Water heater bypass?

[SCORPIO]

Somewhere I saw a post about bypassing the water heater, complete with pics. I don't know where I saw it. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Gregory S]

You can buy a bypass kit or just disconnect the cold and hot water lines from the water heater and connect them together with a short piece of hose and a couple of hose clamps. I leave mine bypassed all winter and hook it up againat spring commisioning.

 

[C team]

What Gregory said. Very easy kit to install or do what I do and that is to just connect the hot and cold lines from the heater together and it is by-passed.

 

[nwaring]

Either way make sure that hooking it back up or turning the T is on the spring check list. Whith either method you will have water on the hot side at your sinks, might make you forget there isn't any water in the tank.

Niles

 

[rommer]

I have seatech fittings on my water system. No tools required to bypass. Relive pressure from the system by turning off the pump/shore water then open a faucet or 2. Pull the fittings off the heater and then press them together to bypass.

Don't forget to open the drain valve at the bottom of the heater to drain the remainder of the water. The small amount that remains after that will not cause any damage when it freezes.

 

[MichaelNJ]

I have Seatech also but I have a 1/2" male NPT that screws into the tank on the hot and cold sides. The cold one has a check valve. The other side of that fitting has a 15mm tube. The sea tech fittings on the hose push on to that. There is a collar that you pull back to release it. But I can't snap the two hoses together. I take the hoses off the threaded fittings, remove the threaded fitting and then use a PVC 1/2" female to female coupling and screw the two male fittings into that and push the hoses back on the brass fittings. I put my antifreeze through and leave the coupling in place over the winter. I'll flush the system with fresh water in the spring and leave the water heater bypassed. No antifreeze ever gets in the water heater.

I would prefer not to remove the two brass fittings from the water heater. I would need a piece of 15mm tubing to connect the hot and cold hoses together.

 

[starfishkiller]

It probably goes without saying, but make sure the water heater doesn't get turned on in the spring without being full of water. Heating elements will burn out.
eric