Reply With QuoteHow severe is the result WHEN it leaks? If you put in a pan, where does the water go WHEN it leaks?Originally Posted by molo
You could put in an alarm to warn you when it gets wet, if you are at home to respond.
You get to make the decisions.
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Water Heater Pan Question
I'm placing an electric hot water tank in a closet next to the kitchen.
1. How important is it that I have a water heater pan underneath it?
2. How important is it that the pan be connected to the drain system of the home?
TIA,
Molo
How severe is the result WHEN it leaks? If you put in a pan, where does the water go WHEN it leaks?
You could put in an alarm to warn you when it gets wet, if you are at home to respond.
You get to make the decisions.
There are 2 problems that will cause a wh to leak. The TP valve and the tank failing. Neither is likely to cause a huge flood all at once, but no leak is a good leak. The pan will catch the water that leaks in whatever amount. You do need a place for the pan to drain. It does not have to be into you home drainage system however. It can be piped to the outside either above or below the floor, whatever is best for the situtation. No matter what causes the leak or how large or small it is, the pan is just a temporary safeguard for a fairly short time against damaging your home.
pan
Whether the heater needs a pan or not depends on how much damage would be caused if the heater started to leak. If the pan does not drain to a safe location, (and you never want to connect it to the drain system), it will cause the same damage as if it were not there. The pan is not a proper receiver for the discharge from a T&P valve. That valve would overflow the pan in a very short time if it opens and discharges water.
kitchen? probably first floor? don't worry about a pan...
If you want it won't hurt... pipe it outside independently... and the T&P, pipe it on it's own.
good luck
dance-with-pumps
a plastic pan $$
for only 5-12 bucks you can put the heater in a pan....
even if you dont drain it anywhere its better than
not having one.....
if you can figure out a way to pipe it to a floor drain
all the better
or if you are on a crawl space ,
simply pipe it into the crawl ...
you might regret it some day....
.if the t+p valve ever lets go...
if you dont spend the 12 bucks today
Out here a pan is code unless the heater is 20' from a finished basement area and must be piped to a drain or to the outside of the house unless it is not possible to. In that case it must be in a pan with a hose connection on the drain line stub. In all cases the T&P must be run to a 3" X 1" coupling facing up connected to the drain line coming from the pan with a 2" air gap.
Do it. Best common sense 15 bucks you can spend. Just installed one a week ago with new heater.
Mine holds quite a bit of water..
Last edited by Mike50; 01-07-2007 at 05:47 PM.
floor drains
it has been my experience that the
floor drain that is only 3 feet away from
the water heater is ALWAYS the highest
point in the whole concrete floor....
it always goes everywhere else first,
when the t+p leaks or heater leaks...
pan
What earthly good is a pan if it is just going to dump the water on the floor, the same as the heater would if it started leaking?
it cant hurt
for the money a plastic pan is only 5 bucks.
it cant hurt and it really depends on how
fast the heater starts to leak....
and at the very least you can contain and direct the water
HJ on another note
It also can keep you out of insurance claim troubles a
year down the road if one decides to do some major damage.
hearing the customer crying something like
why didnt you at least put it in a pan for me ???
I might have noticed it leaking before it did all this
hidden damage
IS YOUR insurance company going to cover my
new floating hardwood flooor ???
at the very least you can claim that you
did all you could even if their is not a drain
to be found anywhere....
I have been there and done that.......
Last edited by master plumber mark; 01-07-2007 at 08:27 PM.
Funny that I've seen countless t&p's and pans installed with either no plumbing or just a pipe down to the floor...not going anywhere and virtually useless.
pans
Maybe they think the pans are magical and just having one under the heater will keep any water from damaging the house. If there is enough water to notice it in a pan, because the pan's drain is not exactly at the bottom, there will be enough to notice without the pan also.
I think either they're lasy or it's one of them "roundtuit" things.
Mine...appears to have had a slow long term leak which could have prevented the now powdery *permanent cement slab damage* with a pan.
Get one.
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