Small hot water heater solution? And related drainage question...

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dwhiteykc

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Thanks in advance guys for all of the great advice on this forum - it has been my go to source for plumbing advice for the past 5 years or better.

OK, so I've seen many warnings to avoid tankless units with HE washers, but I'm not sure where else to find a solution: I have a small combo laundry/bathroom that had formerly been serviced by an overpriced 20-30 gallon "mini" electric hot water heater in a metal cabinet. That failed, and was replaced, and the new one failed 3 years later. So I'm not a big fan of mini hot water heaters at this point. The unit's placement in the room is terrible, right across from the door, and bumped out a couple feet from the side wall, so a full-sized water heater would be somewhat obscene in that limited space. I've had trouble finding exact specs on my Whirlpool Duet GHW9150PW4 regarding minimum water flow, but I understand the logic that says tankless heaters are not a great fit, with the washer only calling for short spurts of hot water. This room gets very light usage as a bathroom (has a shower that is never used, a toilet & sink) so the water heater would be for the HE washer and occasional hand washing only. The house is all electric, though I do have an LP tank outside not far from this room if needed.

I finally found a plumber I think I can trust to fill in for my limitations....just need some advice on a direction to go with this room. (We're a family of 5 with 3 elementary-aged kids, so the washer doesn't sit idle too often!)

On a related topic, our other hot water heater needs to be replaced, and as it sits in a master bedroom closet with no drain I have a lot of concern for if/when it fails there is nowhere for the water to go but out. It backs to the master bath, so there are drain pipes nearby. My question is, can I buy/build a stand to elevate the hot water heater 18-20", use a decent pan, and rig the pan to drain into the pipes from the bathroom? I agree that 'hidden' drains are risky as you don't see the problem, but I am also looking to add some sort of water float/alert to the pan as well. This same question would apply to the above small unit as well, as that room doesn't have any floor drain either.
 

Gary Swart

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It is not uncommon to raise a water heater, but your idea of draining into a pan is faulty. Pans will catch a slow leak like you might get from a tank beginning to leak, but will not hold the full volume of the tank like when draining it. Every situation is different, so hard to say what will work for you, but in general, many of us replace the cheapo drain valve on the tank with a 1/4 turn full flow valve. From there, you have to figure out how and where the water can reach a drain. A garden hose on the valve would be one way. This would have to lead to a drain that was below the level of the drain valve, so raising the tank might help to do that. Not everyone do use my solution, but I build a concrete basin around a floor drain that was about 2 feet from the heater. I poured a slab in side the basin to raise the tank and ran a 3/4" copper line to the drain intake. Coated the basin with waterproofing and it works just great for me.
 
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