply line to the length of pipe coming from the cutoff valve, and then finally, reconnect the cutoff valve to the flexible copper output line.
At that point you'll have a shutoff valve directly between the supply line and the output line, and you could just shut it off.
posted by jamjam at 4:54 PM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
So you could get a very short stub threaded on both ends, and screw both copper lines onto it, if they'll reach.
And if your water heater does have a cutoff valve on the output line -- connected by a short length of pipe to the WH, say -- you might be able to disconnect the flexible copper output line from the cutoff valve, then unscrew the cutoff valve and its length of pipe from the WH, then attach the supply line to the length of pipe coming from the cutoff valve, and then finally, reconnect the cutoff valve to the flexible copper output line.
At that point you'll have a shutoff valve directly between the supply line and the output line, and you could just shut it off.
posted by jamjam at 4:54 PM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: You want a Shark Bite end. These things are expensive for caps/fittings but you just shove them onto a pipe and you're done.
Can you take a picture or two of your pipes? We might be able to give better advice.
posted by gregr at 7:48 PM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Can you take a picture or two of your pipes? We might be able to give better advice.
posted by gregr at 7:48 PM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: There is no shut off valve for the heater.
Hopefully, you get this rectified when the new water heater is installed. In most places, code dictates that there is, at the very least, a valve governing the intake line to the heater.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:16 AM on June 6, 2018
Hopefully, you get this rectified when the new water heater is installed. In most places, code dictates that there is, at the very least, a valve governing the intake line to the heater.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:16 AM on June 6, 2018
Best answer: Yes gregr gives the best advice. A couple of $10 sharkbit fittings will make this go away. Lay a tape measure on both pipes and take a pic. Go to home depot/lowes. Get help to sort out pipe size. Buy 2 sharkbite quarter turn shutoffs and a little pocket sized tubing cutter. Shut the water off to home, cut supply and return lines. Push on sharkbites. Turn to off position. Turn on water. Presto.
Fwiw the sharkbites feel sketchy as hell but they work like magic.
This is what you are looking for:
Tubing cutter
Sharkbite quarter turn - be sure to get your size
posted by chasles at 6:07 AM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Fwiw the sharkbites feel sketchy as hell but they work like magic.
This is what you are looking for:
Tubing cutter
Sharkbite quarter turn - be sure to get your size
posted by chasles at 6:07 AM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all. I was overthinking the problem and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I waited until my local Home Depot opened and then I bought two caps and capped the pipes coming out to the wall as rudd135 suggested. The pipes, by the way, are iron. Again, thanks all.
posted by rdr at 7:32 AM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rdr at 7:32 AM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Don't forget to use pipe goop to seal the connection, I would youtube how to connect pipes, so you don't get more leaks.
posted by Oceanic Trench at 2:24 PM on June 5, 2018