Before we could get any hot water (or heat, but that’s not really important in the summer) the propane supplier had to come out and do a safety check. It took two guys nearly two hours to complete this effort. (Ignore the guy by the ladder for this post, that’s the electrician.)
To me, this was going to be a simple matter. The home was set up with three lines from the propane tank: one to the hot water heater and two for previously removed gas heaters. I would have them remove (or cut off) the two defunct lines, test the remaining (VERY short line – about 5′) to the hot water, open the tank and light the pilot. Things are never this easy.
First and foremost, the tank’s placement is no longer legal as it is too close to a door and cannot be placed immediately below a window. Two strikes. After a long discussion they agreed to leave it FOR NOW as no one is living in the house, but as they told me many, MANY times, they cannot refill the tank until it is moved.
Meanwhile, they moved on to the gas lines and the problem was that it was a convoluted set of “T” junctions leading from one line to the next, and, of course, the closest line (the hot water) was the last in these T’s. So they had to remove it all and connect the hot water line directly to the tank. And they were two difference sizes, so it took a series of connectors to get it done. Eventually, they did.
Last up was lighting the pilot light. The hot water tank isn’t too old, but having been out of commission for a year or so, there was a lot of dirt and cobweb buildup making this task a bit more difficult. And, once lit, they had to stick around to assure that the smoke and smell was just the burning off of the dirt buildup and not a larger problem.
It took some time, but now I’ve got hot water so I can take a “construction shower” when working on the house before I step foot in Chez Patch next door where I’m still borrowing a bedroom during construction.