water heater – why not plug ins for them
edwardh1
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I wondered why water heaters are not easier to change????
like having quick connects on the water side and plugs on the electrical-
the quick connects are probably too expensive as you would need two or 4, but what about the electrical –why don’t they come with a 30 amp plug?
some other things like that are plugged in electrically are
garage door openers, water coolers, and in industry lots of heavy equipment.
Any ideas?
Replies
My electric is 30 years old. When it's changed out (probably in the next 6 months) the electrical work will take all of 3 minutes. No real point in a plug -- just an additional point of failure.
happy?
Reliability. Hard piping and hard wiring are more reliable than connections that can easily be disconnected.
Hard pipe?
All mechanical equipment must be removable A union is pretty quick way of connecting & disconnecting.
Wire nutz inside the access box seem pretty quick as well, not as fast as a plug, but if yer changin in out wouldn't ya want to keep the plug, so back to the wire nutz again.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Actually, my water heater is connected with copper all the way, with no unions. Only way to remove it is with a tubing cutter. However, I think it's become common practice, at least in some areas, to install the heater with threaded flex connections.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I believe that in shake and bake country that the codes require flex connectors. They also strap the tanks in place.
Dang Dan ya had to do it didn't ya. Now I have to pull out the "big" book. LOL
Section 609.5 of the 2003 updated UPC
States you need a union within 12" of regulating, water heating, conditioning & similar equipment that may require servicing or replacement which will facilitate its ready removal.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Well, house was built in 1976, and the water heater is original. Dunno what the code was then, but it wouldn't be the first violation I've found.
Of course, as a practical matter it doesn't make much difference for copper. You never remove the unit for service, only replacement, and odds are that the new unit will require some "amendment" of the pipes anyway, so just cutting the copper is probably easier than unscrewing a union.
(I am inclined to wonder if the code section quoted would apply to water heaters, since you never remove them for service, only replacement.)
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Edited 3/26/2006 9:40 pm by DanH
true true
But now ya got me thinkin----- 1976 so your wh is glass lined steel & is piped with copper do you have brass nipples in there----- or do we have electrolysis goin on?Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
At least one is galvanized.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
In my usage, unions and wire nuts are "hard piped/wired". Quick disconnect and plugs would not be.
I think your missing the point of the OP's question. He was wondering why electrical water heaters don't come with a cord & plug attached - line say your toaster, refridgerator, criogenic freezer (j/k).
While it's not a huge deal to wire nut the electric in, it would be nice from a maintenance standpoint to be able to just pull the plug instead of having to shut the breaker off.
Edited 3/27/2006 11:02 am ET by Soultrain
My water heater is within sight of the breaker panel, and you'd have to crawl over someone working on the heater to get to the panel. So no real point in a plug in my case.As has been stated, you'd have to remove the cord from one heater and move it to the next anyway, so the only use for the cord would be as a service disconnect. No point in my case -- would just be added expense and another point of failure.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
"As has been stated, you'd have to remove the cord from one heater and move it to the next anyway, so the only use for the cord would be as a service disconnect. No point in my case -- would just be added expense and another point of failure"
Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the original questions was "Why don't water heaters come with a cord & plug built in" - not "Why don't electricions wire plugs into water heaters when they are installed."
Seems like it would be easier if you simply unplugged the old WH, hauled it away (cord and all) & plugged in the new one - the same way you would do with a fridge, washing machine, toaster, TV, whatever.
Why are water heaters pretty much the only appliance that doesn't come with a cord that you plug in the wall?
Semi-permanate applicances like dishwashers and garabage disposal also come w/o cordsets so that they can either be hardwired or plug and cord connected.And some locals require them to be hardwired.And I have seen GDO that have instructions with them for converting to hardwired.So it is really not that hard a line between the two.
It's not really that much easier to unplug vs change the wiring. Plus, putting a plug on the heater from the factory would add $10-20 to the price, not something any mfgr wants to do.Given that to replace the unit you may need to replumb anyway (a much more expensive step), the 3 minutes saved with a plug every 10-30 years doesn't really seem worth the money.Does your furnace come with a plug?
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
That's fine. I was simply trying to restate what I thought the OP's original question was.
Most people seemed to think the question was about wiring a plug onto a water heater, when it seemed to me the question was why don't they come with plugs.
Hi everybody, my 3rd post in 4 years, (I'm the silent type).
Lets have a survey to see just how many people have a 220V recepticle wired to their water heater breaker.
Just my 2 cents for what it's worth (2 cents)
Furnaces should come with a plug, at least in areas subject to power failure. This will enable their use during an outage with an extension cord connected to a portable generator. This would eliminate the foolish temptation to backfeed power panels with the generator.
~Peter, The Wall Street Journal's sport's editor
Whether or not an appliance is hard wired has legal implications when the house is sold, too. Items hard wired/plumbed and permanently installed (for example, water heaters, furnaces, cooktops, chandeliers, sinks, built in refrigerators, dishwashers, garage door openers, etc.) are part of the building and convey. Items not hard wired/plumbed (for example, washing machines, dryers, ranges, floor lamps, etc.) do not convey. Of course, the buyer and seller can agree differently if they wish.
>>>>Plus, putting a plug on the heater from the factory would add $10-20 to the price, not something any mfgr wants to do.<<<<Regardless of what they "want" to do... I'm not so sure I would want them putting the plug on at the factory. They would go as cheap as they possibly could. That would lead to disaster in a helluva lot more cases than the current M.O.
We spend zillions on smart bombs.....how about spending zillions on creating smart kids?
~jjwalters
I beleive NEC requires a disconnect if heater is not in site of the electric panel
I beleive NEC requires a disconnect if heater is not in site of the electric panel
That's only for motors. For a heater you can just put lockouts on the breaker.
People turn the breaker off?
No guts no glory
Oh BTW I have a nice pair of wire strippers that used to be dykes if anyone is interested.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Oh BTW I have a nice pair of wire strippers that used to be dykes if anyone is interested.
No thanks. Already have at least one pair just like them. ;-)
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Some are plugged in. Nothing electrically wrong with doing it that way as long as you use the right cord, cord cap and receptacle are used correctly. Many local AHJs liked it that way a few decades ago. Things that make you go: Hmmm.
Down side is it take more than twice as long to do right and a standard water heater will need an extra $45 dollars or more in parts. High capacity cord caps and receptacles are not cheap.
Flexed out of the wall, a box may be needed, and draped to a 90 degree flex connector at the top of the unit it goes fast.
Usually when I get involved where there is an existing plug/receptacle situation I install a box extension and run flex in the normal way out the bottom. A blank plate completes the job. It eliminates a few connections and makes for a more rugged and reliable installation.
would a plug help on my gas unit?
p
I don't know where you would use a plug on a gas heater [Ha Ha] but they make quick gas connectors that most of the time are code, but they cost$$$$$$$. Info. only.
"I don't know where you would use a plug on a gas heater"
My gas WH has a plug-in.
But it's a power vent.
(-:
Two guys are shooting the breeze. One asks, "How many wives have you had?" The other thinks for a moment and replies, "Only one—of my own."
Sure thing. And for only $500 I will gladly install one on your gas unit. The customer is always right. At least they are as long as they pay.