Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > San Antonio
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-29-2008, 10:43 AM
 
284 posts, read 1,082,225 times
Reputation: 160

Advertisements

This came up in an inspection for a house I was selling that was about 22 years old at the time. I ended up not doing anything about it because the other repairs were priorities and the cost of those repairs exceeded the designated limit. It was in a closet in the garage and I certainly hope it was vented to the outside. It must have been vented--if not, that would have been a priority repair.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-29-2008, 11:07 AM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,273,279 times
Reputation: 4025
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnappyBob View Post
On second thought, I think that NJTransplant is right. It's flamables being stored around the water heater. BTW an eletric water heat has the same issues with being an igniter although not as obvious as a gas flame. I really don't see how raising it up 18" is going to affect gravity. The force of gravity will remain the same.
Of course gravity is a constant, but in order to utilize its force you need your object that is utilizing gravity to be at a higher elevation than the final destination. The object is the pan that sits under the water heater in case there is a leak. The pan is not even close to large enough to hold all the water, so it must drain to an area outside of the foundation (the yard). If the pan is lower than the area it is draining to, it won't drain and the hot water will go all over everything on the floor.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-29-2008, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,273,279 times
Reputation: 4025
guess I was wrong, even though my argument made perfect sense, to me. This is from the manual for a water heater:

IT IS NOT DESIRABLE TO INSTALL A GAS FIRED WATER HEATER IN A
RESIDENTIAL GARAGE. IF INSTALLATION IN A RESIDENTIAL GARAGE IS
YOUR ONLY OPTION, THIS WATER HEATER MUST BE INSTALLED SUCH
THAT THE BOTTOM OF THE WATER HEATER IS NO LESS THAN 18 INCHES
ABOVE THE FLOOR (SEE FIGURE 1 BELOW). THIS IS TO REDUCE BUT
NOT ELIMINATE THE RISK OF IGNITING FLAMMABLE VAPORS WHICH
MAY BE PRESENT IN A GARAGE. THE WATER HEATER MUST BE
LOCATED OR PROTECTED TO AVOID PHYSICAL DAMAGE BY VEHICLES
OR FLOODING. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE WARNINGS CAN CAUSE A
FIRE OR EXPLOSION, RESULTING IN PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL
INJURY OR DEATH.

the entire manual is here: http://www.americanwaterheater.com/s...-March2000.pdf
This is of course only for one particular brand, but most sites I found said the same basic thing.
and gravity still doesn't hurt when it comes to draining the pan
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2009, 12:37 PM
 
1 posts, read 4,361 times
Reputation: 11
18" is code and for a very good reason. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air and will build from the garage floor up until finding an iginition source (such as a pilot and/or burner on a water heater). Also pellet, wood, and gas stoves could provide iginition. Fumes could come from a gasoline spill, fuel system leak, etc. even through an open garage door. LPG is also heavier than air (natral gas is lighter and rises).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2009, 02:42 PM
 
Location: South Central Texas
114,841 posts, read 65,496,546 times
Reputation: 166926
Without reading all the above...I'm sure you are no longer allowed to have a water heater in the kitchen. A pan just under the Water heater is sufficient and gravity flow is just as good as it would be if the heater were higher. The raising up off the floor is surely the result of Gas spills in garages. So many have burnt their houses or garages down by spilling gasoline in garages near a water heater. The fumes or gasoline run over near the heater and ignite. If the pop off or pressure relief valve fails on your water heater it can explode. You don't want it in your house. If you're on LP or propane the dangers are much greater as it is heavier than air and accumulates in low areas. Sorry to other posters I know I've repeated some things discussed already.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2009, 06:26 PM
 
107 posts, read 276,376 times
Reputation: 83
technically its 18" from point of ignition (pilot light). if the pilot is 6" off the ground in the casing then you would only need 12" of a platform. They are also now manufacturing water heaters designed to be straight on the floor but if you install one be sure to keep the paperwork to prove it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2009, 08:01 PM
 
Location: Kallison Ranch, San Antonio,TX.
1,671 posts, read 3,823,729 times
Reputation: 726
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lacar View Post
Does my Gas Hot Water heater located in my garage have to be off of the floor 18"????? It is sitting on short legs and was bought in 2004. Am trying to sell my house and was told during an inspection, that it must be that far off of the floor.
SnappyBob is correct.

Just out of curiousity did the Inspector check your incoming water pressure. A couple of weeks a Lady called since her buyer's Inspector checked the water pressure at the front hose bibb and found it to be 39 psi. I was told that he has to tell the prospective buyer if the incoming water pressure is under 40. Well it was and it put the sale of a $500.000 home on hold. From what I was told this all comes from the Texas Real Estate Commission. I found it odd since the TCEQ states that water pressure cannot fall below 35 psi under normal conditions. If there is a fire in the area it can fall to no less than 20 psi. When I stopped by to check it the pressure was 40 psi .

SnappyBob- Will Lacar be required to have all the plumbing brought up to code before the home can be sold or does that happen when a Plumber comes out (for repairs, installations)and notices that something is out of code? A couple of years ago my Mom and StepDad had a new gas water heater put in and at the time they were required to have a Pressure Reducing Valve and Expansion Tank installed. Their home is 25+ years old.

Last edited by wellguy; 10-21-2009 at 08:13 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-29-2009, 02:30 PM
 
3 posts, read 8,268 times
Reputation: 11
Recommend honest, reasonably-priced plumbers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-01-2015, 03:21 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,274 times
Reputation: 10
I saw a show about the reason the gas hot water heater are required to be off ground in garage is so that a flammable liquid such as gasoline spilled on the floor would be much more easily ignited by the pilot of the water heater. The flammable liquid would be converting into gas at time of igniting over a large spill area and is more like an explosion than just starting a fire. LP gas leaking in garage from a container would cause same problem Natural Gas is lighter than air so at least this gas would not spread along the floor. Hope this is helpful
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2015, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Kallison Ranch, San Antonio,TX.
1,671 posts, read 3,823,729 times
Reputation: 726
Your so fortunate to have yours in the Garage.
Ours is on the attic and our home is one story.
I guess it's all about saving space ???
I check it visually several times a year and sometimes more often.
When the darn thing goes out I'll cost a College Education to remove it when it goes out. Either leave it up there, drain it, and plumb everything to the Garage where there was enough room to put it there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > San Antonio
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top