12 gal water heater on It's side????

Toolaholic · Oct 12, 2007

For an outside shower,with tight access,will this work?
Elec .elements will be down. I know recovery will be slow with H. and C. at the same level. Will this work? If not why, please

Dunbar Plumbing · Oct 12, 2007

Because a water heater is designed to bring cold to the bottom, then when heated it slowly rises upwards, just like heated air.

The incoming cold will mix with the ready to use hot on its side and the installation instantly voids the warranty of the tank.

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junejulie19 · Oct 12, 2007

I dont know where you are and if you plan to use the shower year-round, but my parents made themselves an outdoor shower and used a tank for water on its side, looks kinda like the tank of a water heater and they just let it absorb the sun and it does get pretty warm after a day in the sun. very cheap as you can guess.

or you can install a tankless water heater. that should be smaller. you can wait for them to go on sale and watch out for what range of temperatures the water heater can withstand for use OUTSIDE, like some of them don't like being out in lower than 32F. pricewise they start from five hundred and go up from there. maybe on a sale you can find cheaper.

Leejosepho · Oct 12, 2007

toolaholic said:
For an outside shower,with tight access,will this work?
Elec .elements will be down. I know recovery will be slow with H. and C. at the same level. Will this work? If not why, please

You would have to have the drain turned up in order to bleed the air from the tank, thereby leaving no way to ever drain or clean the tank, and the heating element(s) might not be completely submersed. But if you can set the elements level with the bleed/drain and water outlet higher, I cannot see why it would not work.

Toolaholic · Oct 12, 2007

Thank's to ALL for the ideas

hj · Oct 13, 2007

heater

The dynamics of the heater would be so screwed up that even if it did heat the water for any appreciable length of time before failing, its performance will be so unacceptable that you would have wasted your time. In the first place, an unremovable bubble of air will accumulate at the top of the tank. the only hot water you will receive is what is available below the level of the hot water's exit pipe, and that water will ALWAYS be the coolest in the tank.

Leejosepho · Oct 13, 2007

hj said:
... an unremovable bubble of air will accumulate at the top of the tank.

If that is so, why do old-style pump tanks ever waterlog and why do today's tanks have bladders?
I have been told trapped air disappears via assimilation.

hj said:
the only hot water you will receive is what is available below the level of the hot water's exit pipe ...

... and that is precisely where the heating element will be!

A concern that came to mind later, however, is that the actual tank will not be directly supported inside its insulated cover.

hj · Oct 13, 2007

heater

But the old style tanks were not continually adding air which WILL happen as fresh water is continually added and heated. The elements will only heat the water above the element. The water below it will have to heat by convection currents, which means that water will ALWAYS be the coolest water in the tank. AND a 12 gallon tank will have such ineffective elements wattage wise that they will only reheat the tank over a period of time. They will have little effect in maintaining temperature as the water is used. All in all, it is a dumb idea, but if it would work the manufacturers would be making horizontal heaters for use in restricted/low areas.

Cass · Oct 14, 2007

Agree with everyone this is a very bad idea.

If this is a very cramped space you could install 3 or 4 - 12 gal. heaters but you would need a lot of electric power that you may not have.

Dunbar Plumbing · Oct 14, 2007

I'm aware of one of these in operation right now at a business I recently did work at.

I mentioned to the owner of the property to not call me when that heater needs replacement as I will not install it in the fashion it is.

9' off the ground laying flat across the ceiling of bathroom.

Patrick88 · Oct 14, 2007

Why not just install a 6 gal low boy. If is for an outside shower 6 gal's should be enough. Your not washing just cleaning off from the beach or lake I assume.

12 gal water heater on It's side????

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