Hot Water Heater: Sizes/Defects

1

Hello Everyone,

I am working in a certification/licensing in the state of Tennessee. The IRC in this area is still following the 2018 codes and I am still working through classes about the hot water heater inspections.

Recently as I was a looking at my mother’s hot water heater it I noticed several issues that warranted the replacement of the hot water heater. My mother called her home warranty company and her hot water heater was replaced with a new electric hot water heater. However when the hot water heater was replaced with the new hot water heater there were several items of concern for me. As I am not yet adept at doing these inspections or licensed that I would reach out here and ask for some direction on how you all would report the hot water heater.

Thing that I noted to be possible defects:

  • No electrical shut off in sight of hot water heater.
  • Hot water heater too close to wall and touching wiring.
  • Pan too small in diameter for the new hot water heater installed.
  • Electrical wiring not covered.

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Installer did add needed expansion tank and cutoff valve on cold water side is present.

Any feedback on how you would report this hot water heater would be appreciated.

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  1. Where is the electrical panel located in relation to the WATER HEATER?
  2. Meh! What does the WATER HEATER Manufacturer say about Clearances?
  3. That’s not a “Pan”, it’s an ‘Insulator’ for the Concrete floor. No pan required for that location.
  4. Meh! NM not allowed in conduit/flex cable in most jurisdictions. Vary’s by AHJ.
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NM cable is permitted to be run exposed when not subject to physical damage.

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  1. Local shut off is good practice but not required. If shut off is at a breaker in an electrical panel elsewhere then a breaker lockout device is needed
  2. Use common sense. The back of the water heater is tight to the wall but the front and sides have plenty of clearance for(elements/thermostat, tprv, drain, etc). What’s the practical problem? Also, if you look at the manufacturer’s installation instructions, you are likely to see a similar pattern: front needs most clearance, sides need some clearance, and back require the least or no clearance.
  3. The pan is for protection of “primary structural components” in the house. This definition is not in the IRC, but the closest definition is in the IBC(and it refers to columns, beams, girders, etc) basically the big boys of structure. Technically, a pan would not even be required for water heaters installed in attics because individual common trusses, ceiling joists, etc count as secondary structural members or repetitive structure members.
  4. Like Robert said, if the wire is not subject to physical damage then protection is not needed. Notice how the conduit was used to provide protection for the section of the wire touching the wall. This water heater also looks to be in a tall crawlspace or unfinished basement so this area is not usually accessed and therefore not really subject to physical damage.
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Water heater. It is not a “hot” water heater no matter how many people mislabel it as such.

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A picture of the entire set up and location within the house would also help.

The broom finish on the concrete caught my eye. Is this in a crawl or basement? Is there a floor drain nearby?