Catch Pan Beneath Hot Water Heater
My hot water heater is located in an interior closet. After 15 years, I'm getting ready to replace it. It's always bothered me that there wasn't a catch pan placed underneath the unit and I'm going to correct that when I replace. What do I need to consider when doing this? Do I need to put something between the floor (vinyl) and the pan? What should I consider when selecting the size of the pan? Where is a good place to find a catch pan (I've looked at Home Depot and Lowes and they don't carry them). I've heard that some people have installed a drain system from the pan down through the floor and into the crawl space -- just in case the unit starts leaking and we aren't around to discover it before the pan overflows...what's all involved with that? Thanks for any advice you have on this project. I plan on hitting it this weekend. I guess it depends on if it is code to have one as to if stores carry them. You may have to go to a Plumbing supply to get one or look online at HD and Lowes site online. If they have one online you can order it and pick it up at the store or have it delivered. Having piping leading away from the pan is a good idea. In Florida, we had to end them outside the house. I believe they come with an opening for 1 pipe to connect to. Another reason for the piping is that they probably only hold 5 gallons at the most and thats stretching it. As long as your heater will fit into it, thats all that matters as far as size. Personally, I would not end it in the crawlspace. Why put moisture in an area where you really don't want it? Another reason is that it will be much easier to see it draining water if it is outside. Just put a screen over the end of the pipe to prevent critters from using it to gain entrance to the house. Good luck. Be sure the pan is larger then the heater by around at least an inch all around..We had a new apartment complex here that had the potential to install 3000 water heaters in undersized pans..Luckily we caught it early...The problem being the heater sat tight in the pan left no room for combustion air to enter burner area..Would burn ok with burner doors off but as soon as they were installed flame would float out. Now with the new FVIR type heaters depending on model it may not matter if is tight in pan. Heater pan should be at least 2 wider on each side (total 4 larger diameter than hot water heater). Position the water heater so the T and P pipe would also drain in the pan. I built a 2.25 tall platform (2x with 3/4 ply on top) to put the heater onto. I bought a water alarm from HD ($10). Basically two contact points. Once water bridges the contact points, it sounds alarm. It operates on 9V battery. The reason I put the hot water heater on the plaform was so that I could connect the pan drain to a low profile condesate pump. I used a Beckit pump from Graingers (~$50). It is capable of handling 150F water so good for water heater. I did this because the water alarm is good once the leak begins, but if yuo are away, it could overflow the pan. The condesate pump will pump the water out to a drain (or outside) in that case. I did this because I did not have a floor drain to run the hot water heater leak to. Basement is finished and wanted to make it as fool proof as possible. If you got the room, the platform can be taller so that you can get a taller pump in there. I have a 80 gallon heater, so wanted to minimize how much I had to lift it. Things are heavy. The tricky part is getting the hot water heater into the pan. I was doing this alone, so basically I grabbed scrap 2x and piled them infront of pan and plaform so that they were higher than pan edge. I then laid bottom edge of HWH on stack of 2x. Went to the top side of HWH and raised it up and inot the pan.
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