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Haha no way! I just listen at work. Everyone listens to music and I listen to talk radio
Cold wave in Texas
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Do they at least have a drain pan around them in case they burst? Seems like an odd place to put water heaters that may weigh 500 pounds when full. Is that code legal?
Yes, drain pan is present. I suppose it is legal, bunch of houses around here are built that way
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your idea of shutting off the main valve and draining what you can sounds good. Here in Wichita Falls, during that crazy week in Feb 2021 we saw 0 degrees two nights in a row. My power was out for most of that time, but it never got colder than about 50 degrees in the house. People with older homes built over a crawl space were the ones who got the lion's share of the busted pipes.
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Is it one of those compact type water heaters? Lots of those installed in attics around here.
It's weird but quite common in the south to put everything in the attic. Water heaters, HVAC ... I guess it helps with space since the house is built on a slab.
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Friend of mine owns a Mexican restaurant (building was built in the 1950s) and the water heater and hvac are both in the attic. I had to go up there and check it for her recently.
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Similar to my bay house - I shut in main valve and drain to outside faucets - leave open - (flip breaker to water heater) …
If a single point fails - at least you don’t have major water damage …
That will not drain the tank, if installed properly it fills from the bottom (via internal pipe) and empties from the top. If you only shut the water off leave the tank on.
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That’s a nice looking set up! Your attic is spotless!
My first time seeing dual water heaters in an attic.
I once lived in a townhouse built on a slab. They put the HVAC under the stairs. The house was built by National Birchwood out of New York and it had to be one of the most well built, tightest houses around. Putting any sort of HVAC equipment or ducts in the attic is best avoided if possible.
You can attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank, run it into a sink or bathtub, and open the drain valve and let it drain. Make sure the gas or electric is turned off to the tank before doing this, and do not turn it back on until the tank is refilled (no more air spitting out of the faucets).
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Good point - because I did it so often at the bay - had that outlet piped with PVC …
it’s going to leave a bit of water - but have room for expansion …
I was just talking to my buddy, and he suggested to shut the water off at the main valve, drain cold water from all faucets, but let the tanks alone. Those tanks are pressure fed, so if there’s no pressure in the system it will just maintain the water temp in the tanks it’s set it. Does that sound reasonable?
This freeze is gonna be both less and more worse. There isn't gonna be any rain forecasted during the low temps so no snow or black ice hopefully but it's gonna get colder than in feb 21 here in northwest houston so we'll see. We lost power at like 3am during the first cold night and that night was 23f not 16f like it's going to be in my area. So this sucks. Gonna go through everything again this year since i know the d*mn ercot circus didn't do anything to reinforce the grid even after almost 2 years.
It is ok. But having those tanks on the attic doesn’t give me warm and fuzzy feeling. Having HVAC sitting next to them is even worse, it gets to 130 easily during the summer time and cooling efficiency is taking a huge hit. But, that’s how it was built..That’s a nice looking set up! Your attic is spotless!
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