My husband plans on replacing the electric hot water heater that’s in our garage soon, by himself. The challenge is not the plumbing, but how to lift it the 18 inches or so onto the stand. He doesn’t have a plan for that part yet, although tentatively mentioned a pulley system. He’s got a old back injury. So I’m a bit concerned. Any suggestions (besides hire a plumber) or words of advice from those who have tried it?
A hot water heater weighs what, 150 lbs? I’d just lift it.
But it sounds like your husband’s best bet is to pay someone $50 to do the lifting.
Beats dropping it from a jury-rigged pulley system or ending up in bed with a wrenched back.
Just tilt it back, way back, get one ‘corner’ of the heater up onto the stand, stand it up and slide it over. It’s going to be harder to get the old one off. BTW, plan for it to take about an hour to an hour and a half to get all the water out of the old one. The more water you get out, the less you have to drag out of the basement (if that’s where it is).
It’s in our garage. He said he’ll use a garden hose to empty most of it. But if it runs onto the floor, no big deal. It’s sloped to the street. He has a degenerating disc. So I’m just worried about the weight. He’s a big guy though, so there may be nothing to worry about. I was just hoping there was some simple solution he hadn’t thought of.
Find a neighbor. Maybe two. It’ll cost you a few beers and maybe a pizza.
Got any spare lumber lying around, or willing to buy a dozen or so 8-foot 2x4s?
Cut lengths of a few inches longer than the water heater is wide.
Lay 2 down parallel to each other far enough apart that they will support the edge of the water heater, and “walk” the water heater onto them. Then, at right angles to the first two, carefully* tilt the water heater back and put two more (one per side). Repeat until the desired height is reached. Then “walk” the water heater over to the stand.
No lifting at all, but it is time consuming.
*After about 4 iterations, this word needs to be emphasized more and more strongly each time.
Joey P pretty much has it nailed. Removing the old one has always been worse for me than putting the new one in.
Probably some beer would be enough.
get in position next to the stand, tip from side to side adding short lengths of cut lumber in a stack until it is above the stand height. then move the heater over.
have all the cut lumber. have two or more people for the whole operation depending on space and strength. have a plan before you start to do the job. when you have a hazardous situation (like when a person puts their hand under the tipped water heater to place a block of wood) then only do that for a short time with communication.
‘i’m putting my hands underneath now’
‘my hands are out of the way now’
‘can i tip the water heater now?’
with a plan and good communication then new or hard tasks can be done will little risk to people or property.
Wow, that plan sounds familiar.
Thanks for all the great ideas, and cautions too!
RE: moving the old one. Don’t hurt yourself with a half-full used one. Move the car and just tip it over. Its not like its going to be any more “junk”. 
You should be. I did this back when I was young and foolish. Two people can do this in about 5 minutes, if everything is ready. Your husband should have someone help him.
It may not be the weight so much as it’s large and awkward. I would look for a buddy to help before dumping time and money into a bunch of 2x4s. If he does any car maintenance and has some car ramps he might be able to scoot it up those.
If your water is already hot, why do you need to heat it?
(sorry, pet peeve of mine!)
to hold heated water at a set temperature it needs to supply heat to hot water. some of the time it is a hot water heater. maybe the only time it is a cold water heater is when there is a fresh fill or when you drain the tank.
If it’s an old water heater that’s been used for many yours, and your water is hard, there could be a couple hundred pounds of rock and mineral buildup on the inside of it.
Rent or borrow a cheap engine hoist? I’ve used my engine hoist for lots of odd things around the house from radiators to pianos. Just watch how you sling it.
It’s been a few years since he had a problem with it and he does special exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles. He will be careful and I’ll be there to help a bit.
He should be able to just roll it down the driveway.
When we moved into the house we were standing in the kitchen wondering how to get the new fridge inside. He said “I have an idea” and disappeared. About a minute passed and here he comes waddling with the fridge in a bear hug and set it down right in place. What’s next. He’s a big guy, Polish and Hungarian, but still…it’s a big fridge. We still laugh about that. Oh to be young!
We have some spare wood in the garage but no car ramps.
Lord I hope not. We do get that stuff in the fridge water filter so I’m sure there is some. We think it’s around 18 years old.
Good idea.
What’s above you? Can you use rope and pulley to lift it, and then swing it out? That’s what I would do.
But, I think a bear hug, tilting back, and lifting with his legs would also do it. However, with any kind of back injury I would not do this alone. In theory, he should not be lifting anything over 50 pounds.