Removing a water heater

[Arron]

We are demolishing our house with the intent of rebuilding. I am salvaging what I can to minimise the cost of rebuilding and because the greenie in me is thoroughly appalled by the endless procession of near new stuff from our house to landfill and the consequential environmental cost.

I have one more day to do this (well, to midday tomorrow, to be precise). I should have left more time for this, who knew moving was such a massive job.

I would like to salvage the water heater which is reasonably new. It a Rheem electric storage tank type.

The power has been switched off, the Level 2 guys have removed the power cables from the house, and a builders power board set up. The water supply has been shut off by a plumber who did some magic I didn’t fully understand. The next step is demolition. I would like to go in tomorrow and remove the water heater and move it into the shed (not being demolished), to be reinstalled once the new house is built.

Is this the simple job it appears to be? Do I simply cut the electric cables, drain out what water I can, then disconnect all pipes (I think there are three) by cutting or disconnecting (whatever is possible and least destructive), then wiggle it out and carry it off.

And in case you are wondering, I’m not posting this on the Renovation Forum because I’m over the cabal that dominate that forum and their agendas. I want the simple, practical advice I never fail to get on the Woodworking Forum.

Cheers
arron

[Beardy]

Yes just disconnect the power and cut or disconnect the pipe work and drain

If it is a standard electric storage unit it is not allowed to be used on a new home as it does not meet the energy efficiency criteria. You could sell it on gumtree etc as they are still allowed to be used on older existing premises

[Arron]

Yes just disconnect the power and cut or disconnect the pipe work and drain

If it is a standard electric storage unit it is not allowed to be used on a new home as it does not meet the energy efficiency criteria. You could sell it on gumtree etc as they are still allowed to be used on older existing premises

Ok , thanks for the reply.
I did not think about whether it will meet our BASIX requirement. I will need to check that.
Cheers
Arron

[Fuzzie]

You'll find info on how to drain the tank prior to removal in the installation guide such as this for a Rheem:
https://assets.ctfassets.net/phagqs82lusw/2mTs1G48g6Vab4ia2pG8Qk/ad1707f93fa3b2563797a1602f443e8b/install_instruct_-_Rheem_electric_domestic_421_491_492_080-400_-_122265_Rev_C_-_2019_August.pdf

[AlexS]

I have vague memories that they have to be transported upright. Might be worth checking.

[Arron]

I checked our BASIX and it seems we are allowed an ‘electric storage heater or better’.

I think perhaps we are getting off lightly on the hot water because we are so far in front of requirements across the electricity category - perhaps due in large part to not putting in ducted air conditioning.

Cheers
Arron

[Bohdan]

If you are getting a solar electricity installation ensure that it has a diverter that can divert any excess power to your hot water storage heater. That way you get solar hot water without the expense of solar hot water panels.

[ian]

We are demolishing our house with the intent of rebuilding.
arron
Are you completely demolishing the existing house or keeping at least one wall?

If you are keeping just one wall, then what you are doing is a "renovation" rather than a "new build" -- makes a big difference with BASIX requirements

[rrich]

arron
Are you completely demolishing the existing house or keeping at least one wall?


In California a renovation means a huge tax advantage. Many tear-er-down-er leave one wall standing just for tax reasons.

[Beardy]

I checked our BASIX and it seems we are allowed an ‘electric storage heater or better’.

I think perhaps we are getting off lightly on the hot water because we are so far in front of requirements across the electricity category - perhaps due in large part to not putting in ducted air conditioning.

Cheers
Arron

interesting wording, from an energy point of view anything is better than an electric storage heater but they are the simplest hassle free solution
If you can get away with it go for it

[Arron]

arron
Are you completely demolishing the existing house or keeping at least one wall?

If you are keeping just one wall, then what you are doing is a "renovation" rather than a "new build" -- makes a big difference with BASIX requirements

Nope, everything is being demolished. Scorched earth.

[Arron]

interesting wording, from an energy point of view anything is better than an electric storage heater but they are the simplest hassle free solution
If you can get away with it go for it

I’m not particularly keen on the electric storage option, I just thought I would like to keep it and decide later, and I do hate seeing perfectly good things going to landfill. The main issue is space, the only logical place for the cylinder that will avoid long runs is under the stairs, and I would rather use that space for storage as there is precious little designed in elsewhere.

We are also having part of the roof made a bit stronger as it’s equally likely we will go for a rooftop solar hot water system. Or maybe we will go for a couple of electric continuous systems (no gas locally). Friends recently put in a heat pump system, but it had to go downstairs outside and the runs to the kitchen are so long that the wait for hot water is untenable.

I have studied this a bit and so many pros and cons and no clear winner.

Anyone using electric continuous ? Any thoughts ?

Cheers
Arron

[Bohdan]

A couple of comments about hot water systems:-

If you do go for roof top solar do not get one that has the panels and storage integrated together. There are a couple of design limitations that become apparent only after you have lived with one. There is no way to stop the unit heating and the usual solution is to dump the hot water any time it reaches boiling point. This happens several times a day in summer and dumps a large amount of water. With the split storage systems the pump somply switches off and there are no user problems.

The gov specified high temp safety valve is not designed for high temperature and tends to fail often.

The horizontal tank doesn't allow thermal stratification so you tend to run out of hot water much earlier than expected.

If you are worried about long runs resulting in untenable waits for hot water to arrive, fit one of those cheap chinese continuous electric heaters under the problem sink. It will give you instant hot water and automatically switch off when the regular hot water arrives. Very easy and cheap in a new install.

You can use your current storage heater if it has the ability to add solar panels but the diverted electric solar system is much cheaper, simpler and has the benefit of lowering your electricity bills.

[Beardy]

Arron,
If I was you I would sell it on gumtree and fit a new more economical to run unit. By fitting an old unit you are going to be up for a second installation cost a few years down the track plus the other consideration is the type of unit you would fit next time around and whether your chosen position for this one is going to be suitable for its replacement and if you have run the correct services to it.

For new homes, the most popular and economical choice is storage gas followed by instantaneous gas if natural gas is available. If no gas is available then electric heat pump is the norm. I have not even seen an electric instantaneous unit fitted to a new home but bottled gas is popular and what I have fitted in my current house

[Fuzzie]

I'm in the midst of a knock down rebuild myself. Demolition companies have varying attitudes to what belongs to them after you have signed to contract them. My current neighbours had problems when they removed materials before their KDR demo. When we demolished we made it clear what items we were taking out before the excavators came in. I sold several things including kitchen appliances, a water tank and the HWS, but these were notified to the demolisher pre contract.

I would have reused the 12 month old HWS myself but our project home builder will not use any owner supplied materials, new or used.

It wasn't easy to find buyers (in a reasonable time frame) for the removed appliances. I'm not sure the effort of dealing with Gumtree tyre kickers balanced the rather low prices I had to use to eventually entice buyers. My HWS was only 1 year old and I sold it for just a couple of hundred where the installed price was over $1k 12 months earlier.

Our current house has a Solahart solar HWS. It is VERY efficient but I would not install one again. At some stage I worked out 2 solar HWS panels were about as efficient as 7 Solar electric panels. Notwithstanding the difference in equivalent roof realestate, the HWS panels are hardly ever 'always on' doing something useful. Once heated the water tank doesn't divert excess generation to another system. Then in summer, in SE Queensland at least, the solar hot water delivered is WAY TOO HOT. At the rate we use HW I reckon it will be at least as efficient to just use solar electric to heat an electric storage HWS in the next house. I do not think the cost of a solar HWS or even just an excess electricity diverter is really justified, I'm going to simply put my next electric storage HWS on a cheap day only timer to use our solar generation in the new home. (Off peak/regulated supply doesn't seem to be effective for just a HWS any more)

If you go electric continuous you are going to be buying electricity any time you use HW when the sun's not shining. That doesn't seem efficient to me. I have friends in Melbourne who have to boost heat their solar HWS during the day even in summer, so depending on where you live and when you shower etc YMMV.