How to Install a 40-Gallon Hot Water Tank With One Person

A water heater provides your family with much-needed hot water.

A water heater is one of the most important appliances in your home, as it provides the hot water you need for cooking, washing clothes and bathing. An electric water heater operates by heating the water with two heating elements located inside the tank. A 40-gallon water heater typically weighs around 100 pounds, so one person can move it with a hand truck if no additional help is available. Completing the installation yourself can save you money in labor costs.

Things You'll Need

• Voltage tester
• Hand truck
• Level
• Shims
• Teflon tape
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Connector
• Wire nut
• Electrical conduit
• Plastic connector caps

Instructions

1. Test the wiring that leads from the main electrical box with a voltage tester. If the line is live, turn the power off at the box and test the lines again. Receiving a shock from the 240-volt line used to power the water heater will kill you.

2. Wheel the water heater into position with the hand truck. Remove the hand truck once you have positioned the water heater, then lay a level across the top of the water heater. If it's not level, place shims underneath it until it is.

3. Tightly wrap Teflon tape around the hot water outlet pipe and cold water inlet pipe on top of the water heater.

4. Attach the blue PEX tubing or flexible tubing provided with the water heater to the cold water inlet pipe and the water line coming into your home.

5. Attach the flexible tubing or red PEX tubing to the hot water outlet pipe on top of the water heater and the pipe that carries hot water throughout your home.

6. Check the drain valve at the bottom of the water heater, and close it if it's open.

7. Open all of the hot water spigots in your home, then turn on the water main that feeds water into the hot water tank. Allow the water to flow so it fills the tank and then moves through the hot water lines until it finally exits through the faucets. Allow the water to flow through the faucets for about a minute to bleed air out of the hot water lines, then turn the faucets off.

8. Test the wiring with the voltage tester one more time, just to be on the safe side.

9. Remove the plate cover from the top of the tank and pull out the wires.

10. Take out the knockout hole adjacent to the hole for the wiring by tapping on it with a hammer and screwdriver.

11. Attach a connector to the knockout hole by screwing it into place with a wire nut, then slide the cable from the main electrical box through the electrical conduit and the wire nut. Thread it through the top of the water heater until the wires inside the cable are within reach of the wires in the water heater.

12. Slide the conduit into the knockout hole, and tighten the screw on the connector to secure it.

13. Attach the black wire from the cable to the black wire from the water heater with a plastic connector cap, then connect the red wires with a connector cap. Wrap the green wire from the cable around the green grounding screw on the water heater and tighten it.

14. Tuck the wiring into the top of the water tank, and replace the cover.

15. Set the thermostat on the front of the water heater to a temperature of between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit, then turn on the power to the water heater at the main box.

Tips & Warnings

• Hire an electrician if you're not comfortable installing the wiring.

• Don't provide electricity to the water heater when the tank is empty. Doing so can burn out the heating elements inside the tank.

References

• Popular Mechanics: How to Install an Electric Water Heater
• Aubuchon Hardware: How to Replace a Water Heater