Electric water heater location

Users who are viewing this thread

Chuck B

sea-bee
Messages
122
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
levering, michigan
Electric water heater relocated to "dog house"?

re: Small Seasonal Cottage - Northern Michigan Lake

The bathroom is very small where I removed an LP Water Heater recently to free up space for a more spacious layout of water closet, lavatory sink and shower unit. The roof is a 3/12 pitch and the vent leaked so I figured that going electric would solve the troublesome vent leaking issue on the roof.

Planning a "dog house" to house an electric water heater. This would be a room attached but not interconnected to the bathroom. It would be of stick (2 x 4) construction with a traditional asphalt roof and vinyl siding and wood floor over joists to match the cottage construction. The bathroom will be heated with baseboards for chilly but not winter usage, but the dog house would not. The cottage plumbing lines will be drained along with the water heater for freezing temperatures before winter sets in and traps filled with RV anti-freeze. The cottage would not be used during the freezing winter season.

QUESTION: Can I install the electric water heater in this "dog house"? Access to the Water Heater would be from a weathertight exterior door. The copper water lines would be run from this new "room" down through the crawl space and up into the bathroom via the floor. Can the water heater be wired (30-amp circuit) with appropriate wiring paths in the wall, and up into the attic. It would be shielded with armor cable or plastic whips as needed. Should it be on a AFCI circuit? There would be a 2 x 4 wall seperating the adjacent bathroom from the water heater. Is this water heater location acceptable? The dog house would be weathertight. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

Hairyhosebib

New Member
Messages
172
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Arizona
This might be the perfect place for a tankless water heater. It would be cheaper than building a dog house too.
 

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,600
Reaction score
1,037
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
Many companies make a metal "shed" for outdoor water heaters, which will be much cheaper than a doghouse, and considerably less than a tankless water heater.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks