Here in Texas we just recovered from a terrible cold snap and storm. I have 2 large water heaters in the attic and we had 6 broken copper water pipes when we lost power for over 2 days.

My question is does anyone have any knowledge about enclosing the water heaters in a cabinet (that I can put a heat lamp in) and be to code? I have a request to building inspector, just looking for more info.

Home generator will be on order once installation hysteria and resultant price gouging is over.....

Did you leave your hot water dripping during the freeze? We left the hot water dripping in the sink furthest from the HWH. When I went into the garage to put insulation on the cold water inlet I tested both pipes by hand and could tell the hot water line to the house was very warm. My hot water line is plumed under my cold line. This kept my cold line warm enough that there was no need to insulate it. We have only one HWH(gas). If your HWHs are gas a cabinet may not be needed.

We lost power for 40 plus hours between Monday afternoon till Wednesday afternoon last week. Didn't loose any pipes. I would recommend dripping the hot water and maybe wrap the cold and hot water pipes together with a radiant bubble wrap so the hot water return will heat the cold inlet line. Rock wool would be better as it is fire resistant and would handle the heat build up of the hot water line.

Now if you are dead set on enclosing them, I think a basic 2x2 or 2x4 frame with sheetrock or plywood would be fine as long as there is an intake vent at the bottom and a door or removable panel. Is there a building code for this? I don't know that. Problem is when work needs to be done or they need to be replaced. Can they be accessed or removed without added cost to you.

And I'm right there with you on the generator thing. We are in the process of looking for a house, need more room. Heating and cooking with gas is a must have after last week.

-TVz

Your biggest concern will be getting combustion air to the appliances. Your local codes should have a calculation based on BTU output of appliances for vent size and room size.

There are direct vented options with fan etc.

Last summer I looked into getting a whole house (I have a small 1500 square foot house) natural gas gen installed. After finding out it would be about 12k installed I dropped that idea and bought a Cummins portable dual fuel (gas and propane) gen. I screwed up and never added a switchover panel but I will be doing that this year.

I know people leave their water dripping but that alone is not going to keep lines from freezing if the attic stays below freezing long enough. Do a Google search and you will see kitchen sinks left running that froze solid, moving water will freeze.

I had to get into my attic with propane heaters to heat it up and keep the pipes from freezing, the enclosure might help the exposed water heater but what about all the pipe to and from it running through the attic and exterior walls of your house?

If I get another house before I retire it will have a whole house natural gad gen and a conditioned attic so freezing will never be an issue again (well, that is until the natural gas pipeline loses supply from freezing).

I used to have all sorts of problems with a house in North Dakota that I shut down for the winter., Replacing the copper with PEX helped.
In Texas the deep freeze are infrequent and tend not to last long. Have you considered ventless propane heaters with low oxygen shutdown?

Most gas water heaters don't require electric for operation, so I'm assuming your concern is with the lack of natural/LP gas?
If the lack of fuel is the case, you be better off draining the tanks.

Even though you protect the heaters, what about all the piping in the attic?

You can enclose them, if you allow for proper clearances and combustion air requirements. But unless you lose fuel supply, I dont see how your solving any issues?

During a power outage, the heat lamps will not work due to lack of electricity, unless you have them connected to a generator.

Wait, what? Seriously? The put water heaters in the attic?

What could possibly go wrong? I assume these never leak and gravity is a real bitch with the rest of the house.
.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
Wait, what? Seriously? The put water heaters in the attic?

What could possibly go wrong? I assume these never leak and gravity is a real bitch with the rest of the house.
.

Yes, I have 2 40-gallon gas water heaters in my attic too. I don't like them there, and it certainly was not by choice.

I HAD two water heaters in my attic.

Several years back I decided I was tired of guessing when they would shit the bed and flood the house, for whatever reason. Drained them and unhooked, removed one, and left the other as it was a pain in the ass to get out of its location.

Installed two exterior Rinnai gas water heaters in 2012, and have never looked back. $2520+$1000 labor ( I thought the labor was a tad high)for the pair, installed, including running the gas lines from one end of the house to the other.

As an added bonus, if you can plug them into an exterior electrical outlet, you can use even the tiniest gasoline generator to provide electricity for the igniter in an outage, and have hot water even without the whole house generator.

Enclosing a gas water heater in a cabinet or closet in the garage is commonplace around here, albeit with some requirements for air venting and clearance.

So there doesn't seem to be an issue with enclosing a gas water heater, in general. But there may be some things unique to doing it specifically in the attic. I can't speak to that.

And building codes vary; Texas code may be different from Arkansas code.

All I can say is basements are worth their weight in gold during extreme cold. Sorry, I know this doesn't help your situation.

Decades ago, I lived in a mobile home with no skirting. I used wrap around heat cord to wrap the pipes to keep them from freezing. Since no one has recommended this product I assume it is no longer available?

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
Wait, what? Seriously? The put water heaters in the attic?

What could possibly go wrong? I assume these never leak and gravity is a real bitch with the rest of the house.
.

That's how they do it in the south.

Crazy, I know, but that doesn't stop them.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:
Since no one has recommended this product I assume it is no longer available?

Its available, heat tape.

Putting a water heater in an attic has got to be one of the stupidest ideas anybody ever came up with. Get them out of there!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Putting a water heater in an attic has got to be one of the stupidest ideas anybody ever came up with. Get them out of there![/QUOTE

I have to agree with that.

Bob

Both water heaters in the attic, not my choice either. When both were replaced had them installed raised up inside galvanized tubs - with drain lines out through the eves. Not perfect but will work in a leak. Double wrapped the units with water heater insulation and wrapped the pipes with foam sleeves. Then laid insulation batting on top of the pipes.