Water Heater bypass - Has anyone built their own?

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dudaduma

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I'm looking at putting in a bypass for my water heater and was about to buy a kit, but realized these look like off the shelf items. Has anyone put their own together? If so, please post some pictures and a parts list. I realize there are many available for under $20, but I like the satisfaction of putting stuff together, especially when it works :-)

Thanks in advance !!
 
Are you talking about winterizing? My hot water tank is fairly easy to get at so I just pull off the in and out line and splice together with a barbed connecter. In the spring I run a tie strap through the connector and make a loop and hang it on the heater so I don't have to hunt it up in the fall. Cost about a $1.00.
I see you are in Mi…it’s that time of year again. I’ll be doing this next Saturday 10/2. Boat comes out 10/9. Sucks!

Good Luck
Niles
 
On my last boat I took 1 foot of hose and 2 hose clamps. That was my bypass.

Current boat doesn't need a bypass as I don't use pink in the fresh water system at all.
 
quote:
Originally posted by nwaring

Are you talking about winterizing? My hot water tank is fairly easy to get at so I just pull off the in and out line and splice together with a barbed connecter. In the spring I run a tie strap through the connector and make a loop and hang it on the heater so I don't have to hunt it up in the fall. Cost about a $1.00.

Click to expand...


I do the same thing.
 
I bought years ago two unions for my boat, installed one on the in-take with female end on the tank, I installed the other union on the out put, male end on the tank, now I unhook the lines and hook them together.
I have put a by-pass on someone elses boat cost was like $60.00 using valves only, they did have the pvc valves then for hot water.
 
Thanks everyone! I am asking for my upcoming winterizing. Niles, yours seems like the easiest and cheapest solution. Simple, yet very effective. I have seen double ended barbed connectors at the local hardware stores and will try that solution.

Thanks again!!
 
I bypass my heater for winterization so I save about 6 gallons of the pink stuff.
I got a piece of hose, fittings, and clamps, in the plumbing aisle at Lowe's. I don't remember what the whole thing came to, but I'm sure it was way less than $10. It's a 1 time investment.
I drain the fresh water tank and heater, blow out the system from the dockside water connection, bypass the heater, pour a couple of gallons of the pink stuff in the fresh water tank, and turn on each faucet until pink comes out of it.
After the system is winterized I reconnect the water heater so its ready to go in the spring.
The hole process takes just a couple of minutes once the tank is drained.
Use about 40 or 50 PSI to blow the system out. I think that's about what I get from the hose on the dock so I know its safe.
If you blow it out properly you can probably skip the pink stuff, but I do it just to be sure.
 
That's what I do too, except blowing it out. I drain the fresh water tank and add a couple of gallons of pink, then run the faucets until pink flows out. The last couple of years I've been getting that bad onion smell coming out of the hot water tank due to the pink sitting in there over the winter. Hoping to avoid that going forward with these helpful tips.

Thanks everyone!
 
I have been told leaving the pink stuff in the hot water heater does something to the heater elements and you won't ever get rid of that bad smell/taste. I don't know if it corrodes the elements or what, but I drain ours and put a bypass on the intake/outtake and let the heater sit empty.

For a bypass, I used one of those flexible water tubes you find on the bottom of a toilet for the water. Then I got the "barbed" ends that would fit the inside of my water lines and that would screw into the flexible tube. With the flex of the tube it is really nice and easy to bend and go from one tube to the other. Don't remember the exact cost, but this will withstand the water pressure and not leak and last for several years!
 
quote:
Originally posted by JVM225

...I drain the fresh water tank and heater, blow out the system from the dockside water connection...

Click to expand...


How did you make the adapter? Any pix?
 
I drain the hot water tank, drain the pump and then blow everything out. No pink stuff to buy and no pink taste early in the season. Air is free!!
 
If you remove the two waterlines from the tank, you will see what you need to connect them together. Mark which one goes where so you can put them back correctly.

BTW: There is often a check valve in one of the connections on the water heater and this can affect draining the tank. Just keep this in mind.
 
imspacemancraig, I've gotten rid of the smell by running a couple of tanks full of cold water through the water heater; although I haven't turned the element on to actually heat the water. I'll do that within the next couple of days to see if the water smells when the element heats it. I'll try what Niles (nwaring) and HOGAN do with theirs, my in and out hoses are close enough together that a cheap, double-ended barbed connector should work. The hoses already have clamps on them, so there's less to buy.

Thanks again everyone!
 
JVM is this the type of connector you use? I made this to blow out my sprinkler system in the fall. I installed a hose spigot on the copper pipe going into the sprinkler manifold. I simply attach this adaptor to the spigot, the compressor hose to the other end and just cycle through the zones a couple of times. This looks like it would work for blowing out the boat water system through the dockside connector also.

blowoutadaptor.jpg
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I use a similar , only mine was bought at Wallmart for about 3 bucks..
I turn on all the taps untill the tank is empty, then remove the pressure line from the water pump, attach the fitting and fill with air...Keep opening the hot and cold taps untill just air is coming out...For the hot water tank, I fill the lines with air and open the drain on the hot water tank untill just air comes out...Leave the taps and hot water tank drain open for the winter...

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Picture153.jpg
 
After bypassing the hot water tank, I also use a couple of gallons of pink to winterize the fresh water system. Come spring I then flush the system with water. Once the pink is gone I will then reconnect the hot water tank. Connecting it back up prior to flushing the lines in spring, means you'll be filling up the hot water tank with some of the residual pink left in the line.
 
I bought the PVC that will handle hot water. Attached two PVC valves on each tank fitting, then made a bypass line using those premade water flex hoses. (The valves in RV bypass kits have too small of a center hole, which will reduce water volume.) Next, I installed two PVC valves on the inlet side of the water pump. Each fall, I just turn the valves on the tank and water pump, attach a hose from one water pump valve and draw Pink from the bottle. In the spring, switch to fresh water, flush the system and switch over the tank valves and fill the tank with clean water. Small project in the beginning,but time saver after that.
 
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