Supply lines

[Wilson01]

What’s the best brand of supply lines to use for my hot water heater tank? I replaced the tank a couple of days ago and I used sharkbite stainless corrugated supply lines and one of the them I can’t get to stop leaking. I was thinking about the stainless braided lines but reading online about the rubber hose inside deteriorating I want to go with corrugated. I used thread tape on it but just won’t tighten enough to stop leaking. I checked the rubber gasket and it looks fine. Thanks for any help

 

[wwhitney]

I used thread tape on it but just won’t tighten enough to stop leaking. I checked the rubber gasket and it looks fine.

The end of a corrugated supply line that has a gasket inside should be used without thread tape on the male fitting. The seal is from compressing the gasket to the end of the male fitting; you're not trying to seal the threads. So too much thread tape could prevent you from tightening the nut sufficiently to compress the gasket enough to seal.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Wilson01]

The end of a corrugated supply line that has a gasket inside should be used without thread tape on the male fitting. The seal is from compressing the gasket to the end of the male fitting; you're not trying to seal the threads. So too much thread tape could prevent you from tightening the nut sufficiently to compress the gasket enough to seal.

Cheers, Wayne

I guess I didn’t word it correctly, I used thread tape after I couldn’t get it to stop leaking. The other one seems to be fine and not leaking, it’s just the supply side leaking. I’m just wondering if there is a brand name that’s better than what I can buy in a box store. My tank is in a cubby hole in my closet so if it leaks I won’t see it till it ruins my carpet or leaks through the floor into my finished basement. This is the old tank.

 

[All Shore Plumbing NY]

What’s the best brand of supply lines to use for my hot water heater tank? I replaced the tank a couple of days ago and I used sharkbite stainless corrugated supply lines and one of the them I can’t get to stop leaking. I was thinking about the stainless braided lines but reading online about the rubber hose inside deteriorating I want to go with corrugated. I used thread tape on it but just won’t tighten enough to stop leaking. I checked the rubber gasket and it looks fine. Thanks for any help

I'd go with braided stainless from a plumbing supply house Watts or BrassCraft. I'd skip the box store generics, especially with a finished basement below. And no tape on that end; the gasket does the sealing, just like wwhitney said. Is it leaking at the tank connection, or the shutoff side?

 

[Breplum]

Water heaters must have a drain safety pan with hard piped drain to outdoors. That code exists for a reason.
T&P also must have gravity drain full bore to exterior.

 

[Reach4]

Water heaters must have a drain safety pan with hard piped drain to outdoors. That code exists for a reason.
T&P also must have gravity drain full bore to exterior.

Drain to outdoors is not required everywhere -- particularly in places that freeze. Discharge above the floor is allowed in some places.

Regarding full bore, I think 3/4 pex or 3/4 CPVC may also be allowed at least in some places.

Also remember Georgia has a special provision that lets the main output to be higher than the WH.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Drain to outdoors is not required everywhere -- particularly in places that freeze. Discharge above the floor is allowed in some places.

Regarding full bore, I think 3/4 pex or 3/4 CPVC may also be allowed at least in some places.

Also remember Georgia has a special provision that lets the main output to be higher than the WH.

Good Points Reach 4 ,
although draining to outside isnt specified everywhere I think upc may have modified that wording. there are aprooved though and prohibited locations to drain like straight to the floor inside a house generally prohibited but some codes actually allow it if its existing. poor choice but grandfathered in some places
this full bore buisness came up with me rescently I was told texas wasent allowing cpvc for t and p because the id is smaller than 3/4 and the guy said IRC code dosent allow it unless you upsize to 1 inch. I find that it specificly allows 3/4 cpvc. pex on other hand is an issue because anything inside the pipe is a restriction including a shark bite . since 3/4 cpvc is a legal size piping it is full bore not under bore the fact its less than 3/4 dosent matter its concidered 3/4 inch and the bore is not restricted

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Home depot sells SS corrugated water heater supply lines that are dialectric on both female ends of the pipe
and they come in different sizes.... all cost about 10 bucks each.....

thread tape probably gets stuck against the washer and allows the fitting to leak...
just use pipe dope.....

 

[Jeff H Young]

we use water flexes all the time because of code and siesmic but On ols galvinised nipples sometimes the ends on the nipples are corroded and the washers dont seal against it teflon tape is a improper fix and most times adds to the problem but many times people arent in the trade or are not very experianced and think tape is a good practice but its not its a very poor practice Im sure people got away with it but its just a bad move take a file to the face of the nipple maybe but save your tape .
I exclusively use corrugated SS flexes on water heaters I dont hard pipe

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

we use water flexes all the time because of code and siesmic but On ols galvinised nipples sometimes the ends on the nipples are corroded and the washers dont seal against it teflon tape is a improper fix and most times adds to the problem but many times people arent in the trade or are not very experianced and think tape is a good practice but its not its a very poor practice Im sure people got away with it but its just a bad move take a file to the face of the nipple maybe but save your tape .
I exclusively use corrugated SS flexes on water heaters I dont hard pipe

I reallhy like the SS corrogated female x female flex connectors... they are dialectric and make the job go
fast and easy..... Occasionally I get someone complaining about them and my usual responce is that they
are actually CODE in California due to the movement in the soil and the stress on the plumbing lines.... Knowing that
they aer what California insists on, it seems to make all the woke liberals feel all warm and fuzzy..

Lots of plumbers think its cheating but if they are good enough for California then who am I to question their wisdom

 

[Jeff H Young]

we use water flexes all the time because of code and siesmic but On ols galvinised nipples sometimes the ends on the nipples are corroded and the washers dont seal against it teflon tape is a improper fix and most times adds to the problem but many times people arent in the trade or are not very experianced and think tape is a good practice but its not its a very poor practice Im sure people got away with it but its just a bad move take a file to the face of the nipple maybe but save your tape .
I exclusively use corrugated SS flexes on water heaters I dont hard pipe

I reallhy like the SS corrogated female x female flex connectors... they are dialectric and make the job go
fast and easy..... Occasionally I get someone complaining about them and my usual responce is that they
are actually CODE in California due to the movement in the soil and the stress on the plumbing lines.... Knowing that
they aer what California insists on, it seems to make all the woke liberals feel all warm and fuzzy..

Lots of plumbers think its cheating but if they are good enough for California then who am I to question their wisdom

I think they hold up better than copper corrugated flexes and neither are rated for inacessable areas so i get the aprehension but they hold up reasonably well good chance they will out last the heater hard piping with female adapers isnt a great method either probebly a brass coupling and 4 inches plus brass nipple then go to hard copper but that gets a little spendy and over kill. I been teeing off with sainless steel and then stainless nipple and 90 on expension tanks then ill drive right size block under the nipple and put 2 hole strap to support weight of tank over kill as well but cheap and easy