hot water heater on concrete floor - Plumbing Forum

kathymc7719 · 03-09-2011, 02:47 PM

I have a hot water heater that was installed about 2 years ago. The new hot water heater has a metal bottom that sits directly on the concrete floor of my basement. The previous hot water heater had about 2 inches of air space between the bottom & the concrete floor.

I am concerned about the life of the water heater since it seems that it is more likely to rot the bottom out without any air circulation below the heater. There is also the concern that there is heat bleeding going on with the heater sitting directly on the floor.

When this new hot water heater was replaced the plumber told me that the newer heaters only have a life of about 10-12 years as compared to the hot water that I replaced that was 22 years old. So is this planned obsolesence?

I have a plumber coming into to do a bathroom remodel next week & wondering if it is worth it for me to have him raise this hot water heater up so that it is about 2 inches off of the floor?

Thanks

**DUNBAR PLUMBING** · 03-10-2011, 02:09 AM

If it is a GE Gas Water Heater, then there is no harm with the heater setting on the floor in that design.

If it is electric, I'd get it up on some type of elevation.

Plumber is correct, you'll never get the lifespan out of your water heater, and the amount of wasted energy you spent on your 22 year old heater could of bought 3 heaters plus labor.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by kathymc7719

I have a hot water heater that was installed about 2 years ago. The new hot water heater has a metal bottom that sits directly on the concrete floor of my basement. The previous hot water heater had about 2 inches of air space between the bottom & the concrete floor.

I am concerned about the life of the water heater since it seems that it is more likely to rot the bottom out without any air circulation below the heater. There is also the concern that there is heat bleeding going on with the heater sitting directly on the floor.

When this new hot water heater was replaced the plumber told me that the newer heaters only have a life of about 10-12 years as compared to the hot water that I replaced that was 22 years old. So is this planned obsolesence?

I have a plumber coming into to do a bathroom remodel next week & wondering if it is worth it for me to have him raise this hot water heater up so that it is about 2 inches off of the floor?

Thanks