Stall floor drain for water heater or pipe to outside?

[Qwertyjjj]

I am installing an electric water heater with drain pan on a 3rd floor apartment.
As I understand it, I need to install a floor drain or pipe the pan to the outside. It will be in a closet, which is around 15 feet away from the outside wall so it doesn't seem very easy to get a pipe to go to the outside and I would then have to connect the pipe from 3 floors up down to the ground.
Adding a floor drain isn't very easy either since I need to cut out some of the floor and try and find the pipe from the kitchen below floor level and plumb it in, add venting, and then use oil in the p trap to stop it drying out.
Any suggestions on the easiest way to install?
I could also put the water heater in the basement and pipe it up the the 3rd floor apartment but then I need to fish PEX through the inside walls.

 

[Terry]

And that's why most condo owners replace the tank every ten years. If you replace them before they go bad, you won't have to worry about where the pan drain goes. Some put down a pan and use a battery operated moisture sensor in case it starts with a slow leak.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Qwertyjjj]

And that's why most condo owners replace the tank every ten years. If you replace them before they go bad, you won't have to worry about where the pan drain goes. Some put down a pan and use a battery operated moisture sensor in case it starts with a slow leak.

If the pressure relief valve starts going for whatever reason, it will fill up the pan and overflow because it has nowhere to go? Or is it really unlikely and the alarm will do the job?
Most of the alarms seem to be battery as well.

 

[Qwertyjjj]

I guess I could drill through to the closet below and then drill again to the closet below that bringing the pipe out into basement crawl space and over to the floor drain or sump pump. How can I support the vertical 1" pipe over 3 floors?

 

[MACPLUMB]

I guess I could drill through to the closet below and then drill again to the closet below that bringing the pipe out into basement crawl space and over to the floor drain or sump pump. How can I support the vertical 1" pipe over 3 floors?

You get 1" pipe clamps and install above every floor level that would be the best way to solve your problem,

you can also get a floodstop water alarm and water shut off in one
http://www.getfloodstop.com/category_s/2.htm

 

[Qwertyjjj]

You get 1" pipe clamps and install above every floor level that would be the best way to solve your problem,

you can also get a floodstop water alarm and water shut off in one
http://www.getfloodstop.com/category_s/2.htm

Do they actually grip the pipe? I always figured they were only for horizontal runs...

 

[Dj2]

Do they actually grip the pipe? I always figured they were only for horizontal runs...

Of course they do and prevent the pipe from drifting right or left. Clamps used for horizontal pipes prevent the pipes from sagging.

 

[Reach4]

A riser clamp for 3/4 would be good for that, at least if it was galvanized pipe. Water heater T+P output is a good use for galvanized.

 

[Qwertyjjj]

A riser clamp for 3/4 would be good for that, at least if it was galvanized pipe. Water heater T+P output is a good use for galvanized.

It will most likely be 1" PVC running 30ft down to the basement.

 

[Reach4]

It will most likely be 1" PVC running 30ft down to the basement.

Make that CPVC rather than PVC, due to the potential for heat.

 

[Qwertyjjj]

If I use a wye on the 2nd floor, can I tie the drains from 2 water heaters into the same pipe down to the basement?

Can the pipe from the pan run slightly horizontally for a few inches before turning or must it be slanted downhill?

 

[MACPLUMB]

YES, & YES

 

[Jadnashua]

Look into a WAGS valve...it sits in the pan, and if it detects water buildup, it shuts both the water off and the WH...no power, but it's a one-time use thing so you can't test it. If installed by a certified installer, you get a decent insurance policy against water damages. It uses the same tech as that used in emergency life vests to inflate them when they hit the water - there's a disk that dissolves, releasing a spring that shuts the valve.

https://www.taco-hvac.com/uploads/FAQ_attachments/wagsvalveins.pdf

 

[MACPLUMB]

wags only works on gas, this is a electric