Helping a friend replace a water heater in a mobile home. ( standard dimensions, 30 gal. natural gas )
Everyone I've spoken to insists that ONLY a mobile water heater can be installed in a mobile home.
Firstly; they're hard as hell to find.
Secondly; there's a $100 premium on the price.
But no one can tell me "why" or, what is the difference between "mobile" and "regular"
????
Mobile home water heaters are normally enclosed so that the air intake is choked off with a standard water heater. The mobile home water heater has its air intake on the bottom. The idea is to draw the air from a hole in the floor. Most importantly insurance claims will be nullified if you do not have a mobile home rated water heater.
electric or gas? true mobile home heaters are built to differing more costly standards.
if your in a area that never freezes it could go in a shed, and be a reguklar heater
Often, there is not enough room to install a larger tank.
And more Mobile home water heaters
It is very important to install the correct type of
gas water heater in a mobile home ( or manufactured
housing). If your mobile home has an
exterior access door you may use a standard
mobile home water heater with an open draft
hood (atmospheric vent). If your water heater
access door opens to the interior or your water
heater is located in a cabinet or closet, you
must install a direct vent mobile home water
heater. A direct vent water heater is designed to
prevent the accidental spillage of flue gases into
the home. The letters "DV" will appear in the
model number.
What you are saying is true, but only for gas water heaters. With electric ones any heater will work.
I live in a mobile home. I bought the used home from a trailer park in a small town. The water heater was for natural gas. I moved it on a farm, where I only have propane. So, I immediately could not use the heater. I found out the high cost and all the special hookups needed, and said the heck with it. I installed an electric heater, and just bought a standard home model. It was only 3 feet from the breaker box, so it was easy to install. I re-used the hole where the old heater vented outside, as a dryer vent after changing the vent head on it.
It costs a little more to operate an electric heater, but you save a lot in initial costs, do not have to cut holes in your trailer, are easier to install, and if you run out of propane, you still have hot water. On top of that, there are no open flames, and trailer tanks are always in tight places surrounded by wood. No Thanks, I'll use electric.
All water heaters in trailers should be placed on a metal pan that drains outside in case of a leak. I oculd not find a local place to buy one, so I just made a box out of treated plywood with treated 2x4 sides, siliconed and screwed to the plywood base. Then a piece of auto heater hose goes outside. The only problem is that the hose is an air leak in winter, so I keep a cork in it, which I guess defeats the purpose. I also think mice can get in that hose. I have yet to find any solution to that.
Larry
It makes no difference especially now if you home is no longer mobile but parked. The thing will be disconnected when it is moved anyway. It's not an RV now is it? Don't worry about it.
you really didn't ask that question, did you? with the answer right there in the quote of the op's post?????
s
electric or gas? true mobile home heaters are built to differing more costly standards.
if your in a area that never freezes it could go in a shed, and be a reguklar heater
So how does a hot water heater/tank work in a regular stick built home? I live in a mobile home with a hot water tank located inside the home (they call it an "inside closet")......has it own area with a regular inside door to it. the tank is vented to the roof and there is a vent coming up through the floor but is to the side of the tank. I guess I don't understand why there is regulation on this but not on one for a stick built home. If its just a ventilation issue, couldn't I put a vent in the door where the tank is located or even take the door off altogether??? I'm getting a lot of different answers to my questions from mobile home repair places (not one matches the other).....same goes for these so called "big box stores." Thank you for any help you can offer me.
replying to , rangerguy2000 wrote: it has to do with the air intake and the way the exhaust gases are vented. if you look at a regular house with a basement you will see the vent had a gap between the water heater and the duct to help make a draft to pull the gases out. this works fine when you are in a basement but when the heater is in the living areas of the house this isn't safe, at least that's what I was told
replying to =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=22Blattus_Slaf?=, Barb wrote: If your mobile home is a park model, it is classified by the DMV as an RV
I just purchased a water heater for a mobile built 2009 it cost me 958.00 with tax . Bottom vent I couldn’t buy a standard one because it can cause a fire .
The difference between the 2 heaters in all of reality is the manufacturer makes more money by selling the mobile home heater. Gas heaters still pull intake from the bottom just as a mobile home heater. Cold inlet placing has absolutly nothing to do with performance, and knowing what gas you have weather propane or natural there is no significant difference between the two. Except price. Manufacturers win. And I dont condone installing regular water heaters in place of mobile home units. But they would work absolutly the same.
That's what they want you to believe. Combustion chambers are all sealed these days. Intake is from the bottom. The flue gasses go out the top. Nothing special about a molbile home unit. Except price
So why don't you condone installing regular water heaters in place of mobile home units?
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