Adding a Drain Pan to an Existing Hot Water Heater?

Question

Has anyone done this? Yesterday my HWH in my own home sprung a leak, causing a minor flood. Thankfully we had a leak alarm next to it. We will be putting a drain pan in with the replacement, but I would like to do something for my rentals which do not have them.

BTW, I HATE WATER...AND SQUIRELLS!

Melvin Derby · Answer

Best option I would suggest is to get the water drained from the water heater. Hopefully the tank is connected to the water supply pipes. Now raise the tank so that the new  “smitty” pan can be slid underneath.

Now, depending on the size of the tank, get some helpers. Alone one can max wrestle a 30 gallon tank onto catch pan but for those with capacity above 40 or 50 gallon minimum 3 will be required to lift an empty tank and slide a pan underneath.

Ensure that the Water Heater is fully detached from plumbing, electricity & vent.

When you roll the bottom edge of the WH, handle with care, since they have anode rod & dip tube inside that are attached only at the top. Avoid any kind of jerking or slamming the WH back down after being tipped.

Calculate the height of the new stand which should atleast be ⅛” per foot drop or slope of the pan’s pipe to your building exit point, floor drain or sump basin.

Use a ramp if needed, say 2x4 or wider would be enough. Edge roll WH into the pan as some plumbing contractors suggest. Gently rock or jiggle the WH to get it drain centered and suitably aligned. Shark-Bite type fittings go well with WH's.

Julian Sibley · Answer

Probably already aware of this, but make sure the water heaters in your rentals are being drained and flushed at least every other year. Over time minerals in the water build up in the bottom and cause the tanks to rust from the inside out and decrease the life of the appliance.

I worked for an appliance company all throughout high school, you'd be amazed how old some of the units were we pulled/replaced for customers. Routine maintenance is key, and your renters are unlikely to do it for you!

Derrick W. · Answer

water heaters 7+ years old are on borrowed time. Water heaters don't like being moved once they have been there for a while. I wouldn't touch them until it's time to swap out.

JD Martin · Answer

Depends on the WH location. If it's on a second floor (man, does that suck if it is), then I would be doing more than just putting a drain pan under it. If it's in an unfinished basement that has access to a drain, I wouldn't worry about it. If it is in a finished first floor area, there should already be some type of provision for the pressure relief pipe. Use that as your guide.

A 40 gallon water heater without water weighs about 100-120 pounds. Add pipe and sediment and empty it's going to be pushing 150. Forget about it with water in it. And add the possibility of damaging the pipes when trying to move the water heater around and unless you have a very high risk area, I think it is going to be more trouble than it is worth.

Bob H. · Answer

This sounds tough. You'd like to lift the water heater straight up for a few inches, then slip the pan under it and lower it again. That could be done with an elaborate system I once saw in a YouTube video of a guy who was doing a one-man water heater installation in an attic. He had cables around the water heater vertically and a come-along ratcheting hoist attached to a rafter. But that's probably overkill for you.

How about this? Try my idea to make the eventual replacement of the water heater easier.

Start by turning off the water heater and closing the water and gas supply valves. Then drain the water heater. You'll probably need to disconnect the water and gas lines, too.

Ordinarily, a problem you have in replacing a water heater is that you want to slide the new water heater into the drain pan, but you need to get it over the edge of the pan and not smash the pan. Even if you have two big guys, the water heater might be in a closet so the guys can't fit on opposite sides to lift it.

When I replaced my water heater, I modified the heater closet. To do this, first cut sheets of plywood or particle board about 2 feet square, the size of the floor in the closet. You'll need three or four sheets, so that when stacked they are slightly thicker than the height of the drain pan.

Next, draw a circle on each sheet, slightly larger than the diameter of the drain pan, and cut out the circle. Before or after cutting out the circle, cut the sheets in half. So, for each layer of wood, you'll have two rectangles, approximately 1 by 2 feet, with a semicircle cut out. Leave a space somewhere for the drain. (In my installation, I didn't even need the wood in the back of the closet, where my drain is, so I left out that wood.)

Put these sheets in the closet and glue or screw them down. (This is easy in an empty closet. Your water heater might be in the way.) Paint the new closet floor if you want it to look nice.

Now tip the water heater toward you and "walk" it away from you so you can get the back legs up onto the wood behind the pan. Then straighten it up and have a helper slide the pan into the circle. Then tip the heater toward you again, resting the front legs in the pan, and walk it toward you until you can straighten it up and have all four legs in the pan. Finally, connect the drain.

(If it's too hard to install the wood behind your water heater, you could install the wood only in the front. Then you would need to tip the heater away from you and, probably with some difficulty, walk it toward you to get the front legs up on the new wood.)

Johann Jells · Answer

What I do is put it in the pan and then slide or walk it into the closet.

Adding a Drain Pan to an Existing Hot Water Heater?

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