putting spacers under the water heater

[mm]

Someone here recommended putting bricks under an electric water heater, so the bottom won't rust out, I think it was.

Do many people do this? Do you think it is important?

Is it very common for a bottom to rust out so much there are problems? The pan around my last water heater had an inch or two of water in it once in a great while, but it was bone dry 99% of the time. There are small rust marks, but just on the surface.

I have height issues, so was thinking of putting in 3 or 4 tiles, maybe a quarter inch high, like bathroom wall tiles maybe. Would that be high enough to accomplish what bricks are for?

Should I do that.

TIA.

[Jimi]

1st you should know how a hot water tank is built. It is a tank wrapped with insulation, then covered with an outer skin. There is insulation between the bottom of your hot water tank and the bottom of the outer skin.

Unless you have water in your basement that is condusive to rusting, then put spacers. If you have a dry basement and are installing in a recomended enviroment...then the Hot water tank should come with it's own bricks....No? Think abot that...Jimi...

[Grandpa]

Would it raise it enough to make the drain valve more accessible? If not, then raise it some more. Personally, I wouldn't use tiles, they are decorative rather than structural.

Your call, but I reckon most people don't do it, cause they don't think about it. I do it, and a few others I know do because they like the valve being above the pan edge.

In certain areas of the west gas water heaters are required to be

18" above the floor. Seen any gas water heaters with their own stilts? No? Think about that too.

Raising the water heater two to three inches out of the pan keeps the base out of any water AND provides better access to the drain valve (its not sitting in the pan where you couldn't hook a hose up to it anyway). Makes flushing the tank easier; and if its easier its more likely to be done.

[scott21230]

Don't use bricks. They will wick the water up to the bottom of the water heater.

[HeyBub]

Hey, 1/4" tiles don't cost nothing! I'd do it. As for whether it works, consider how much water would have to be on the floor to reach the bottom of the heater. Say you're in a 20'x30' basement.

.25 x 240 x 360 = 21,600 cu in = ~93 gallons.

[mm]

No, the drain valve is accessible without anything to life it up.

Then something else that's only 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick that I could use?

It's usually been bone dry, but this last time that it sprayed water out around the drain valve, the water level never went down blow an inch and a quarter. So I"m thinking maybe spacers that lifted it up a little would help the pan drain. When I get the water heater out today, I'll be better able to tell why it isn't draining all the way.

Gotcha.

I'm thinkin'. I'm going to keep thinkin' tonight and tomorrow.

[trader4]

I think this becomes less of an issue if you have a plastic catch pan under the water heater, which most should. That isolates it from the possibly damp basement floor. Even in an unfinished basement this is a good idea, because water is going to flow downhill and basement floors aren't perfect. I've seen basements where even though the French drain was close by, the water went the other way.