How to Replace an Electric Water Heater EASY DIY – Home Depot Rheem Performance XE50M06ST45U1

My 15 year old water heater was leaking due to corrosion. Bought a replacement at Home Depot. It is a $379 50 gallon electric Rheem Performance water heater. Model XE50M06ST45U1

Items in video:

Time Stamps:
0:27 – Cost of plumber & of the Home Depot water heater
0:42 – Purchase water heater
1:00 – Unloading
1:24 – The leak
2:00 – Turning power (breaker) off
2:44 – Drain water heater
5:44 – Unboxing new water heater
7:35 – Disconnecting electrical from old water heater
8:28 – Using pipe cutter to cut copper pipping
13:54 – Installing shark bite supply line w/ valve
14:35 – Install shark bite hot water line
16:46 – Turning on water and filling tank (Do this before hooking up electrical)
17:50 – Releasing air from water heater ***MUST DO***IMPORTANT****
18:27 – Hooking up the electrical to the water heater
20:37 – Turning power (breaker) on

Other Useful Links:

Camera used: GoPro Hero 7 Black
Editing Software: Final Cut Pro X version 10.4.8
Date of activity: September 2020

[phw]

Man, what a fantastic video. I bought the same water heater and this 63 year old guy installed his first water heater ! Thanks for helping give me the courage to step out of my comfort zone, and save money doing it. Awesome!

[nekkar]

Just a few things to note. Opening hot water faucets in the house will help the heater to drain (when water supply has been turned off) as it will allow air to into the system to replace the water. If you have a combination hot/cold faucet in the house, if you don't have it all the way on hot, cold water can back feed through the hot water supply pipes (which is why the tank was filling with water before he turned the cold water supply back on to the tank). Also wrapping the ground wire clockwise around the green screw will further tighten the wire down, where as if you wrap the other way, the wire wants to come loose as you tighten the screw.

[joenop]

8:05 I thought I was the only one to take pictures to ensure the connections are correct! Love how your video is you show the little things we all may encounter. Good Job!

[fisherus]

If any of you see my comment, here's some advice to speed up your installation. First, you need to either open a hot water valve to a sink inside your house (preferably the closest one to your water heater) after you open the drain valve on the water heater. If you don't, it will cause an air lock and your water will just drip slowly. You can also open the pressure safety valve on the water heater. Using the tube cutter keep tightening the knob as tightly as you can and keep turning it backwards so the round cutter wheel is moving away from you. It should not take more than 4-5 turns to cut through the tube.

[prattfam]

This is amazing. Single mom here and going to attempt with my 16 year olds help.

[mejesse]

I've was a service plumber for more than 10 years, u did a decent job, it's advised u use a little pipe dope on metal to metal connections and even teflon, both won't hurt, b4 u turn on the electric to it, always bleed the furthest hot side faucet, otherwise burning out an element is possible. The only other thing u might want to check, is the t-stat settings, they should be set at 120 degrees, some H2O heaters have one and some have 2.

[tut]

I'm 53 and changed my first water heater after watching your video. Thanks dude

[simmerjoy]

Your video just saved me. I’m 21 years old and I inherited my grandfathers very very old home.. money is tight and I absolutely can’t afford to have someone replace my leaking electric water heater right now. I am pretty handy. I’ve replaced leaking piping and fixed sewer issues but this is something out of my expertise. Thank you! A million times thank you!

[jcoolman]

Today is Feb 14 and you just saved me $600 bucks. That's how much they wanted to charge just to replace my water heater. I'm doing it myself now.

[naubaucat]

I am so glad I clicked on your video. My water heater has been sitting in the living room for two months, and i was trying to figure out if I was going to tackle this myself. It is great to see someone in their house doing this. I think i have the confidence to try it. Thanks so much.

[donniebrassco]

I bought this same water heater today. Gotta install it. Nice to see a fellow YouTuber getting his info from these types of videos.
Suggestions. Hook up a drain pipe on the relief valve. You'll find them next to the water heaters with pressed on fittings at Home Depot ( I see them at :24 bottom right). Very important to put this on. If not, someone could walk by the water heater when/if it releases pressure it will blow hot water in your face if it stays like it is presently installed. The relief drain pipe is like a big long 90 and will point the water down and away from eye/face level.
Also, to drain a tank. 1. Turn power off. 2. Turn off water valve. 3, Open water drain. 4. Flip Relief Valve up to open it. 5. Then turn on a sink or tub on the hot water side and leave it on. (this will give the tank some air to help drain). Once you get water out of the top of the heater, you can take supply lines off to allow more air to assist in draining. Great video and thanks!

[MNTwinmom]

Thank you for this video! I’m a 50 y-o single female home owner and often feel I’m getting scammed (plumber quoted me $500+ to replace a check valve for my sump pump and I did it by myself with the $10 part). After seeing prices for a hot water install from $1200-$1800 this gave me the confidence to know I could do it myself!

[cannonball]

I love this. I feel like I'm watching myself figure another project out! I needed a video to show me what to do with the copper pipes. Thanks, man! 🙌

[caseyellis]

Just installed a new water heater in the house and went off your video and then the comments. Worked like a charm! Much Appreciated!

[irgeeksauce]

This video helped me install a new heater for my disabled mother. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge. It was pretty cut and dry, but I was a little weary on the electrical, so you helped confirm it. 👍

[almaflorJA]

Good video man, always remember to twist your ground wire clockwise around the screw not counterclockwise.

[jennievickers]

God bless you sir you saved your family a plumping bill.
Bless your wife she has a smart husband.

[dennisduncan]

Did this today except i went from a 50 gal to a 40 gal, we're only 2 people and i wanted to save $80. Video was great, only thing i did differently was cut the pipe too low on purpose, slide the old heater out, slide the new heater in, thread the new hoses in first then hold the hose next to the pipe to figure out where to cut the pipe again.

Video gave me tons of confidence to do the project.

[kathyweigelhi-lophotovideo]

Great video...loved how you checked and rechecked the electrical ...you can never be to safe.

[RizenMedia-oc]

I searched for my water heater and couldn't find something similar but now I know what to do. Thanks for the video.