How to Disconnect a Hot Water Heater

Before you can even start to install a new hot water heater, disconnect and safely remove the old one. We walk you through how to disconnect your hot water heater safely – with pictures – in this step-by-step guide.

Preparing to Remove Your Old Hot Water Heater

Grab Your Tools

In order to disconnect a hot water heater, you’ll need the following tools and supplies:

Uninstalling Your Hot Water Heater

Now that you’ve gotten all the tools you need and located your hot water heater in your home, it’s time to start uninstalling your old hot water heater.

Find the gas control valve on your hot water heater, and turn the knob to the OFF position.

TOOLS: For this step, you may need one wrench.

Locate the gas line to your old water heater. This will generally be copper pipe that comes directly out of the wall, and connects directly to your old water heater.

Most newer water heaters will have knob on the gas line to shut off the main gas supply. If your old hot water heater has this knob, simply twist the knob on the gas line so that it is perpendicular to the copper pipe.

Pro Tip: There’s a really easy trick to shutting on and off all gas lines. When the knob is parallel to the pipe, the gas is flowing. When the knob is perpendicular to the pipe, the gas is shut off.

Unfortunately, not all gas lines will have a knob for easy gas shutoff. In our case, the gas supply will need to be shut up by using a wrench. If your old hot water heater’s gas line looks similar to the one pictured above, go ahead and locate the square-shaped knob on your gas line. Next, gently tighten with your wrench until is no longer easy to turn.

How to Disconnect Gas Line from Water Heater

Now that you’ve turned off your hot water heater and the main gas supply, it’s time to disconnect the gas line from the water heater.

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need two wrenches.

You should see a large and small nut fairly close to each other on your hot water heater’s gas line. The union should be pretty close to where you just turned off the main gas supply.

Now that you’ve located the union, firmly grasp the small nut with one wrench. If you’re using an adjustable wrench, tighten the wrench down on the nut. While holding the first wrench steady on the small nut, grasp the larger nut with your other wrench and slowly turn to loosen.

Pull the two pipes away from each other, leaving the gas line exposed.

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need Teflon tape and a gas pipe cap.

NOTE: Gas Line Cap (Either ½” or ¾” depending on your model. Always measure first or consult your user manual.)

Wrap teflon tape: On your gas line (the pipe sticking out of the wall), slowly wrap the teflon tape around the threads. Three wraps should create a good seal.

Secure Gas Cap: Use a wrench to tighten the cap onto your gas line, making sure to hold the line securely with your other hand to reduce wiggling.

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need two wrenches.

On the front of the old hot water heater, locate the box where you first turned off the gas control valve. There will be a flexible pipe attached to it. This is the other portion of the piping that you just disconnected from the gas line.

You should see two nuts on this line where the line attaches to the water heater control valve. Again, use two wrenches to disconnect the gas pipe from the water heater’s control valve.

Draining the Hot Water Heater

Now that you’ve disconnected and the gas supply, it’s time to drain the old hot water heater.

Turn on the hot water and let it run until it runs cool. Depending on the size of your water tank, this step could take 10 minutes or more.

WARNING: To reduce the risk of scalding yourself, you must first ensure the water is cool before moving onto the next step!

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need a garden hose and bucket.

Now that the water is running cool, it’s time to drain the remaining water out of your tank.

On the front of your old water heater, there should be a short spigot coming out of the tank. This is called the drain valve.

Connect the garden hose to the water heater’s drain valve. Place the other end of the hose into a bucket to collect the excess water.

NOTE: If you have a drain or outside door nearby, you can skip the bucket and drain directly into the drain or outside.

TOOLS: For this step, you may need a wrench or pair of pliers.

There are two pipes coming out of the top of your old hot water heater leading into the wall. For this step, we will be focusing on the cold water supply pipe.

When you look at both pipes, they should appear just a little different. One should be smooth and without knobs all the way up – that is your hot water line.

To turn off the cold water supply to your old water heater, locate the knob on the cold water line. This should look similar to a cap, but will have a small square at the top of it. This might look similar to your gas shut off if you have an older hot water heater.

If you don’t have a tool that fits snugly on the square, don’t worry. Grab a wrench or a pair of pliers to tighten it down. Do that now. This should only be about a quarter to a half turn until it will not turn further using gentle torque.

TOOLS: If your drain valve doesn’t have a handle, you’ll need to use a flathead screwdriver.

You’re now ready to drain the water out of your old water heater! Ready? Let’s do it!

• Open a hot water faucet on a nearby sink to help drain the water faster.
• Open the drain valve on the water heater.
• Drain the water completely.
• Remove garden hose.

NOTE: If you are using a bucket, you will probably have to make several trips to empty it. Make sure to completely turn the drain valve off before moving or emptying the bucket.

Continue Disconnecting Water Heater

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need one wrench.

Once the old water heater is empty, disconnect the T&P Relief Valve. The T&P Relief Valve will be connected to your old water heater on the side, but near the top, and looks like a thin pipe. This pipe is connected on one end, and hangs parallel to the water heater.

The vent pipe is the thick pipe coming out of the top of your old hot water heater. It’s usually located between the water supply lines.

Making sure the pipe is cool first, carefully disconnect it from the old water heater by lifting up and out – towards yourself – at an angle.

TOOLS: For this step, you’ll need two wrenches.

Like you’ve been doing, use one wrench to hold one nut tight. Use the other wrench to unscrew the water pipes from the top of the old water heater. Leave them hanging for easy installation of your new water heater.

Hot Water Pipe: Locate the union on the hot water pipe. Again, this will just be two nuts that are fairly close to each other on the pipe. Use both wrenches to disconnect.

Cold Water Pipe: Repeat the step above using two wrenches to disconnect the cold water pipe from your water heater.

NOTE: If you are not able to unscrew the pipes, they may be “hard plumbed”.

In this case, you will need to purchase a pipe cutter from your local hardware store. Just tell them what you are trying to do, and they will know exactly what tool you need.

If you need to cut the pipes, simply tighten the pipe cutter onto the water supply pipe and rotate the pipe cutter around the water pipe counter-clockwise. Repeat this for the other water pipe until both pipes are separated from the water heater.

That’s it. You did it! Give yourself a high-five. Your old hot water heater is now ready to be picked up by one of our friendly Loaders. And you just learned a new skill in the process.

Way to go! 😉

Need assistance? Please feel free to contact us online or by calling (844) 239-7711 and we will be more than happy to help get rid of your old water heater.

⚠️ CAUTION: Water heaters are heavy. Improper removal can lead to injury. If you don’t have a hand truck available, get help from two or more people when removing or installing a water heater.

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