Reconfiguring this hot water line DIY-able? Best approach and any caveats?

Question

My plumber who installed my hot water heater 2 years ago is a ~@#%$@$%. He created a super weird construction above the water heater that does not satisfy manufacturer clearance requirements and prevents me from changing the filter.

It's really hard to describe and even put on a picture because it's such a tight space but I try my best with this picture (and overlay the pipes with dashed line and annotate a few spots).

(1) shows the hot water copper pipe coming from the water heater (actually the mixer valve behind the tank). From there, a bend happens and the pipe goes just a few inches over the water heater filter (5). There is also a tee that goes to the 2nd floor bathroom (4). Then two more bends and another tee. To the left (2) is the lower bathroom and to the right (3) kitchen.

I would like to reconfigure this mess such to remove all of this stuff and run the line from (1) directly into a tee of the line (2)-(3). Also, change (4) such that it tee's directly into that line.

1. I have done lots of electric and general stuff but not really plumbing (except repairing valves). Is this DIY-able?
2. What is the recommended approach here? On one hand, I'd love to do soldering but it is already extremely tight and there's also a gas line right next to it. On the other hand, shark bites look to be easier and since it's open (and not buried behind a wall) maybe not an issue? Water heater probably be replaces anyway in 15 years
3. Is there any reason whatsoever for the plumber to create this mess? Is there any reason not to tee directly into the vertical (2)-(3) line?
4. Anything else that I should consider?

One concern is that I need to get this done within a day or so, otherwise we won't have hot water.

Answer 1

Is it DIY-able - yes, unless you are in a place (LAHJ) that says you can't. Those do exist.

Can you DIY it? We don't know.

Sharkbites are popular, but get expensive if you need a bunch. I would not suggest soldering unless you already know how. I already know how and I prefer crimp-type PEX for most work, but I had enough plumbing to do that that is MUCH less expensive than buying a pile of Sharkbites.

Determining why someone in the past did some peculiar thing is generally impossible. If you know who did it, they are licensed, and it's in violation of the manufacturer's instructions (which tends to make it a violation of code as well) you might be able to force them to fix it, but it's likely to be frustrating.

Many locations require flexible connections to the tank itself at this point, which I don't see here. May not apply to your LAHJ, though.

(As per usual, LAHJ is Local Authority Having Jurisdiction.)

Answer 2

I'd do pushfit on a water tank you should be inspecting this area routinely and they aren't buried in the wall. Generally you can approach these problems in multiple steps. I typically start with getting shutoffs on the pipes. Get the sharkbite removal tool so you can reconfigure things later.

I am not sure if you are ever supposed to re-use sharkbite fittings but I generally keep some old ones around for temp work and I've never had any issues other than leaving the pipe stiffener in the pex and failing to retrieve it before noticing.

Crimp pex is also great and the tools are fairly cheap now and worth the investment given the price of plumbers.

With a gas water heater you need 18" of leader pipe before switching to pex so that might be a good point to cut or you can use the the sb 3/4 braided lines that can include shutoffs. I generally do the shutoffs separate so that when you swap out your tank you can swap the braided lines but keep the full port ball valves.

I've also started putting the corroprotec powered anode rod into my tanks so they hopefully just stick around a lot longer.