water heater

[RollTideRam]

Can a gas or electric water heater be installed in a crawl space? Wifey want some more room in laundry room and this would help. Current heater is 15 years old. JC

[ultrarunner]

Yes, they can.

It is much easier to install the electric because venting and running a new gas line isn't involved.

I owned a home that had an electric, "Low Boy" heater that was about the size of a clothes washer and it was under the house.

If space is an issue, you might consider going with a continuous flow water heater. Much smaller and they are wall mounted.

Another home I lived in has furnace and water heater in a pit under the house with small stairs for access. I had to install a sump pump after water put out the pilots on both my first winter.

[RonMar]

Is there enough vertical height for it to set upright? they don't call them crawl spaces for nothing... An electric would be easier to do this with as the flue from a gas heater would still need to exit somewhere and I think it is best that they go vertical for a little ways to maintain an adequate draft. The heater would also shed more heat and consume more power being in a drafty uninsulated space. It would also corrode on the outside faster due to being more exposed to moisture. I have never been in a comletely dry crawlspace, at least here in the NW Now if you were to build it an insulated sealed enclosure, it would probably work out OK, but you would need enough vertical room to do this.

[RollTideRam]

Flat ground and 4 blocks high in the crawl space. JC

[kenmac]

From the ground up 4 block ?? 32 '' tall ?? Doubt you'll find a W.H. that short. If you do, it will be elec. no nat gas this short

[MF1455v]

If you go with gas Noritz makes a tankless you can install inside or outside on the wall. Local plumbing store here in Austin Tx has 2 outside and work fine. Doesn't look so good, but you might get creative to cover it if looks is an issue. Just make sure the clearance requirements are met.

Something else to keep in mind is tankless water heaters are requried to have Stainless Steel vent pipe. This can get very expensive if the run is very long.

James

[RollTideRam]

While buying a few fittings at the local plumbing store (not Lowe's) it talked to the owner about water heaters. He said he could order me a tankless gas water heater and install it on the back of my house. This is the outside wall where the current electric heater is installed. He would do all of the install except a gas hook up. I currently have copper tubing run under the house to two infared heaters. Now I just need to figure out if a tankless propane water heater would be better than a new electric water heater. JC

[EddieWalker]

Not sure about how much water you need to heat, but there are some that fit inside of a sink cabinet. I just took one out of a bathroom sink that only had cold water run to it. This one pluged into a regular wall outlet (15amps) and heated up plenty of water for washing your hands. It's about the size of a small to medium suitcase and weighs about 40 pounds.

They gave it to me, but for the life of me, I don't know what to do with it. Maybe it will go into a hunting cabin or something like that one day in the future. I'd sell it to you cheap if you're in the area.

Eddie

[RollTideRam]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm interested in a whole house water heater. It is a small house (1200 sf). I'm just unsure if I should heat with lpg or electric. JC

[thatguy]

Originally Posted by kenmac

From the ground up 4 block ?? 32 '' tall ?? Doubt you'll find a W.H. that short. If you do, it will be elec. no nat gas this short

Our crawl space is not much larger than 32" and we have a 'fat boy' 50 gal water heater... There is not enough room to replace the anonizing rod without draining and flipping the heater on its side though..

Brian