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Plumbing Advice Needed - Replacing Water Heater

GeekDrew

GeekDrew

Diamond Member
One of the rental houses my parents owns is a modular / manufactured home. We need to replace the water heater. I know absolutely nothing about this, and if it were up to me, would have no problem paying to have someone else do it (preferably someone that *does* know how to do it).

Pics of old water heater/pipes: http://www.andrewmstemen.net/waterheater/

I bought a water heater from Lowe's.... to find it, search on the Lowe's website for part # E1F50RD045V (I can't get a link to work). The thing is, the Lowe's dude convinced me to buy a "normal" 50 gallon water heater, rather than one for a manufactured home. His logic was that #1 it was less expensive and #2 it had two heating cores, rather than one. So I got the "normal" one.

Now, because my parents wouldn't let me pay Lowe's to install the water heater (yet!), I need to know what to do next. What parts am I going to need in order to install the new water heater? Dad unscrewed the pipes that were connected to the old water heater... can I just screw those same fittings into the inlet/outlet on the new water heater? Or is there some reason I shouldn't?

I'm plumbing retarded, I know. 🙁

<edit>

This is an electric water heater, not gas.
 
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I woudln't install anything that has anything to do with gas myself. I like doing everything myself but I think I would draw the line at gas fixtures. You want to be safe here.
 
Locut0s said:
I woudln't install anything that has anything to do with gas myself. I like doing everything myself but I think I would draw the line at gas fixtures. You want to be safe here.
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This is an electric water heater; I should have mentioned that, sorry.
 
You should be able to screw the same pipes in, but make sure you mark inlet and outlet before you get rid of the old one. A water heater replacement is pretty easy on the plumbing scale. If you have to move any lines around, they sell splices into the kind of plastic pipe that's currently there. I would prefer to have copper, but that would probably be more trouble than its worth.
 
jmebonner said:
You should be able to screw the same pipes in, but make sure you mark inlet and outlet before you get rid of the old one. A water heater replacement is pretty easy on the plumbing scale. If you have to move any lines around, they sell splices into the kind of plastic pipe that's currently there. I would prefer to have copper, but that would probably be more trouble than its worth.
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There weren't any markings on the old water heater as to which pipe was in and which was out... by slightly engaging the main water valve, I discovered that the pipe that had been connected to the bottom of the tank was the input.

I don't understand about having to move any lines around... ? The new water heater's connections are on the top rather than on the side, but it looks to me as though the pipes should be long enough to reach (though I haven't tried yet).
 
GeekDrew said:
There weren't any markings on the old water heater as to which pipe was in and which was out... by slightly engaging the main water valve, I discovered that the pipe that had been connected to the bottom of the tank was the input.

I don't understand about having to move any lines around... ? The new water heater's connections are on the top rather than on the side, but it looks to me as though the pipes should be long enough to reach (though I haven't tried yet).
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This may sound stupid but was there a manual that came with the heater? most appliances even ones meant to be installed by pros come with instructions.
 
I have to ask, why is the heater being replaced? If it's leaking, that's fine. If it's not making hot water, there is a heating element inside that can be replaced.

If those pipes are flexible enough to connect to the fittings on the replacement heater without getting a kink in them you're golden. If not, you're going to have to get, or make up shorter pipes.
 
Not 100&#37; positive on what you mean by "manufactured/modular." A lot of water heaters that are approved for most residential structures do not meet code for some types of manufactured housing. I can't remember what thing there is that they need, but there's some nearly trivial difference. My water heater in my basement is thanks to someone installing one that didn't meet code. There's had to be removed a year later and replaced when they went to sell the place. I like free water heaters - it serves as an auxiliary to my oil water heater.

edit: and I'm noting that in the picture you provided, it specifically says "for manufactured housing." Hopefully igas pops into this thread & can tell you what the difference is. But, in all likelihood, your new water heater does NOT meet code for that structure. If something happened as a result, you'd be fucked. Then again, it's an electric heater? The one I installed was a propane heater. I have no clue what the heck could be different about an electric water heater.

(edit edit - by I installed it - into my basement, not into a manufactured house. It was a gift to me from the plumber who they contracted to replace it.)
 
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Oh and if I were buying a water heater now I would probably go with an instant water heater. More environmentally friendly and actually saves money in the long run. But you said you already bought it right?
 
Locut0s said:
Oh and if I were buying a water heater now I would probably go with an instant water heater. More environmentally friendly and actually saves money in the long run. But you said you already bought it right?
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Whether they save money or not depends on the situation they're used in. They don't always save money & many times can cost a lot more over the lifetime of the heater. AND, since they're renting the place out & presumably the tenant is paying for the hot water, it certainly would cost them more in the long run.
 
Locut0s said:
This may sound stupid but was there a manual that came with the heater? most appliances even ones meant to be installed by pros come with instructions.
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Yes, but it seems to only apply to copper. It doesn't discuss whether I can just connect those existing pipes to the water heater (since they aren't copper).
 
DrPizza said:
Not 100% positive on what you mean by "manufactured/modular." A lot of water heaters that are approved for most residential structures do not meet code for some types of manufactured housing. I can't remember what thing there is that they need, but there's some nearly trivial difference. My water heater in my basement is thanks to someone installing one that didn't meet code. There's had to be removed a year later and replaced when they went to sell the place. I like free water heaters - it serves as an auxiliary to my oil water heater.
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I've searched online, I've talked to several other landlords that rent manufactured homes, and to several guys at both Lowe's and Menards... they all agree that the only strict difference between the manufactured homes models and the regular models are that the connections are made on the side, in manufactured homes, and the inlet/outlet are on the top of the water heater for regular ones.

I hadn't considered any liability issues with changing from the side to the top... but I can't really think of any reason it would matter, either...?
 
GeekDrew said:
Yes, but it seems to only apply to copper. It doesn't discuss whether I can just connect those existing pipes to the water heater (since they aren't copper).
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What are they if not copper? I don't know what I'm talking about here but aren't there corrosion issues when mixing metal types?
 
Locut0s said:
What are they if not copper? I don't know what I'm talking about here but aren't there corrosion issues when mixing metal types?
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See, I don't know either. The male connections on the top of the new water heater appear to be plastic (I haven't unwrapped it yet, but I can see them, and they're blue and look plastic-y). It looks to me as though the female connectors on the end of the plastic house pipe are copper... so is that the equivalent of copper pipe / are the connectors really what matters?
 
water heaters that meet code for manufactured/mobile homes are easily identified by the side input/output pipe stubs.

http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-6-30-...2151632&amp;sr=8-1

What you are trying to do is install a typical residential heater in its place? Can you do it? Yes. Is it going to meet code? No. I'm not sure on the specifics behind the requirement of the side connections, but most things sre there because the home is supposed to be safe to transport.

Just go back to lowes and get the right one and stop trying to put that square peg into the round hole.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_149789-135-M...ductId=1137463


Another concern for that other heater would be the power draw. The typical dual 4500 watt elements are probably going to be more than the existing wiring can handle. Are you planning on updating the wiring as well?
 
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GeekDrew said:
See, I don't know either. The male connections on the top of the new water heater appear to be plastic (I haven't unwrapped it yet, but I can see them, and they're blue and look plastic-y). It looks to me as though the female connectors on the end of the plastic house pipe are copper... so is that the equivalent of copper pipe / are the connectors really what matters?
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Well if it's plastic to coper or plastic to any metal you won't have an issue so long as you can make a tight fitting. It's when you mix different types of metals that you might have an issue.
 
waffleironhead said:
water heaters that meet code for manufactured/mobile homes are easily identified by the side input/output pipe stubs.

http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-6-30-...2151632&amp;sr=8-1

What you are trying to do is install a typical residential heater in its place? Can you do it? Yes. Is it going to meet code? No. I'm not sure on the specifics behind the requirement of the side connections, but most things sre there because the home is supposed to be safe to transport.

Just go back to lowes and get the right one and stop trying to put that square peg into the round hole.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_149789-135-M...ductId=1137463
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OK, well apparently dad got ambitious and decided to unwrap the water heater, so I can't return it now. If it's going to be a legal liability, I'll smack him around a bit and then just buy another one. My questions now are... what code is it not going to meet, when would anyone possibly discover that, and what might the ramifications of that be? House cannot / will not be moved, or sold.
 
GeekDrew said:
OK, well apparently dad got ambitious and decided to unwrap the water heater, so I can't return it now. If it's going to be a legal liability, I'll smack him around a bit and then just buy another one. My questions now are... what code is it not going to meet, when would anyone possibly discover that, and what might the ramifications of that be? House cannot / will not be moved, or sold.
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After doing some looking around, I may have been off base on the requirement to do a like for like swap. Apparently in some(maybe all) jurisdictions you can switch the heater out for a non-specific one. The original requirements was based on HUD codes, but one the home is in place(usually never going to move again) the code authority switches over to a typical residential one.

My recommendation would be to call your local government and ask.

But, did you see my edit ala the power requirements?
 
waffleironhead said:
Another concern for that other heater would be the power draw. The typical dual 4500 watt elements are probably going to be more than the existing wiring can handle. Are you planning on updating the wiring as well?
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It's on a 40-amp breaker, and I believe that it's 10-gauge. I'll have to double-check, but I'm 99% sure that the existing wire will be sufficient.
 
waffleironhead said:
After doing some looking around, I may have been off base on the requirement to do a like for like swap. Apparently in some(maybe all) jurisdictions you can switch the heater out for a non-specific one. The original requirements was based on HUD codes, but one the home is in place(usually never going to move again) the code authority switches over to a typical residential one.

My recommendation would be to call your local government and ask.

But, did you see my edit ala the power requirements?
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This house isn't within a municipality, so the county's building department would be the next higher authority... I'll check with them, but I still can't think of any possible repercussions of swapping in a dissimilar electric water heather. :-\

And no, I hadn't seen your comment about electricity until a minute ago -- I'll check again, but I believe we're OK in that regard.
 
Honestly, I wouldn't worry at all about replacing an electric with an electric, provided your breaker is sufficient for what it demands. As far as electrical loads, I know very little - except that electric is expensive to heat water with in my area, so few people use it.

Actually, though, how many watts is the new water heater? (The label for the old one is in the picture.)
 
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DrPizza said:
Honestly, I wouldn't worry at all about replacing an electric with an electric, provided your breaker is sufficient for what it demands. As far as electrical loads, I know very little - except that electric is expensive to heat water with in my area, so few people use it.
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seems to be 50/50 around here... just judging by the stock at home improvement stores. of course that could obviously be way off due to replacement/reliability differences, but nonetheless...

i can personally only think of 1 house in the area that does not use electric to heat water (of the few dozen i'd have knowledge of)
 
Is the old heater 110 or 220 Volts, 220 would have a double breaker in the service box. Ten gauge wire is great, 12 gauge would do for 220 service. Inlet and outlet pipes are marked blue for cold water, red for hot water. Could also be marked or embossed on top.
 
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