Foam Pad under Electric Water Heater? Styrofoam pad

[jedsrt]

Is it recommended practice to put a foam pad under an electric water heater? I plan on installing a new water heater (with a Uniform Energy Factor of 0.93) on a concrete floor in a garage. The installation manual states that an insulation blanket is not necessary, but says nothing about a pad under the heater. The heater will be in a plastic drain pan, so it will not be sitting directly on the concrete floor. Would the insulation provided by a pad make it worth installing, or are the newer electric water heaters well enough insulated that the pad would add no benefit? Thanks.

 

[Bannerman]

The hottest water in the tank will be at the top so the benefit of an insulating pad would be less than covering the top of the tank. Even if the cold water connection enters through the top of the tank, the cold water will be delivered directly to the bottom of the tank through a dip tube inside.

To answer your question, there is probably no harm in placing a pad below the drain pan if the pad does not absorb moisture from the concrete or support mold growth.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

The weight of the tank with water will probably crush it and could cause the tank to tilt. 50 gallons of water weighs just over 400 lbs. The tank inside the steel shell is several inches above the bottom with high density foam. Since 2012 all new water heaters had to meet new energy standards and it mainly resulted in much improved insulation. It actually widen the the overall width and height. Insulation blankets for WH worked for the old poorly insulated tanks of the past. Insulating the hot water pipes from the WH is still recommended in cold locations.

 

[Terry]

I just installed a water heater in a garage on Wednesday and made sure I used a water heater Styrofoam pad for it.
I always set my electric water heaters on pads if they are on concrete.

 

[jedsrt]

I just installed a water heater in a garage on Wednesday and made sure I used a water heater Styrofoam pad for it.
I always set my electric water heaters on pads if they are on concrete.

Thanks for the reply. Do you use a drain pan as well? If so, do you put the pad inside of, or under the pan?

 

[jedsrt]

Any thoughts on using something like this instead?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Technof...-Water-Heater-Tank-Cushion-WP2424HD/305235311
I have been unable to find a round foam pad designed to go under a water heater.