Rheem RHS42 Water Softener Install + Sharkbite Connector Battle
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- The process of replacing my busted kenmore softener with a new Rheem RHS42 softener, including adapting the copper piping with sharkbite braided hoses to fit the new softener height. While there aren’t that many steps, I really struggled with the sharkbites, but am not sure where I went wrong.
As a pro plumber , I did find it hard not to smile on occassion during watching this. On the plus side , I DO admire that are brave and honest enough to show the times where you struggled a bit or had an issue. Most people post videos where everything goes perfectly ( on screen ) yet you can see they changed their clothes , notice that the sun has gone down OR the seasons have changed by the time they're done with their "10 minute" job !?!?! Good work to seeing it thru to success.
I am a 59 year old housewife and thanks to you, I was able to install my new Raheem Water softener. Thanks for having trouble with the shark bites. I did too and you gave me confidence to pursue. All done and works great!!!! Thank you again. Great video
Like the softener itself, lubing your o-rings in the shark bite fittings will work wonders!
The shark bite part of the install was painful to watch But you stuck with it and never gave up👍🏻 thanks bro for the video!!
Scott, this video was very helpful. I purchased this water softener yesterday and finished putting it in with your help.
glad it helped!
I just bought the same model to replace a 20 year old unit so this will be handy! (I figured out the height was different beforehand and picked up the flex-hoses when I got the softener. 😎) Great video, thanks.
Applause for diligence and persistence. Good job!
A little silicone lube and rotation when possible will really help installing fittings with o-rings. Nice job on the video, considering Rheem softener myself for installation at a family members new house.
i work for a plumbing/soft water company abs personally i’ll only use a shark bite in dire straits however i feel this is a great place to use a shark bite. you saved a lot of money probably over a grand tackling this yourself. nice job
Saved way more than $1000. This was bid at $5300 by one of our competitors.
@@aquattadomdren6760 wow they were trying to screw you… our top of line HE softeners with aqua probes and All don’t even hit 2500 and our main unit is 1700 I woulda went this route too
My new Rheem matched up perfectly with my old shut off valve on my old GE
Really surprised the 1" NPT didn't leak through the gasket being hand-tight. I guess that proves teflon tape would be totally unnecessary.
Its a compression of the gasket inside the hose end that makes the seal. The pipe threads are simply mechanical for this connection.
That plastic insert you took out of the SB fitting is only for pex piping because pex can flex a little bit and cause a leak. The insert will add rigidity to it hence it is there. For copper and cpvc pipes you don't need that insert. Also, when dealing with push fittings, avoid sanding or grinding or anything that will deform the outside surface of the pipe that goes into the fitting and comes in contact with the o-ring. If the o-ring sits on a not so perfect round surface, you will surely get a leak. Just make sure that part of the pipe that goes in is free from any dirt, dents/dimple, cuts, and the end/edge is rounded. If the end of the pipe is sharp, there is a chance that it would cut into the o-ring and makes the fitting fail and not usable.
Great advice..👍
Thanks -- especially for pointing out the O-ring on the inside of the female end of the Sharkbite hose. I'm about to make a second attempt to install almost exactly this same water softener, and I've been worried about how (if) the metal-to-plastic threaded connection would seal. During my first attempt I tried to use PVC all the way to the softener and that was a mistake.
I also watched a video produced by Sharkbite that specifically says not to sand the pipe, BTW, in response to your question to TGF00Buck. Thanks again.
You have a lot of iron in your water.Rheem sells a liquid iron remover you use 4 times a year
You need to use a dab of silicone grease (only) when assembling any O Ring assemblies including those push on type flex-able lines. That may be the reason you had a hard time. Using a water filter before it goes into the unit would also be a good idea to extend the life of everything. Thanks for posting this video.
That makes sense, next time!
Chlorinated water will shorten the life of the resin in a softener. A resin can only take so much beating. After that its ion exchange capability goes downhill. So it's always good to have a carbon filter before the softener and reverse osmosis filter (if you have one) to prolong the life of the resin and the r.o. membrane.
With shark bite fittings you don't wanna sand the pipe. I normally just take a rag and clean it as well as I can. If they ever get jammed up then normally it's because of the round plastic insert in the center of the fitting. It'll be crooked and not lined up in the center of the copper pipe. If there are and burs inside of the pipe then it'll grab that plastic center insert.
I pulled that inner plastic piece out to make sure it wasnt inside burs, but that didnt seem to help. I dont know if i had weird pipes or the sanding messed it up, but it sure was hard.
@@ScottDriscoll Haha all that matters is it didn't leak lol
I really appreciate your video, the only thing I would do different, I don't like sharkbites; I will just use the hose with threads on both sides.
Thanks
I will be replacing this exact same Rheem unit in my relatively new house. The gorilla that installed the Rheem used "made in China" Sharkbite fittings and he cranked the 1" outlets so tight that the unit eventually started leaking within a year and a half. When I disassembled it, the gasket was chewed up and this is what failed. I went to one of those depot stores and noticed they had the china stuff in the Sharkbite boxes. Beware! I'm now searching for the real thing prior to install. As a side note, the good plumbers are hard to get in Arizona .... they are all very busy.
Plumbers lube! It helps lube the o-ring and slide in further
Thank you for the great review. How do you like it after using the product for a while ? I see lot of negative reviews on Home Depot website for this product. Most of them complain about leaks. So I’m a little confused if I should buy it or not.
Still good! I had a leak in a connector when i first got it but they shipped a new part to me super fast. No problems since. I also do the recommended cleaner which gives u 5 year warranty
Thanks again. I got it installed. So far so good. Water is just amazing !!
Spit on it, use a black marker and mark 1" , i like it good job , i would also replace the filter section, i like the clear ones that way you can see if it needs changing.
Thank you so much for this! I just bought it from Home Depot and the reviews of recent are TERRIBLE. I'm hooking mine up tomorrow and I hope I do not have crazy issues like what is on their website. I read you had a 'Main Connector' leak and it was quick service to fix it. What was the fix, a new gasket?
they sent me a new white plastic part that connects to all the hoses. Support was super knowledgeable and fast. It is an inexpensive unit, maybe I got lucky. No issues so far and 2 years in.
Hi Scott! The copper pipe in the beginning of your video where you hacksaw the bypass valve, is it a cold line? Great video!
Yep! Hot water heater is downstream
Just did one on sunday, all the same issues. Now i want to pull my sharkbites off and check there depth.
What's that you're pouring at the last? Is that required?
Thank you for making this!!
Just bought one, it’s going in my new home.
Hey, thanks for the video, it helped. But my water in/out pipes are coming out of my wall horizontally and they are like a more clear plastic type of PVC (?). How can I mod them so they will go vertically into the bypass valve? Thanks.
Thank you.......65 years old
Nice video. I know it's been a few years and I'm looking at this exact model from home Depot. Would you buy it again?
So far so good! The main connector leaked when i first installed but mfr sent me a new one. And when i called support it was a very knowledgeable person who took about 1 min to figure out the part at fault.
How can you schedule to recharge it daily or can you stop recharge like 2 days but still have soft water?
Thanks for the video, very informative. I'm probably gonna get this for my home although I also have a pH neutralizer. Not sure if I should install this from the well water source after the neutralizer or before?
The manual doesn't mention a pH neutralizer in its system diagram, so you might want to reach out to rheem support directly. They got back to me in less than 4 hours when I wrote in about a small leak on my drain line. Manual: images.thdstatic.com/catalog/pdfImages/e3/e39b8660-0fc7-46b9-9b32-c02428c3fb1c.pdf
after the neutralizer, after water passes thru the neutralizer it raises the hardness slightly, this is why the softener is always after neutralizer
Perhaps plumbers grease will help ???
What size are those steel braided hoses?
Awesome video thank you!
3/4 in. Push-to-Connect x 1 in. FIP x 24 in. amzn.to/3OKDmb9
Hi Scott I see that you laid the water softener on its side has it had any problems since you did that?
About a year in and no issues.
In the overflow pipe that you installed to the back of the grommet, is that just an extra one? I know one is installed on top of the Softner. I just replaced mine to a rheem and my old whirlpool didn’t have installed on the grommet. It’s also installed in the backyard on side of the house
That's the only overflow on mine, none on top.
@@ScottDriscoll thanks.
Question:
I did everything accordingly to manual and followed your video. I added one 45lb bag of salt and roughly 3-4 gallons of water on initial start. I also added a cleanser to sanitize. After a 2hr recharge, there is still little bit of water with the salt. Not nearly as 4 gallons but I’d say about a gallon. Is this normal? I haven’t added more salt yet. Please advise
@@roger9238 I remember being worried about that, too. I think water always stays in there? I normally have enough salt that I don't see the water line.
@@ScottDriscoll thanks for confirming. I did the same, added another bag and no issues so far. Softner works great.
that tank light whew can’t
how has this water softener held up for you?
Still good!
Nice tank light.
Can you tell me specific type of bleach you used? Thanks
Everyone poop poo's on box store water softners. How is your holding up?
Still good!
Do you have to manually have it recharge each time or does it recharge based off usage?
It's based off usage im pretty sure. It runs once a week or so in the middle of the night.
@@ScottDriscoll thanks for the reply. I installed one about a month ago and never could find any info on it. I have manually charged it every week (or less). I’ll have to let it go for over a week and see what it does! 😀
I think you could have avoided the whole Sharkbite fiasco by just buying 3/4" NPT MALE to 3/4" NPT FEMALE flexible pipe and just left the fittings on the copper pipe, yeah ?
Was there something stopping you from putting the softner on a platform to raise it to 4 inches you needed
If you look at the video again, you will see the original was 4 inches lower than this one without a platform, which would raise it even higher.
?????????he needed to lower
Can you please let me know where you buy the 1" SS. Hose to connection . Thank you very much !
amzn.to/3G7GSKJ SharkBite 3/4 Inch x 1 Inch FIP x 24 Inch Stainless Steel Braided Flexible Water Heater Connector
What is that other filter you have after the softener? Is that required?
Just a sediment filter, my water is a little sandy without it. And it's before the softener
My current drain line is about 4 foot above the floor. When this water softener drains is it gravity drainage or does the softener pump the water out?
It's actually a pretty good flow. I had it 2 inches above a small drain in the floor and it made a mess during the recharge cycle because water was not just trickling out, but splashing off the drain cover. There's not a pump in the softener, but it is connected to your pressure line, and during recharge, it does a fast rinse that pushes a good amount of water through it. I had to actually secure it somewhat inside the floor drain. My drain has a small hole and valve to so my radon pump doesn't pull air through it. The instructions say you must have a gap to prevent sewage backing up into it, but my floor drain just goes to a sump pump.
I got this installed but the bypass valve thing doesn't pull back no matter how hard I pull. What am I missing?
I don't remember there being any shipping clips on it... should be movable, but maybe o-rings dried out in yours?
Good job
I just installed this unit and still not getting soften water :(
Rheem support is great, FYI. I had a bad fitting and they sent me a new one super fast. There's a human on the other end who knows what they're talking about. There's a setting you have to adjust based on how much iron is in your water that may be the issue.
As a plumber watching him so this gave me anxiety lol good video for people trying diy
How do you know what to put the setting at?
depends on how hard your water is to start with, and iron content. rheemwatertreatment.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500000979841-Hardness-Level-Programming
good video but never sand the pipes when using sharkbite fittings. Debur yes sand no.
You think that's why i couldnt get the sharkbites to slide on easily?
@@ScottDriscoll Use a 3 m green pad is good to clean pipe
Hi can you drink water after ? Thanks
Yes. Softened water does have a little sodium in it, depending on how hard your water starts out, though. It's small... like a slice of bread's worth (150mg) per gallon of water (+/- a few slices of bread). A softener will not remove anything unsafe in the water, like bacteria, so you need to make sure your well is safe to drink without a softener. rheemwatertreatment.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408496095127-How-Much-Sodium-or-Potassium-is-in-Softened-Water-
Can you please let me know where you buy the 1" SS. Hose to connection . Thank you very much !
Can I use Clorox to do the recharge?
It’s honestly not necessary. They just need to write that in there for legal reasons. You don’t need to st all.
2 moths later still connecting shark bites connector obviously isn't a easy task complete 🤣
Dude left the old one plugged in for the uninstall...........ffs, Oh don't worry, just fn water and electricity. And no teflon tape on fittings, good luck man.
Who hurt you?
I would have not POST this VIDEO...embarrassing. Looks like you need to READ the Installation Manual/Vid ?