Does Water Heater Sit On Floor

The basement floor is concrete.

Does water heater sit on floor. Is it ok for a water heater to be sitting directly on a concrete floor rather than above it on blocks or. I just had my 50 gas water heater replaced because it was 13 years old and i figured sooner or later it s gonna bust and flood the basement. The uniform plumbing code which establishes standards nationwide says that the flame or sparking mechanism in a gas water heater must be at least 18 inches off the ground. They sat it directly on the floor not on blocks or a stand.

Home depot came in and installed a new ge water heater i think it s a rebranded rheem. It is not necessary for electric water heaters or gas water heaters manufactured after mid 2003. Any water heater with an ignition source needs to stay high such that the ignition source is not shorter than 18 inches above the floor. Seems like i ve heard that s not a good idea to have electric water heaters installed directly on a concrete floor but can t recall the reasoning.

The installer didn t bother putting anything under the electric water heater. Every water heater i ve ever had has always had short legs under it to raise it 2 3 inches off the floor. It just sits directly on the concrete floor. All real estate.

Buy a water heater stand and watch your water heater last for generations. New water heaters or water heaters that are placed on an un level surface need to be leveled and shimmed for them to work properly. How to level a hot water heater with shims. Looking at home depot s site it looks like the rheem units they sell all come with no legs and sit directly on the floor as with the richmond units i see at menards.

I am just wondering if i should call the installer back and have him put it up on something. I just had a new hot water heater installed and it is sitting directly on the concrete floor in my basement. My advice is it is still a water heater unit and ought to be raised 18 inches off the ground to avoid issues with the government.