Water Heater Bypass Valve

As others have said, you have to wiggle the line off the fitting. Use a hair dryer to warm and soften the PEX line. Use common sense and don't burn the line.

If it is a Fliar-it valve or fitting, once the nut is backed off you will need to pull the valve straight out of the tubing while firmly pulling. If that doesn't work twist the valve clockwise and counter clockwise slightly inside the tubing while pulling firmly. Do not pull it out like using a claw hammer on a nail. You will distort and stretch the end of the tubing and will have to trim it back when reconnecting or it won't seal again properly

Yes, it will take force. But use gentle force, you don't want to mar the end because that may cause a leak.

You need to unscrew nut.....slide it back up line then twist the line to remove from 'flair' fitting.
The PEX line is rigid and is pressed onto a 'barbed' fitting so it will be tough to remove

Flair bypass valving

I have a one valve by-pass system. It has worked fine for the last 5 years. I know its the valve, as I took off the line into the hot water tank, held my thumb over the line while DW opened the spigot's
and the pink antifreeze came out the cold water lines only. Before that, all the antifreeze ran into the tank. I am trying to find out the best way to get the line off the valve to replace it with a new one.
I tried to get the line/tubing off the flair end of the valve but it would not come off. I am thinking of heating the line/valve with a hair dryer then pulling it off, there are 3 lines on the valve. I was just wondering how anyone else has taken the lines off of any flair end valve or any other flair fitting. I don't want to just pry it off with a screwdriver or twist it off with pliers if there is an easier way. Prying or twisting with pliers will probably screw up the line/tubing.

bguy wrote:
To by-pass the tank you must operate 3 valves. You must close the cold inlet valve, close the hot outlet valve and open the by-pass valve. Unless the handle came off in your hand I doubt the valve is broken.

Some rigs, like mine, have a 1 valve bypass system. The bypass valve closes the cold water line to the water heater and shunts the cold water into the hot water lines, and a check valve on the water heater prevents backfilling the tank.

Some rigs have a 2 valve bypass system. There is a bypass valve which closes the cold water line to the water heater and shunts the cold water to a line going to a bypass valve on the hot water line. The bypass valve on the hot water line closes the line from the water heater and allows the cold water from the cold line to enter the hot water lines.

Some rigs have a 3 valve bypass system. There is a shutoff valve on the cold water line to the water heater. There is a shutoff valve on the hot water line from the water heater. There is a line connecting the hot and cold lines with a shutoff valve that must be opened to allow the cold water to enter the hot water lines.

To by-pass the tank you must operate 3 valves. You must close the cold inlet valve, close the hot outlet valve and open the by-pass valve. Unless the handle came off in your hand I doubt the valve is broken.

You MAY have been back filling the water tank by either not closing the second bypass valve (often there is two and occasionally three valves that need to be properly set. Other water heaters use a check valve to prevent back filling and this may also be your problem. Close the bypass line and it should not back fill but you won't be able to pump antifreeze through the system with the bypass line closed either. Use it as a diagnostic tool only.

Good luck / Skip

After you unscrew the nut holding the pipe in place you should be able to pull the pipe out of the valve. It may be very tight and you may have to twist it to break it loose. Perhaps use plyers.