I searched the threads, and I didn’t see an answer to my question, so I’ll pose it here: I have a 20 year old water heater. It’s starting to leak. I called in my warranty, and they told me to buy a new one. I didn’t really check the height of the thing. It turns out that the water heater that I bought is 4 inches taller than my old one. Will this make for a really difficult installation? The guy at Loews told me not to go too short. They don’t have one that is exactly my size. Even Sears (the brand of my old one, or Kennmore, rather) doesn’t have the exact same size, but they are only 1 inch taller.
You’ll probably need to shorten the input and output pipes. I would certainly be able to do this myself. If you don’t have a hack saw, and a propane soldering torch then any plumber or handy man type would be able to do this in about 20 minutes.
The real question is not whether a taller water heater will work. The answer to that is yes. The question you should be asking is, how easily will the old connections fit on the new water heater. You may have to call in a plumber to redo some of your fittings, or you may be able to get some flexible type connectors at your local Home Depot, if that will work.
It really depends on how the old one was installed, and how much “wiggle room” you have with the existing plumbing.
Plumbing issues aside, my first concern is whether this is an electric, NG, LG, or oil fired heater. If electric, then continue. If it’s a chimney vented appliance, then height can be critical, as you want rise in the vent from appliance to chimney connection. Flat or reverse slope can lead to CO spill into the dwelling. You’ll also need to check the T&P downtube if reusing the old one to ensure that it terminates within 6" of finished floor.
Since this is a 20 year old heater you’re replacing, some code requirements have changed.
A valve is required at or near the heater on the cold water inlet, and the valve must be full-bore type, e.g. a gate or ball balve. Globe or throttling valves are not permitted. [2903.2 IRC] Unions are required on hot and cold lines at or within 12" of the heater. [2801.3 IRC]
Depending on where the heater is located, various other code sections apply. Unless it’s electric, you’ll be installing an FVIR heater, and you want to ensure that it’s in a clean environment, you you will have problems with flame wander and safety shutoff.
Also you may wish tp install an expansion tank to deal with pressure build up as the water heats. This saves other points in the plumbing from premature failure.
Wow. Thanks for the quick responses. It’s a gas tank, sitting close to my heater. It looks exactly the same as my old water heater, except that it’s 4" taller. I believe the circumferance is the same at 18". The threads into it look about dead even. The exhaust part is a flexible slinky-looking thing that connect to the heater. However, the pipes are copper, though clean, do look old. I was hoping to avoid soldering, but my friend can do that. I was hoping the hard part would be draining and moving the thing out of my basement.
What is this? I didn’t see this at Loews.
Oh, and what do you guys think of tankless water heaters? Do I need anything special? It looks so much simpler than my old/new water heater.
I’m concerned about your flue connection. Until **danceswithcats ** comes back with a code cite, I’m pretty sure the flex stuff is not allowed. It sounds like some screw-it-up-yourselfer used a dryer vent hose here. This is an “it’s going to break and leak carbon monoxide and you’ll die in your sleep” serious safety problem.
The only place flexible connections are allowed (and in some areas, they’re actually required) is the gas and water lines. Local codes vary, and it would be a good idea to check and find what they specify. Also worth noting is some local jurisdictions will require the work be done by a licensed plumber, or at the very least, that you pull a permit for the job.
Replacing a water heater really is a pretty simple job, but you do have to dot the i’s and cross the t’s as you’re dealing with a pressurized tank that, if a string of things go wrong, can burst, plus the issues of gas (can burn or explode) and its exhaust, which can kill you. All of this combined is why some jurisdictions limit this to licensed plumbers or require permits and inspection.
Actually, they’re quite a bit more complicated.
I looked briefly at replacing my standing 50-gallon tank with a demand/tankless unit last year, but abanoned the idea once I realized what was needed - I’d have to replace the entire run of flue pipe - from the heater, through the walls and attic, out the roof to open sky as the existing flue isn’t big enough to cope with the increase in exhaust. I’d also have to run an electrical circuit for its ignition.
Those issues, plus realizing I’d still be waiting two minutes for hot water to get to the master bathroom, and that the unit alone (ignoring the installation costs for the new flue and wiring) was twice the price of a regular tank changed my mind in a hurry.
If you install a tankless heater this year, you get a 300 dollar tax credit.
However, the additional equipment needed to install the tankless heater will likely run you pretty close to that 300 dollars. For one, you will probably need bigger gas pipes, for two, a bigger flue and possibly a power-vent kit. For three, if your heater is in the middle of the floor, like mine is, instead of against a wall, you have to put it on something…
Nothing I’m seeing in IRC or UMC specifically prohibits flexible single wall vent. As predictable, all venting materials must be L&L, but unless oil is the source (must use type L), or you’ve venting through a cold space, an unoccupied attic, or a crawl space (must use type B), it may be OK.
As a coincidence, my own water heater (LP fueled) is vented through the side wall of the walkout basement, with a material best described as galvanized flexi-straw on steroids. The single piece travels less than 3’ from the chimney cap to the vent piece which passes through the CMU, and is around 18 gauge. Never seen such a vent anywhere else.