Quick plumbing question

[MillerMav]

I am not a plumber and any time I have sweat pipe I fail miserably! So when plumbing issues arise I call in a plumber.

That being said I had a fitting bust going from my plumbing to my washing machine. It broke at the joint below the valve in the wall so it was a big deal. The PO of my house did not have any valve to shut off in the basement for this line so I did the best I could absorbing with towels until the plumber arrived. This was at 6:30pm and I found a guy who would come after hours which is tough because I live out in the country. We went to the basement and instead of shutting off the main line from my well to the house he simply shut off the pump at the switch. We drained the lines of all water and he went to work. A couple hours later problem solved.

Here's the problem I need to fix...

Ever since then I have had fluctuations in pressure and hot water. These two things never existed before. Also there still seems to be air in the lines because occasionally any random faucet in the house will burp up some air while running.

What can I do to eliminate this problem? I am pretty handy and mechanically inclined but like I said; sweating pipe is not my thing.

 

[koditten]

Run the water for an extended amount of time. Open all taps, hot and cold thruout the house. This will flush out the air. It should clear up in 15 minutes or less.

KO

 

[MillerMav]

Run the water for an extended amount of time. Open all taps, hot and cold thruout the house. This will flush out the air. It should clear up in 15 minutes or less.

KO

Should I also start up the dishwasher, washing maching and outdoor connections? It would make sense to do so but I just thought I would double check.

 

[pmiranda]

Outdoor, yeah, but the dishwasher usually draws from the hot water valve of the kitchen sink so if you get the air out of the sink faucet you should be OK.

BTW, if you ever try to flush the junk out of your water heater after a long time, you'll need to do something similar with the nearest hot water tap since this will cause junk to come loose from the WH tank and end up in the lines. Either flush the WH and check the anode(s) once a year, or never do it and just plan on replacing the thing every 10 years.

 

[MillerMav]

Worked like a charm! I didn't run for 15 minutes only about 10 but I could tell that it was solved because I heard a lot of air coming out for the first 5 minutes or so.

Thanks!

 

[Spareparts]

You never run out of valable information on GJ, I thought I was savvy until I got on here.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

Open the pressure relief on you water heater as well to burp out the air and stabilize you heated water. If it is electric you may have burnt out the top element if it tried to heat an empty tank...

 

[MillerMav]

Open the pressure relief on you water heater as well to burp out the air and stabilize you heated water. If it is electric you may have burnt out the top element if it tried to heat an empty tank...

Thanks I will do that ASAP. I haven't had any issues since the trial the other night so I believe the water heater elements should be fine. I will do it anyway though.

 

[GRX]

Yep. Burping is key. You might want to clean out the screens at the faucets since sediment & particulates dislodged by the air will get trapped there blocking your flow.

I am not a plumber and any time I have sweat pipe I fail miserably!

While not a plumber, I have some experience with it. Far as sweating goes, if you have trouble getting the solder to flow & stick evenly hit the surfaces with some 220-grit sandpaper. Removes oxidation and give the solder a surface to grip to. Also clean with Brake clean before applying flux and soldering.

 

[71virgil]

Here's a quick tip for sweating a pipe with water in it - stuff a piece of bread down the pipe to stop the water. It will give you enough time to sweat the fitting on, and when you turn on the water the bread will basically dissolve restoring the flow of water.