# Hot water heaters being outside an apartment is weird, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477 "2021-02-08T23:43:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/21 "2021-02-10T10:00:51Z")
Could be a safety thing. Many people die from carbon monoxide poisoning because of badly installed gas heaters. Having them outside stops any build up of dangerous gasses ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/22 "2021-02-10T12:22:25Z")
I had a house with the hot water heater in the garage. I came home one day to find a huge puddle of water in the garage when it failed. I was glad that water hadn’t damaged the interior of the house. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/23 "2021-02-10T16:52:26Z")
I have a tankless water heater and it’s mounted on the outside of the house. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/24 "2021-02-14T22:11:08Z")
I do not want to own a house with the hot water heater in the house. I have owned our house for 44 years. 2 times I determined that I needed a new water heater when there was water on the outside of the heater. No damage except I had a little clean up. If the heater was in the house there would have been damage. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/25 "2021-02-15T00:40:02Z")
A faulty hot water heater can do a lot more damage than leak water. [This one](https://www.buildings.com/articles/29466/hot-water-heaters-cold-blooded-killers) killed seven people. And if you haven’t seen the [famous Mythbusters test](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbreKn4PoAc) of a water heater with a deliberately disabled T&P valve, it’s worth watching. (Spoiler: the water heater blasted through the roof like a rocket and sailed over 500 feet straight up.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/26 "2021-02-15T00:41:14Z")
Just out of curiousity: have people posting in this thread ever encountered a cold water heater? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/27 "2021-02-15T01:12:05Z")
I assume they also put toast in the toaster. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/28 "2021-02-15T01:24:46Z")
Here in Phoenix, it heats cold water in the winter, but it heats hot water in the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/29 "2021-02-15T02:26:56Z")
But they don’t put make toast in the toast machine toaster. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/30 "2021-02-15T02:27:09Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > T&P valve It happened like that in adjacent suburb when I was living in an older part of town. The tank landed in the next block – pressure vessels are designed to preferentially blow out the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/31 "2021-02-15T04:45:21Z")
Outside water heaters are quite common in Hawaii. Not in our place, but I see them all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/32 "2021-02-15T04:54:45Z")
I mentioned the same thing above. Here’s an apartment complex in Hawaii. [https://ibb.co/LNd5F1k](https://ibb.co/LNd5F1k) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/33 "2021-02-15T04:57:40Z")
Yep. That looks about right. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477/34 "2021-02-15T05:24:43Z")
Outdoor exposed water and sewer pipes are also common because of weather. Single wall or bare brick walls are common as there’s generally no need for insulation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heaters-being-outside-an-apartment-is-weird-right/932477.md?page=1)