water heater drain pan questions

Hello,

Before installing the water heater, I am trying to setup a water heater drain pan that can handle any maximum possible water leak problem without the pan overflowing. I want to make sure that whatever possible leaks come from the water heater, that the water will not overflow the pan, and will drain out the pan drain pipe.

1) Is a 1 inch drain pipe from the water pan sufficient to drain enough water so the pan does not overflow in a worst case scenario? I don't know the max flow rate of a water heater rupture. Is it possible that the max flow could be an open cold water line with the local water pressure? I am thinking about doing 1.25 inch pipe for the pan drain, or even 1.5 inch. Is 1.5 inch overkill, or fine?

2) Does it help having a higher sidewall to the drain pan -say 4 inches high instead of 2.5 inches? Many drain pans are 2.5 inches high.

Any help on this issue would be appreciated. We had a bad leak and don't want problems again.

Thanks.

I believe they are purposely kept low in order to allow the door at the bottom (on gas units) to clear it. If you have your PVC drain line connected properly, with as few elbows as possible, flowing downhill into a safe spot, I would imagine you will be ok, since most W/H failures are not immediate catastrophes.

Appreciate the feedback. It made a difference, we had a 1 inch drain pipe installed that goes to the garage floor, with few elbows, which should work.

There is one other issue now. We had a Bradford White 40 gallon gas water heater installed yesterday, and there is a strong chemical odor that is even coming into the house. It seems like it is from the tank. Is this just the heater insulation off-gassing as it gets warmed up now? Is this normal with a new water heater and the smell should go away? Or should someone more knowledgeable take a look at things?

Thanks.

They say to flush the first 40 gallons, since there are some impurities in the tank to stop rust.