Hot water heater questions

[Black]

Plumbking wrote:
You disconnect the gas by unscrewing the union. Right next to the 90 in your pic. There are no reverse threads in your application. After the gas is shut off.

Your new water heater has a control valve already installed.

If I were you I'd remove the union and replace with a 1/2 x 24" gas flex with cock. The cock will be your new gas shut off valve. The flex adapter will screw into the new gas control valve.

Be sure to use pipe dope on all threads. It is not a glue but a lubricant so you can tighten the threads better. Please be very careful when working with gas pipe.

Good Luck.

Thanks! Hadn't got around to trying the union b/c all I had with me was one pipe wrench. So the bell-housing thing is the control valve, and I can lose it?
Will do pipe dope on all new junctions. Do you use tape in addition?