Thinking out loud (Water heater pan installation)

[Slightly Graying Wolf]

We have a 10+ year old gas water heater that has no pan under it. The water heater is just off the garage in a laundry/ furnace room. The heater sits on the floor and the house is built on slab. There is about 17" clearance between the exterior wall and the tank.

I was thinking I might remove this tank (on borrowed time now) and using large pavers or a wood structure raise a pan off the floor just high enough so that the drain pipe could run out of the wall just above the sill plate. I am not sure what angle I should use so it drains well enough. 3 feet to the left is the fresh air vent for the furnace so I really don't see a need to put in a "U" joint long as I cover the end of the pipe with a hinged cap or a piece of 1cm/ 1cm wire mesh to keep out the rodents etc.

Any thoughts?

[hrhofmann]

biggest problem is keeping the drain clean enough to avoid clogging. Spiders seem to love those pipes and web are really stong and collect minute debris leading to clogging, If you could be sure of cleaning out the drain periodically, then your idea seems reasonable. You don't need much of a slope if you catch the leak before it becomes a flood.

If you take a regular smoke detector $5.00 or so, and connect a pair of wires to the two contacts that are closed when you press the test switch on the detector, and then strip the other end of the wires back about 1 inch, placing them about 1 inch apart where they are stripped, you can make a leak detector. Try hooking up the wires like I said, and then dip the wires into a glass of water. That should start the test alarm noise. If that works, and I have done it to make a sump pump failure monitor, you then will get an early warning of a leak before it becomes a flood. A commecrcial leak detector goes fo $50 or more, but the smoke detector is made in large quantities and thus is much cheaper.

[SteveB]

You don't say where you are.

Check the local code. It usually requires lifting the water heater about 18" off the ground. I would build a beefy wooden frame with a couple of pieces of 3/4" plywood on top. Run the drain straight out the wall and down to the ground. Leave the end high enough that you won't hit it with the lawnmower.

Did I mention you should check the local code? Some areas require a licensed plumber to install water heaters; some don't. My area allows anyone to *replace* a water heater, but I refer my clients to a plumber because I don't want the liability, especially with gas. I *do* replace my *own* WH.

[HeyBub]

Brilliant. This is even something to do with worn-out smoke detectors!

[trader4]

You can buy a water alarm/detector for this purpose for $10 at Home Depot.

[Slightly Graying Wolf]

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Good idea, I will check the local code.

I have been leaning towards the wood frame similar to what you described and at the same time I will make some braces to bridge the gap away from the wall so I can mount an earth quake strap to it at the same time.

They keep telling us the big one is due any time (Vancouver BC).

The place it would run out of the wall is at the side of the house where we have river rock and so no chance of hitting it with anything.

As for the install - my Bro-in-law is a licensed gas fitter/ plumber. It will cost me a few beer and a BBQ with the rest of his family.

[cshenk]

"Slightly Graying Wolf" wrote

SteveB, dead on track there!

;-)

Good, because you may be in for a suprise. Not allowed to use wood where I am anymore.

I'm like you with an older unit, gas, on borrowed time. It's mounted on a series of bricks, blocks, and wood. Very stable but no longer code-spec allowed here to do that. We know when time comes, we have to have a proper cement footer put in for it.