Thread: Water heater sitting on Concrete

I had a newly constructed home with a the water heater sitting on the concrete. Does anyone know if a thermo break is recommended by any of the manufacturers? This was a Bradford White.

Thanks

//Rick

I'm not aware of any requirement.

Originally Posted by Rick Bunzel

I had a newly constructed home with a the water heater sitting on the concrete. Does anyone know if a thermo break is recommended by any of the manufacturers? This was a Bradford White.

Thanks

//Rick

Haven't heard of a manufacturer's recommendation for one (thermal break)......but are you sure you don't have one anyhow? Newly constructed home, a lot of ours have rigid foam placed under the slab. Definitely, if there is to be radiant heat in slab.

The tank itself is not in direct contact with the slab so there is limited heat transfer, esp. with a standing pilot. Gas direct vent fireplaces that are placed on concrete are recommended to have a thermal energy break but not required. Also, they are very light so we typically use Homosote Board, which can handle the weight. It would not be able to handle the roughly 400 lbs of a typical 40 gallon water heater so I'm not sure what material you could use under a WH that would not crush, provide a modicum of 'R' value and be stable enough.

Originally Posted by Rick Bunzel

I had a newly constructed home with a the water heater sitting on the concrete. Does anyone know if a thermo break is recommended by any of the manufacturers? This was a Bradford White.

Thanks

//Rick

Interesting question. Even when we were going through that big "seal up everything" movement a few years ago, I haven't seen any product designed to provide a thermal break on water heaters that are directly placed on concrete.

Gas water heaters in most cases are not an issue as the tank is above the burner, I am assuming you have electric. If water heater is mounted on a metal stand 18" above the floor (required in some areas), you have your thermal break. If the installation included a plastic drip pan plumbed to the outside---you have your thermal break.

I do not know if the heater is in a basement or not, but a plastic drip pan is a good idea if there's any possibility of moisture coming up through the concrete being trapped under the base of the heater promoting rust.

risin

Originally Posted by Rich Goeken

Interesting question. Even when we were going through that big "seal up everything" movement a few years ago, I haven't seen any product designed to provide a thermal break on water heaters that are directly placed on concrete.

Gas water heaters in most cases are not an issue as the tank is above the burner, I am assuming you have electric. If water heater is mounted on a metal stand 18" above the floor (required in some areas), you have your thermal break. If the installation included a plastic drip pan plumbed to the outside---you have your thermal break.