Water heater has no drain pan, what precautions should I take?

[GrandPooba]

I just moved into a 3-story townhouse. The ground floor contains the garage, utility room, and entrance way. Living areas are on floor 2 and 3.

The utility room is approx 7x15, and contains the water heater, gas furnace, and W/D. There is no drain pan below the water heater, nor is there a floor drain.

Is there a water resistant barrier that I can erect around the water heater to minimize minor leaks? Recommendations on pump and/or wet vac? What other precautions should I be taking?

 

[Reach4]

Where does your T+P valve drain to?

Get a couple water alarms. I like http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/

 

[Sponsor]

 

[GrandPooba]

Where does your T+P valve drain to?

Get a couple water alarms. I like http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/

T&P valve drains right onto the concrete floor. I have a bucket under it to catch any water that it might expel

 

[FullySprinklered]

When your waterheater reaches the end of it's life, it will start leaking. If you are near enough to an outside wall, you might could raise the heater on a platform with a pan beneath it, and run the pipe outdoors through the wall. Otherwise, I like the alarm idea offered by Reach4.

I haven't seen the T&P valve pop open very many times. Maybe four times in thirty years. Not a big operator but I do maybe 30 water heaters in a year. I'd be more likely to see Raquel Welch show up at my door with a jug of screwtop wine and a case of rubbers.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

If you really want to do something now with this heater like a water resistant barrier,
you can go buy some water proof silicone then get yourself some
4x4 wood or 2x4s .... just box the water heater in with the wood... glue the
wood down to the floor with a liberal amount of water proof silicone...
.and seal it all up at the edges...
this will work good enough to hold the water inside the box...
Then you go buy a small condensation pump like the one in this picture
and run a hose out of the house some how.... and plug it in also get the
water alarm...

it might not be a bad idea to just box in the whole room the same way
with 2x4s just in case something else ever blows loose in that room..
I have done this before... it works good enough


This heater is on the third floor of an expensive condo where the stupid
builder did not put in a floor drain for the water heater... When ever a heater
blows out ... everyone down beneath the top floor gets flooded out...
these are like 500k condos too....
so we came up with this alternative...
very smart builders...

 

[MACPLUMB]

floodstop pro senises water leak sounds a high pitch alarm and suits water off even if nobody is home

 

[Jadnashua]

A www.wagsvalve.com works without power. It's a one-time use item, though. It also comes with a property damage insurance policy if installed by a pro. It will not only shut off the water, but turn off the WH as well.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

A www.wagsvalve.com works without power. It's a one-time use item, though. It also comes with a property damage insurance policy if installed by a pro. It will not only shut off the water, but turn off the WH as well.

the wags valve is a great idea, but they are not all that popular because they are a one shot deal
and for some reason that seems to dissuade many people from buying them.....

I would rather water proof and box in the room and throw a pump on the floor with the
the little Zircon water alarm shown in the picture ....

so .maybe that is overkill??

 

[Jadnashua]

A pump would help only if it is a slow leak...otherwise, it will quickly overwhelm the pump. Plus, most of those condensate pumps aren't designed for superheated water, so their life would be suspect.

Agreed, a one-shot deal is both a benefit and a deterrent. But, it uses the same tech that inflates a life vest used on airplanes, so it is proven and reliable. A little puck dissolves, releasing the piston that lets the spring close the valve. It also has an internal switch that can disable the WH from running. Considering that a release on the T&P valve is an error condition, it's a tradeoff - simplicity verses on-shot deal.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

jadnashua A pump would help only if it is a slow leak...otherwise, it will quickly overwhelm the pump. Plus, most of those condensate pumps aren't designed for superheated water, so their life would be suspect.


I beg to differ... now we are also debating what kind of leak you are gonna have
a mini leak that would take hours to make it out of the room or a huge leak that
would come in torrents.. of course we dont know what kind of problems are in
the future for this guy..if any, and you can only prepare for the unknown as best possible.....

the pump shown in the picture if set down in a 2 1/2 deep trough and left alone would
probably pump out a swimming pool if necessary and keep on going wether it be ..hot water or cold...

Another idea, Of course , if you dont like the little mini pump idea, you can always go ahead and tear up the concrete floor and
install a small sump pit or a 7 gallon bucket and throw a pump down in there.... .

those are the only sure fire ways to keep the water in the room

containing the water in the 7x15 mechanical room and keeping it out his basement floor condo was the basic idea this guy wanted to resolve..... The condo association which has the final say , will probably frown on all of this

 

[GrandPooba]

I was considering building a wooden box around the water heater and sealing it. Thanks for the advice. This approach sounds reasonable. I just want something to contain a small leak. I think the box, water alarm, and wet vac should suffice.

I just picked up a couple of water alarms as well

 

[Jadnashua]

An alarm is all well and good, but may not help much if it goes off when you are away and nobody can access your unit which is why one that can shut off the water has advantages. Worst case then, whatever the volume of the tank could leak (which still might make a big mess), but that would be better than running for potentially days and thousands of gallons until someone noticed and took care of it.

Certainly, if it is a weep (the more common problem), any small pump can handle it as first, the volume would be small, and it would have a chance to cool off. None of them would be able to keep up with a major malfunction, though, and that's where something that can shut off the water would be helpful. Many of the condensate pumps can be had with a built-in switch...a simple solution is to attach it to a buzzer or other alarm that would come on when the pump runs.

FWIW, there are companies that make dams that can be glued to the floor around the WH. May or may not be cheaper than trying to build something yourself then making it somewhat watertight. If they used flexible supply lines to your WH, you could shut it off, drain it, lift it, then slide a pan underneath, and not have to build anything. Probably not worth if f it is solid piped, though. Some condo associations require that a WH is replaced at certain intervals, regardless of whether it is leaking. I'd double-check your condo association bylaws, and see if that's the case. Might just be worthwhile to replace it and install a pan if you'd have to soon anyways. A common life in those documents is 7-years.

 

[Reach4]

A renter's insurance policy would cover water heater flooding financial effects on you, I think.

 

[clix]

I just installed a WaterCop (water alarm + automated shutoff valve - http://www.watercop.com/ ) at my place to shutoff the water in the event of a leak. We had one at a rental where we lived for a couple years and it prevented one flood from a busted pipe and alerted us to a sewer backup after a water started to pool in the basement.