In addition to the issue with the burner supply tube connection discussed last night, today I noticed another issue in which water is leaking into the back of the drain pan from either the PVC assembly on the side that's attached to the drain trap, or from the drain trap itself. They had pre-filled the drain drap before they first turned it on yesterday and ran it until it got to temperature, and it wasn't making gurgling noises yesterday. Today, I noticed it was making gurgling noises which made me suspect the drain trap was not holding water properly. I reached back underneath the drain trap with a paper towel and the towel got soaked. I then was able to take photos of the back even though I can't actually get back there, and clearly there was water in the back of the pan in the photos as well.

QUESTION: what is the proper solution to correcting THIS issue? Because this is in a tight closet, does it now involve completely removing the entire water heater and redoing the PVC assembly. I hope they don't try to reach back there and slap some kind of bandaid fix like put a putty on the outside of the PVC assembly to stop the leak. If the whole thing needs to be removed to properly fix this issue, let me know. We paid our deposit in cash, but the 2nd payment was by credit card so I could potentially dispute it if doesn't fully get corrected. I don't want water in the pan OR combustion gas entering the living area.

Here's photo of the water that leaked into pan from NEW A.O. Smith Vertex water heater:



I'm now wondering if I would have been better off with a standard power vent Bradford White that doesn't have a drain trap.

Let me know if you think correcting this involves entirely removing the water heater (from the tight closet that it's in) and redoing the PVC assembly properly (or replacing with non-defective assembly) Thanks.



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question to ask internet ??

how much air does a heat pump water heater need?

answer..

1,000 cubic feet
Heat pump water heaters require installation in locations that remain in the 40º–90ºF (4.4º–32.2ºC) range year-round and provide at least 1,000 cubic feet (28.3 cubic meters) of air space around the water heater.


'NUFF SAID...

The water heater I had installed on Wednesday was the same unit originally in our condo, which is a GPHE-50. It is a high efficiency gas water heater. It is a condensing water heater, but not a heat pump unit. I've now put it on vacation as I don't even want it running if it is going to continue to be leaking water whenever the thermostat calls for heat. And the water isn't just conveniently staying in the area near the back of the pan, it has been seeping underneath and around the base of the brand new unit.



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sorry for the mis-diagnosis..
but on the same line.. a gas appliance needs lots of make up air for the combustion.
as a minimum they want a 10x10 grill at the top of the door and a 10 x 10 grill at the bottom.
and make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector there as well.

lastly, the leaking condensate line should be addressed with enough working space as necessary .
also the condensate water must be treated before it enters the plumbing.

from the internet..

"The condensate expelled from a condensing water heater is acidic with a pH of between 2 and 4, so it is critical that the appropriate materials are used in all piping where this liquid is present. In high temperature areas, like the flue, stainless steel must be used to prevent corrosion."

Does the condensate drain directly into the pan? Was there a pan previously? A.O.Smith installation state the condensate is acidic and should drian into metal and a neutralizing kit should be installed if local code requires one.

The condensate drains into a PVC drain pipe in the floor next to the pan. A. O. Smith was going to be shipping replacement parts for the condensate drain trap that is leaking, as well as a replacement burner supply tube. (different issue we had out of the box) However, since they were delaying the shipment of replacement parts (originally said they would arrive Monday but that changed), with no guarantee as to when they will arrive, they approved replacing the whole damn unit, and our plumber agreed, so that's the plan for this coming week.



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