Any suggestions on how to remove this crate under this water heater?

Lola Kincaid
by Lola Kincaid
But I need to put cynder blocks under it as a replacement and without draining the water. It needs to stay at this height
  17 answers
  • Unless you have a couple of really strong guys to help, you will need to drain at least part way. Do you know how heavy water is per gallon? Plus the weight of the heater itself? I would tip to one side, wedge in a cinderblock, then tip the other way, wiggle the crate out and wedge in another cinderblock. Besides did you know you should drain and flush your water heater once a year?


    http://www.instructables.com/id/Water-Heater-Maintenance/


    https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-5-gallons-of-water-weigh

  • Roxaneg Roxaneg on Oct 03, 2017

    Do you have a jack? Or two? Water heaters without water are heavy. Water heaters with water are almost impossible to move. You can try a couple of car jacks on either side of the crate to jack it up just an inch or so to put in the cement blocks and then releasing the heater onto the blocks.


    Using two jacks keeps it balanced because you do not want to topple that thing. I'd also unhook it from the water pipes and gas line just in case.

    • See 2 previous
    • Fre30393487 Fre30393487 on Oct 06, 2017

      yay.


  • William William on Oct 03, 2017

    WOW! A challenge! Weight of 1 gallon of water is about 9 pounds. I agree with Roxaneg. Disconnect the flue, water lines, and definitely the gas line. Have someone balance the heater. use two hydraulic jacks to slightly raise it off the crate. Insert your blocks and lower it. Naomie's idea is also good. You would need three blocks. Tilt it to wedge one block, tilt it opposite to wedge another block and tilt again for another block. Of course disconnect everything also.

  • Lola Kincaid Lola Kincaid on Oct 03, 2017

    Thanks so much! This has to be done by this weekend

  • Sharon Sharon on Oct 03, 2017

    Yeah I would drain and flush the tank, not worth someone getting scalded. While your at it, I would put a larger pan under that thing, it would overflow in seconds should it burst.

  • Lola Kincaid Lola Kincaid on Oct 03, 2017

    Ok good idea bout the pan , thanks!

  • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Oct 04, 2017

    Like Big Mike would tell you "Do it Right" the first time. Disconnect everything and drain it. Ask a relative or friend for assistance. Safety First!!!!! Best of luck.

  • Charly Charly on Oct 04, 2017

    If there is a block or box or whatever under the water heater that means some idiot installed the wrong size heater and didn't want to bother with using longer pipes and vents on top. STOP. DO IT THE RIGHT WAY. HIRE A PLUMBER TO DO IT. Water heaters are not something you want to jury rig. They are a dangerous appliance. I don't know where you live but here in my part of Ohio, you have to get a permit to have a hot water heater installed and by a professional. Don't put yourself and your family in danger. You can pay the price now or pay a higher price later if something goes wrong.

  • Ellis Ellis on Oct 05, 2017

    I would get a plumber to do this job, as others here have said. While you're at it, find out how old this heater is, and if it is nearing the end of its useful life. If it is on its last legs, consider replacing the heater with a new one, installed correctly by a plumber.

  • Nancy Nancy on Oct 05, 2017

    Why not drain it? You SHOULD drain your water heater 2x or at least 1 a year to remove deposits.

    • B. Enne B. Enne on Oct 06, 2017

      See my comment above...you should not drain a water heater that has not be drained for a long time. It can leak. You are supposed to do it when it's new, and then do it annually, or as per manufacturer's recommendations.

  • William William on Oct 05, 2017

    The pan has a drain pipe so it won't overflow. I have raised water heaters and furnaces in basements due to heavy rains, city drains backing up. Some communities have grown so fast that the city sewer lines can't handle the rain runoff and basements/crawl spaces/garages flood. You need to drain about one gallon of water a month to flush any sediment out. Draining the tank and introducing fresh water is what causes sediment buildup. This happens every time you use the hot water and fresh cold water replaces it. Some things do need to be left to the pros, but more and more people are doing things themselves. Otherwise there wouldn't be any Home Depot's, Lowes, Menards, Ace Hardware's, Tile stores, Lumber Liqiudators, etc. Plumbers are expensive and you can do it. Isn't this what Hometalk is all about!

  • Swan Road Designs Swan Road Designs on Oct 05, 2017

    I'm curious and no one has asked this question, "Why do you want to do anything?" Is the present position working?

  • B. Enne B. Enne on Oct 06, 2017

    Good suggestions!

    BTW, I'm not sure if you are aware that your screen shot contains personal info, you may not want everyone to see. If you put your screen shot in the paint accessory on your PC or laptop, you can crop that info out.

  • Cra29643689 Cra29643689 on Oct 07, 2017

    Drain the water first and use the two sinder blooms to hold the take and move the other creat then replace it with it new one.


    If you can not do that call a plumber....

  • Carol Carol on Oct 07, 2017

    Best way is to get a professional plumber to do the job right. It's not worth the possibility of damage to house or body to mess around with something that could be a real mess and dangerous at that. Some communities have rules that a replaced water heater has to be 18 or so inches off the ground - found that out when we had to replace one several ys ago. Good luck.

  • RedDog RedDog on Oct 07, 2017

    Having just had to get my water heater replaced yesterday, I can say that the life expectancy of water heaters is only about 10 years. If this one is that old and at risk for leaking you might want to disconnect and let it cool before attempting the things others have described (hydraulic jacks seem the safest DIY method). A plumber would be required to bring everything about the water heater up to local code if making a repair.

  • Nancy Nancy on Oct 21, 2017

    If its leaking it is time to replace. I drain mine and have had it for 19 years and only replaced the elements once. And we have slimy well water.