Water Heater Pan Question

Molo

Molo

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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
 
molo said:
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
Click to expand...
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..
 
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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.......
 
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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.
 
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.
 
master plumber mark said:
for the money a plastic pan is only 5 bucks.
Click to expand...

I have seen plastic pans that the plastic was cut when the heater was installed and leaked. I only use the metal pans.
 
whatever...makes you all happy

if it is code, its code..

the Oaty plastic ones seem to work ok.....

if their is a drain nearby, all the better...

if you are in business you should at
least offer one to the customer......or make them sign off
on it in your work order........

or you could be shelling out some bucks 6 months from now
if you get a bad one...because they will certainly bring it up...


the water pressure around here runs anywhere from
90 to 155psi

so wehnever I get the chance, I ALWAYS
pipe the t+p valve to the nearest drain....

if the laundry is near by I usually will take the
time to run some 3/4 cpvc into the laundry box


I just sleep better that way......
 
Last edited:
I'm replacing a water heater tomorrow that has a pre-built galvanized pan that was designed for the condo units they are in.

I'm getting a rash of these replacements all of a sudden and it has to be the weather. I have one tomorrow, saturday, tuesday and not counting this great sump $$$ pump weather that is going to be here starting tonight.


I'm slowly approaching burnout stage if I don't start saying no to working on weekends.
 
new water heater installation

Cass states that metal water pans are required for gas heaters but the ones I've seen here in the San Francisco Bay area are tinny aluminum Oatey brand; not very st urdy being just a bit thicker than a turkey pan and I'm worried it will puncture or tear on installation, especially since I will be placing 20" diameter short boy 40 gallon water heater on a 18" stand by myself with stand.

I'm using an extra wide dolly to lay water heater down on styrofoam sheet pulling heater up so as to clear and then positioning stand and water heater pan on dolly and then just truck whole unit to site.

Sound like a good plan, anyone? Water pan though worries me. I would think a heavy duty plastic pan is stronger or even better a good solid metal pan, the kind used to catch automobile oil but they don't come in larger than 20".
 
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