Location HWH tank

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Woodenshoe

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Hello all,

Currently my hot water heater tank is located on the ground floor next to the washer dryer combination in the house. 45 gallon tank.
The space i have is very limited though.
There is space on the attic for the HWH.
What would be the reason not to put in on the attic so I can save some space?

I am on a shallow well and septic system.
I have always heard that you can pump water to the moon but you can only pull water from 30 ft:)

Any input would be greatly appreciated
 

hj

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heater

THe downsides;
1. It will be difficult, and expensive, to replace it when the tank fails
2. If you do not put a drain pan under it, it will cause extreme damage to the house.
3. If you do put a drain pan under it and ITS drain is plugged, or the heater leaks faster than the pan can drain, it will still cause damage to the house.

45 gallon is an odd size for a water heater so is it gas or electric. If it is gas then providing a connection for the heater in the attic could be difficult, depending on how the gas pipe is installed.
 

Woodenshoe

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typo

Yeah that was a typo, I could have given you some more info.
It is a Rheem 40 gallon electric waterheater. 81V40D

It was already older when I bought the house and that was 9 years ago.
Can't find a manufacturer date since it is kinda cramped in there...can't walk around the unit.

I also read horror stories about buying hot water heaters from the big box stores, where else would I buy a hot water heater? Are the units from the big box stores just cheaply made?

I'm not worried about the cost of replacing since that would not happen too often hopefully.

Outside that the only down side would be when the unit fails it would flood and ruin the house.

Let me think about

thanks for the info

Ron
 

Woodenshoe

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O yeah

The hot water has been making a "clunky":( sound for years when heating up, is this normal?
 

Redwood

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Well...
A few specifics and we might have some idea of what you are up against...

Where are you located?
What type of water heater are we talking about?

Pumping water to the moon is a bit tough...
That's one long pipe to have swinging around...:eek:

But yup... You can only lift water 30' with suction.
 

Redwood

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As we cross post..
I guess is should refresh when I walk away for a while...:D

Where are you located?
 

Woodenshoe

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ga

I am located on St.Simons Island, GA

I have a water test kit on the way to test my water.
The water is hard and iron since we have brown spots in the tub, not too bad though. Also possibly Sulphur.

The well is a shallow well with a 1 hp jet pump that works fine.

Like I said the waterheater is a Rheem 40 gallon electric, my guess between 12-15 yrs old.

Ron
 

Woodenshoe

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I'm just in the middle of doing laundry and with the drain cycle my drain flows over(changed to frontloader), but that was another thread I started:(
Looks like I need to snake it...I have my shamwows on the floor right now to catch the water....what a lovely day outside:D
 

Redwood

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Okay you probably will not have problems with installing it in the attic other than what HJ cited above.

I would make sure that it was a new one that went up there if you did it...

Up here freezing would be a big problem for a water heater in an attic....:eek:
 

Woodenshoe

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Summer

Yeah, the attic is pretty hot in the summer, that may help keeping the water hot in there without cycling too much
 
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