Installed a new water heater to get shop AC

Karlito26 said:
When I install water heater I put ball valves on the cold and hot lines above unions. This way when they break, just turn off the valves and unscrew the unions. Much easier this way.
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Dang-it! Where were you last week!? :)

This weekend, I reworked the installation without the pressure of overnight guests. Moved the pipes around to the back, cleaned up the power feed, etc. I reused some of the piping, specifically the section with the shutoff valve on the cold water side. The CPVC feeds into a set of flexible stainless hoses. One of those hoses also has a shutoff valve. A smart move would have been to put the second shutoff on the top, and it is ridiculously obvious. . . now that you say it. :-(. Well, if I ever need to drain it again, this will get fixed.

Thank you.
 
Bought one of those for my last house, loved it. In addition to the cooling exhaust, it de-humidifies the air, which is a plus in Florida.
 
Please let us know how the hybrid works out for you. I seriously considered one but decided against it because of the noise and the cold air that it would blow into my basement shop, although the dehumidifying action would have been a bonus.
 
JPMacG said:
I'd like to know how the hybrid works out for you. I seriously considered one but decided against it because of the noise and the cold air that it would blow into my basement shop, although the dehumidifying would have been a bonus.
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It can be noisy, but I made a muffler out of the box that it came in. While I can hear it, it is no worse than an office computer.

You can vent the cold air outside. If you want to use the dehumidifying feature, be sure to have some sort of drain handy.

Here is my updated install. I added more support in the base. The pipes run around the back to be protected. And notice the condensation hose just below the control panel. It runs around the back, against the wall, and then drips into the sink.

The muffler is highly effective. Two layers of cardboard, with a divider in the middle made from the insides of an old seat pillow. Air comes in the top of the muffler to one side, and routes around the pillow before entering the unit. I may make a similar muffler for the outlet at some point, but it's not that loud, and I'd have to account for condensation. If you duct the cold air outside, you get that part for free.

Come winter, I'm consider ducting attic air from a hole in the garage ceiling.


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Your improvised "muffler" is probably interfering with the unit's ability to cool itself. You might want to double check the installation for the required air-flow.
 
Karlito26 said:
I am happy that you called it a water heater. So many people I talk to its a hot water heater. When I used to work in Home Depot people would ask for hot water heaters all the time. I would politely say we were out of them!

They are so easy to install if you have the tools. $2000 is a lot of money.

When I install water heater I put ball valves on the cold and hot lines above unions. This way when they break, just turn off the valves and unscrew the unions. Much easier this way.
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Easy to install but obvious diy connections will trigger comments from a quality home inspector when you go to sell your home.

I'm fortunate to live in a high income area, very few diy'ers around here.
 
Shotgun said:
Dang-it! Where were you last week!? :)

This weekend, I reworked the installation without the pressure of overnight guests. Moved the pipes around to the back, cleaned up the power feed, etc. I reused some of the piping, specifically the section with the shutoff valve on the cold water side. The CPVC feeds into a set of flexible stainless hoses. One of those hoses also has a shutoff valve. A smart move would have been to put the second shutoff on the top, and it is ridiculously obvious. . . now that you say it. :-(. Well, if I ever need to drain it again, this will get fixed.

Thank you.
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If I am not mistaken I believe water heaters should be drained but I dont know the interval.
 
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