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Hot Water Heater Question

H

High Plains

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
825
Location
Nebraska
Embarrassed to have to ask this question, but a guy doesn't really think about a hot water heater until it is giving some trouble. :roll: The heater in my house is quite old and it has started to seep a little water onto the floor, so I figure the tank has finally rusted out and I need a new unit. I have read that there can be some condensation that drips but this unit has been leaking every day a little at a time. This old hot water heater has three legs on it that are maybe four inches tall, they are built into the unit. So, do the new models of hot water heaters come with legs on them? Seems to me that they probably do not. If not, does a person need to build a short stand to put the heater on or is the bottom of the can/barrel just supposed to sit flat on the floor?

HP
 
Alot of them sit on the floor but building a small stand will help keep the bottom from rusting and it's easier to get at them if you want or need to drain it or clean the rust sediment out of it.

Good Luck. :D
 
Built a small platform for the one I changed out a few years ago. Was either that or extend a flue since it is a gas heater. The platform was easier.
 
Understand about the flue fit issues. My old heater is 40 gallons and 46 inches tall. A new 50 gallon heater will be 58 inches tall, at least that seems to be the standard. Flue is 61 inches at the bottom of the pipe where it goes into the wall, so that might be a bit too low if I do something to create a short stand to put the unit on. Nothing is straightforward for me, it seems.

HP
 
We used a heavy plastic (or similar material) feed pay a few inchs high, maybe close to a foot. Cut (with jig saw, I believe) arches to make three 'legs' on it for a stand. That was because of rusting problems on a damp basement (concrete) floor. Worked great for years.

Now have a larger, plastic housing electric heater, but want to raise it to make the sedimentation removal faster, not to mention turning the dang faucet on won't result in scratches on hands if there is more space!

Good luck with whatever works for you.

mrj
 
Genius ideas :!: Here I was locked on to the idea of a fancy angle-iron frame when I should have been thinking about alternatives. Ha! Thanks. :D
 
High Plains said:
Genius ideas :!: Here I was locked on to the idea of a fancy angle-iron frame when I should have been thinking about alternatives. Ha! Thanks. :D
Click to expand...

Remember if the women don't find ya handsome they should at least find ya handy.
Red Green :lol:
 
sometimes within the box w the heater....there is a tough styrofoam base included....
 
The darn old heater isn't really leaking very much, maybe just a quarter of a cup of water or even less on a daily basis. I'm back to wondering if it isn't condensation. The basement sure isn't what I'd call hot or warm, so condensation still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Just came across this little phenomenon a week ago. Wish I had never read the idea that condensation is somewhat "normal". Now I'm scratching my head and not wanting to drop the cash on a new unit without further evidence of leaking. I'd hate to go down there and find that it really busted loose and the basement is flooded!! I hate these maybeso situations.

I like the idea of those tankless heaters, but they are sure spendy and a whole different configuration is required. Kind of a project and a lot of time to recover the up-front costs. Probably not the route that I'll take if the silly thing actually does need replaced. On that latter point, I wonder how a person truly would know if it's a leak?? Waiting to find out the hard way seems a little like asking for trouble. Don't know what model year the old one is, but it's sure old enough.

HP
 
HP, what type of fuel does it use? Is it possible that a new one would be more fuel efficient? I know it is hard to spend the money if an old appliance isn't actually broken, but sometimes it works out better....and maybe saves the hassle of an emergency situation when the old one dies.

We just went through that with a frige/freezer combination and do NOT want to repeat it anytime soon! For sure not in the hottest week of summer and no chance to go for a new one immediately!

mrj
 
MRJ, this is a natural gas setup. You are probably right, I'll likely be better off just replacing it so I don't have to worry with it any more.

Mike, thanks for the information. Exactly what I was needing to know. I'll need to travel to a "city" soon and find out more in person. I like to do some research ahead of time so I'm not blind-sided with something I hadn't considered and have to go home and measure something else or head back to the store for parts that I forgot.

HP
 
HP

We had a water heater with a small leak and didn't worry. Should have. Came home from work and the thing had a MAJOR leak and water was running our the front door. It wasn't in a basement, but I'll bet it never happens again!!

The first sign of a leak and it outta here.
 
I agree, you are on running on borrowed time if the water heater is already leaking. New water heater is first thing on your list next time you go to town. :wink:

The first sign my gas water heater was leaking was I didn't have hot water. It was cold. Went down in the basement to check and the leaking water had put out the pilot light. :oops: Fortunately, the basement floor drain was keeping up pretty well. :roll:

I would suggest if you don't already have one, put a shutoff valve in the incoming water supply line to the new water heater. Then when this water heater develops a leak, you can shut off the valve and still have running water to the cold side in your house.

I must admit I have done just that over a year ago in my house and still haven't replaced the old water heater yet. :oops: I have a bunkhouse with a full bathroom and wash machine that has an electric water heater in it. So I go over there for a shower. It's somewhat inconvenient to only have cold running water in my house, but I get by washing dishes by using the teakettle. :roll:

I have always liked having a water heater up off the floor. Both of my water heaters gas and electric are sitting on a concrete chimney block. The chimney block is quite sturdy and gets the water heater up off the floor enough to get an ice cream bucket under the water heater drain.
 
Yeah, John, I will be putting in a new valve on the incoming supply. Seems that it should have already been there, but it's not. Also, the outgoing hot water line is only 1/2 inch and it then feeds into a 1 inch line. I was thinking about changing the outgoing line to 3/4, so that it's not so resricted. I don't know what the specs are for sure so I'll have to look that up somewhere before I go getting smart.

With all of the time it must be taking you to shower in the bunkhouse and heat water on the stove for dishes, I'd sure think that it'd be a huge time saver to fix that water heater in the main house. Gosh man, take some time away from the board here and get that done!

Now that I think about it, maybe a guy shouldn't have that valve on the incoming line. If you didn't have the valve you would already have a new heater!

HP
 
High Plains said:
MRJ, this is a natural gas setup. You are probably right, I'll likely be better off just replacing it so I don't have to worry with it any more.

Mike, thanks for the information. Exactly what I was needing to know. I'll need to travel to a "city" soon and find out more in person. I like to do some research ahead of time so I'm not blind-sided with something I hadn't considered and have to go home and measure something else or head back to the store for parts that I forgot.

HP
Click to expand...

I doubt you could find a retailer that would sell you a unsafe heater,that money wont justify the liability,I believe Mike is right gas/legs electric just sits on the floor,stand is a good idea for the reason Mrj stated.
good luck
 

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