put in an electric on demand heater. cut my elec bills in half...The drip pan helps you to see that your water heater is failing before it floods your house. I would recommend a drip pan.
1) unbolt old water heater
2) bolt in new water heater
it doesn’t get much easier than that
If your water heater needs a drip pan then there is something wrong- if it is in the basement, I would not worry- if it is on a hardwood floor- than OK why not
It is the pressure relief valve and pipe that is usually the biggest drip concern
Codes some places *require* that drip pan nowadays. It’s just a round pan, a little bigger than the heater diameter, with sides a couple or three inches high. Metal or plastic. You can get ‘em at Home Depot.
I don’t have one on my water heater and it’s about as old as yours. I’d probably put it in if I redid mine — if the thing leaks the pan will catch it and save you damage.
The sharkbite stuff is good. Save you a lot of time.
Turn off the breaker and the water before you disconnect it. :-) j/k I’m sure you know that.
Drip pans are handy, I put my water heater up on cement blocks to assist in rust prevention from below as the Concrete pad sometimes “sweats” due to the high water level in the ground here.
Also I use a solar assisted model with an 80 gal tank. The more water that is heated by solar during the day the less electricity is used during the evening. I highly recommend solar assist for the Hot water heater no matter what your climate is.
Sounds like it would be wise if you familiarized yourself with the latest building codes in your area before proceeding.
Sharkbites are generally considered as ‘temporary’. I’d recommend good old fashioned soldered joints, which we know have consistently stood the test of time.
step one, drain water heater...
Perhaps an aside. If you are connected to a municipal water supply, there is probably a check valve at the connection to prevent Mohammad from back pumping poison into the water supply. So you get your new water heater, fill it with cold water and heat it up. Water expands, water pressure goes up because there is no where for water to expand to.
In this scenario, you need to install a small pressure tank with an air bladder in the supply line to absorb this pressure. Absent the bladder, you will have premature failure of the seals in your water heater.
My comment is that it is wise to not install a large capacity water heater if you live alone. The cost of heating water is the second largest cost of electricity.
You get a tax credit on energy efficient improvements... and the water heater is included.
My only advice is to prepare for the old one to leak somewhat when it's being carted out, even after it's drained. I found out the hard way that sometimes all the water doesn't come out! At least not when they drain it. But it can leak out while being carted through the house to get it outside. Wrap the drain spigot near the bottom of the tank in plastic or something absorbent to keep discolored water from staining carpet. Or in my case, to keep it from making the stairs all wet. I had a NASTY fall last year after they carted out the old unit and I didn't realize how wet it had gotten the steps. Take it from a klutz, an ounce of prevention might save you months of pain ;)
On my water heater I have five attachment points that have to line up the chimney, the gas line (black iron pipe), inlet, outlet and pressure relief all 3/4 copper pipe. The most recent replacement I could line up the gas, the chimney, and the relief, but I had to use the two 45 deg coupling trick on the inlet and the oulet to get them lined up.
/johnny
Remember to replace the tank anode every year, new ones are about twenty bucks or so.
put in an electric on demand heater. cut my elec bills in half...Code or not, definitely get the drip pan. Depending on the water quality where you live, I’ve seen quite a few start leaking just after the warranty expires, but then again the areas I work have terrible water (minerals, hardness, etc.). Warranty claims for a self-install usually involve the homeowner removing and returning the tank to the store.
Up to you to have the code official sign off on the install, I didn’t for my own, but at work we are required to pull the permit.
Sometimes the biggest problem is draining the water from the tank. My old heater had about a two gallon bucket of mineral scale in the bottom and I had a job of work getting the thing to drain.
I had replaced the lower heating element a couple of years before and extended it’s life a bit but I don’t really recommend doing that since the heater is failing otherwise too.
So go for it! What can happen? Electrocution? Flooding your entire house? Tens of thousands of dollars in damage? A hernia from trying to move a half full tank?