I didnt mean permanently. Just during a power outage. As you can see mine has an 8 foot or more cord.
Wait, What? You have an actual pilot light? Have you lit it? Really? I thought everything now has an element that gets red hot, then the gas goes on. Then if the little rod doesn't sense the flame, it cuts the gas. Every year or two I have to clean the rod w/ a file/emory cloth/a knife, etc. to get it to stay on.
Two 50g? Damn! That's a lot of hot water needed! My family of 4 easily gets by on one 50g gas WH. Even using both showers at the same time. I keep the theromstat on the WH just over halfway to hot too. YMMV
Yep. There’s a pilot light down there. I want to say it’s a ~2002. I need to change the anode, this week.
Lol... your copper lines are sweated in. That’s a permanent install. I would at least take that extra 8 foot out of that cord . But it’s then still not Code , and they have those for a reason
I just went to double check. I lied, they are twin 40gals. There are only three of us living in the house, it's nice to never have to even consider running out of hot water.
Bottom line after reading this thread; the peeps who have the tankless water heaters love them, and the ones that don’t, think they suck, hmmmm
No, he's not a plumber. He's speaking about the electrical connection. He is an authority on that. By the National Electrical Code (NEC), permanently installed appliances that require an electrical connection must be hard-wired, not cord-and-plug connected. The only place I've seen the cord and plug connection allowed for gas furnaces and water heaters is in Los Angeles, which does not follow the NEC. They make up their own electrical and plumbing codes, as do New York City and Chicago. BTW: Chicago won't allow that flexible gas connector for a gas water heater either. In Chicago, the gas must be plumbed with black pipe.
Actually, power vents for water heaters and boilers are permitted to be cord and plug connected. What I’m taking issue with is the wording of his original post. Perhaps he word souped himself into posting the exact opposite of what he claims to have meant, but his OP reads that the power vent can be connected via extension cord, and that’s handy in case of a power outage so it can be plugged into a genset. To be clear, permanently installed appliances must be directly connected to the premise wiring through either a direct cord and plug connection, utilizing no extension cords, or through a hard wired connection with a means of disconnecting all phases of power to the appliance in close proximity to the appliance, or through the installation of a breaker lock, so that the power to the appliance can be locked out in order to service the appliance. Wanna know how many calls I get each year from real estate agents to install a garage door opener receptacle because some yutz put an opener in and ran an extension cord to the opener because there wasn’t power in the ceiling for it? Me, too, I’ve never tracked that kind of info. But it’s a lot, dammit!
I just provided a picture of my water heater that comes wired with a cord. And said it should be plugged into a dedicated circuit for the heater. And not to use a gfi plug. So no, he doesn't know what he's talking about for a temporary use of an extension cord during an emergency. It will not harm the water heater. So his "no" was him injecting his own baseless opinion and not professional knowledge of water heater operation. As for the rubber connector I don't know what to tell shitcago because high efficient water heaters all come with one. This is not a hot air vent like a traditional water heater. It's an exhaust for combustion gases and it's barley warm. High efficient furnaces and water heaters both have this setup.
The water heater comes pre wired with that cord. It's to code. You can call ken neyer plumbing and ask.
Whatever, pal. Anyone who takes your advice deserves what they get. Pretty sure my bonafides are well documented out here. You need to actually READ what people write in here, Bubbles. Gas lines aren’t vent lines, genius.
And it’s still an illegal installation if it’s plugged in to an extension cord. Call Ken Neyer Plumbing and ask.
I was talking about the yellow covered flexible stainless steel gas line that feeds gas (running horizontally across above the water heater in your pic). The exhaust gas reducer from 3" to 2" and going back to 3" may also be a violation, depending on the rest of the installation but I wasn't talking about that. As far as the electrical part, while the system will run, it is not installed in accordance with the NEC safety code. If your house burns down, you may not be covered for damages by insurance if the fire was caused by a non-compliant installation of appliances. BTW: current code does require a GFCI for that outlet. The code was updated in 2011 (and again in 2014, 2017, and shortly 2020) and now requires one. Its your house, do what you want. <shrug>