water heater


Hydrogen sulfide gas smells like rotten eggs 30
If your hot water smells like rotten eggs, don’t panic. It’s almost certainly something you can fix on your own, and there are a few different ways you can try to fix it. First, to make sure your hot water heater is the source (and that this is the blog post you’re […]

How to Fix Rotten Egg Smell in your Water


Gas Water Heater Timer with included timer 13
I own a whopping eight water heaters between five houses: two at the main house, two at the Utah house, two at the cabin, and one at each of two rental houses. The cabin and one of the rental houses use electric water heaters, so the majority of my water heaters (5 out of 8) run on […]

Product Review: Save Money with a Gas Water Heater Timer


Control options for the ZigBee control module 20
One of my favorite features of my Ecobee WiFi thermostats is the ability to heat or cool a location so that it’s nice and comfortable by the time we walk in the door. For example, our furnace and heat pump at our cabin both use electricity, so I save money on my electric bill by allowing a […]

Product Review: Remotely Controlling an Electric Water Heater with a ...



New fittings installed in minutes 4
If you’ve read any of my previous plumbing DIY posts, you know I’m a fan of SharkBite slip-fittings. Yes, they’re more expensive than standard copper or CPVC fittings, but their primary benefit is how easy they are to install… and remove for re-use or reconfiguration. Normally, you don’t have to remove plumbing fittings […]

DIY: SharkBite Fittings Make Adding a Check Valve Easy


Insulation tubing around the recirculating pump return line and drain 21
I little over a year ago, I made my very first plumbing-related blog post: a report on how I learned I should flush my water heater to eliminate rust-colored water, and should replace its anode when it’s fully eroded. Since that first post, I’ve enjoyed progressively attempting more complex DIY plumbing […]

How to Replace Your Water Heater


Buy replacement furnace filters in bulk to save money 3
As I’ve taught myself a number of DIY home maintenance tasks over the years, I’ve noticed a trend: things tend to break at the worst possible time. When did my water heater’s TPR valve fail and start to spray water in the basement? At 10PM… when it was too late for […]

Home Maintenance Parts You Should Have In Your House Right ...



No pressure from hot water expansion tank 147
I’ve been on a plumbing DIY kick lately, and after recently replacing a hot water recirculating pump that had been installed incorrectly (upside-down!) by a professional plumber, I’ve been reminded that it’s never a bad idea to periodically test things inside your own house — even if they were installed […]

Testing and Replacing a Hot Water Expansion Tank