Homeowners Fear Unexpected Plumbing Damage
10 posts since Jul 2026, all from r/Plumbing.
“dont try to reuse a nipple, ive seen too many male brass threads completely eroded away after pulling fittings apart on well water [re: Can I tighten this safely?]”
“The pipe off of the heater needs to be copper up to the 90s. The new water heater should come with a draft hood you can connect to the vent. [re: Cut pipe? Or unscrew the bottom plastic fitting and reuse the pipe above?]”
“Many modern water heaters have factory-installed dielectric-lined or plastic-lined nipples, making direct copper connection safe. Dielectric is Dielectric wheather its a union or a nipple”
Several posts express concern about potential damage to water lines during renovations, construction, or even seemingly simple tasks like running power cables. Homeowners worry about the cost and disruption caused by accidentally hitting pipes and needing emergency repairs.
SOURCES (12)
“dont try to reuse a nipple, ive seen too many male brass threads completely eroded away after pulling fittings apart on well water [re: Can I tighten this safely?]”
“The pipe off of the heater needs to be copper up to the 90s. The new water heater should come with a draft hood you can connect to the vent. [re: Cut pipe? Or unscrew the bottom plastic fitting and reuse the pipe above?]”
“Many modern water heaters have factory-installed dielectric-lined or plastic-lined nipples, making direct copper connection safe. Dielectric is Dielectric wheather its a union or a nipple”
“Also, could I have just put the copper tee right on top of the inlet and not used the brass nipple & union? Same question about the Corro Protection, I went the safe route and used a brass nipple and union to their parts, could I have just used copper right to it? Thanks! submitted by /u/Lordburke81 [link] [comments]”
“I have two existing copper pipes that were a little wider apart. I had to push them together a bit creating a slight angle connection…will this fail over time? The hot connection is leaning slightly right while blue is leaning slightly left, I tried to center it so either one would not bear a greater angle. submitted by /u/Substantial-Plant947 [link] [comments]”
“The air temperature at the top of a Gas Fired Hot Water Heater can exceed 180⁰F for extended lengths of time and compromise the PEX tubing that could be pressurized to 80 pounds per square inch. If this fails you could have a water leak. https://preview.redd.it/vp182hi2rxkh1.jpeg?width=887&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f644c0b821b44b7596546d068572ef303852f48c”
“No. Copper should be used near gravity vent flue. The radiated heat will melt pex.”
“I need to replace the dip tube on my AO Smith water heater I need to know if I need to know if this entire thing is supposed to come out, or if this is even normal. Cold water inlet. submitted by /u/Technical_Stop1943 [link] [comments]”
“I am sorry for asking a stupid question here, as I am not a plumber, but I am just interested in understanding the correct procedure. Assume you want to replace a water heater that has a direct copper connection to dielectric nipples. No flexible connections. From what I understand, you would first get a threaded copper fitting and screw it onto the nipple. Then you would solder the threaded copper fitting to your copper water pipe. Is that the correct order? It seems like you can only screw the”
“Edit: Van Stone 🤦♂️ I’m considering building a small pressure chamber for a submersible pump so I can use it to boost city water. Essentially mimick a well casing but not open to air. Need to be able to remove the top and pull the pump out. It’ll hold back city water pressure which for us is up to about 40-45 max where this will be. I am between van stone / lap joint flanges for this and Victaulic coupling. I’m not set on this design, still laying it out, but I can’t build an above grade pump”
“Planning on running power to a new island by cutting a 1.5”-2” trench from the island to the wall, and installing wire through conduit. My question is, if I run my trench to the opening to the left of the water lines in this picture, am I in danger of cutting/hammering a water line underneath? In a perfect world I understand that all water lines should be below the slab but I am curious what everyone’s thoughts are. Is it worth doing or should I find a different area to access power? Thank you f”