Water heater

[Pirate Lady]

So Fredwarner has best prices but always out of stock, so yesterday for a couple bucks more I order from a place called wholesale marina. Please tell me they reputable. On another note SR puts these on that shelf that collects water and they rot from bottom. So I see commercial about flex seal. Thinking if I smear this shit on bottom of new tank before install, might prevent rot. Opinions!

 

[NJJediZ]

So Fredwarner has best prices but always out of stock, so yesterday for a couple bucks more I order from a place called wholesale marina. Please tell me they reputable. On another note SR puts these on that shelf that collects water and they rot from bottom. So I see commercial about flex seal. Thinking if I smear this shit on bottom of new tank before install, might prevent rot. Opinions!

Pirate Lady,
I have the same problem, the HWH literally melted from the bottom up. I haven't replaced it yet because it's towards the bottom of my fairly extensive punch list. I purchased the boat in the fall of 2019 (perfect timing!) It runs and looks great, but practically all of the accessories needed replacing, which is why I got a 270 Sundancer for a ridiculously low price! I agree that mounting directly on the shelf unnecessarily exposes the bottoms of all that expensive equipment to corrosion by letting it sit in any water that gets splashed up from the bilge, or rain leaking in from the hatches, etc.

My plan is to mount the HWH just like I did with the replacement galley/head/shower water pump/reservoir. I picked up a 3/4" x 2" x 96" piece of exterior trim made out of the same plastic material as King Starboard, except the Home Depot version is 1/10th the price of King Starboard. You can find it in the exterior trim section of the lumber department. I cut two 16" strips and mounted those to the shelf and then mounted the pump/reservoir to the strips. This way it's sitting 3/4" inches above the shelf and clear of any water that may get splashed in that direction. My only issue with mounting the HWH this way is vertical clearance, as the factory installed inverter/charger sits right on top of the HWH and I'm not sure I have an extra 3/4" to play with. Either way, I'll probably relocate the inverter to somewhere a little more sane then on top of the HWH.

Hope that gives you some ideas and please, let us know how it turns out and the costs involved since this is a repair I will have to make at some point in the not too distant future. Thanks and good luck!

 

[AJSB]

Mount the new heater on some drainage tiles.

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/d...vna-XUA_0xloIKvhRRulAt0GKLnGTG1saAimpEALw_wcB

 

[hughespat57]

I just did the same thing strips of pvc trim from homedepot two in center for weight and one each edge for stability
Leaves a nice gap for air

 

[mblockb]

So Fredwarner has best prices but always out of stock, so yesterday for a couple bucks more I order from a place called wholesale marina. Please tell me they reputable. On another note SR puts these on that shelf that collects water and they rot from bottom. So I see commercial about flex seal. Thinking if I smear this shit on bottom of new tank before install, might prevent rot. Opinions!

If its www.wholesalemarine.com I have bought small items with no issues.

 

[Brite Idea]

Get the stainless one and Wholesale Marine is a good source also Defender.

 

[Stee6043]

I just did the same thing strips of pvc trim from homedepot two in center for weight and one each edge for stability
Leaves a nice gap for air

View attachment 103656

Is that romex I see connected to your water heater? Don't let the internet ABYC patrol see that

 

[Stee6043]

Get the stainless one and Wholesale Marine is a good source also Defender.

+1. I ordered a Kuuma 11 gallon on Monday, delivered to my house yesterday. Defender is outstanding...

 

[hughespat57]

Is that romex I see connected to your water heater? Don't let the internet ABYC patrol see that

Never
Thats just newer 240 volt AC rated marine triplex wire. I bumped my shore up to 50A 220/208 with RCD. Also pulled the alcohol stove and went to 240 range top

 

[mdolesh]

Perfect timing on this! Planning to replace my HWH this weekend. Got a 6 gallon Kuuma from Defender. Question...is the Home Depot stuff called PVC trim?

 

[northern]

Mount the new heater on some drainage tiles.

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/d...vna-XUA_0xloIKvhRRulAt0GKLnGTG1saAimpEALw_wcB

Nothing to do with boats but we have used these under flower pots on a cedar deck. The holes in the sheeting collect dirt and the deck still rotted. I have never seen a pan with drain like for washing machines for boats but it might work. The AC units on the boat have a pan under them.

 

[Fill Ess]

Perfect timing on this! Planning to replace my HWH this weekend. Got a 6 gallon Kuuma from Defender. Question...is the Home Depot stuff called PVC trim?

HD sells certain brands like Azek and Veranda, but there's also Versatex and others. one piece of 1X2 would be enough. I like certain kinds for certain reasons when doing finish carpentry but in this case you can use whatever won't rot, even scraps of polymer decking or whatever. I end up recycling what I don't use at the dump otherwise I'd burn it in the fire pit

 

[Stee6043]

Well my current heater lasted 23 years before it rotted. I think I'll install my new Kuuma on the shelf, OEM style, with the expectation that I'll have found my next boat before this one gives up the ghost.

 

[Fill Ess]

Is that romex I see connected to your water heater? Don't let the internet ABYC patrol see that

And he's got a proper Romex clamp on there!

 

[Lazy Daze]

Jedi, just for your own knowledge, Starbaord is not the same thing as PVC trim. Completely different materials with SB being HDPE. However, for this application, PVC is a perfectly fine material to use... and preferable since it holds glue.

A little "best practice" tip... glue the PVC to the bottom of the tank with 5200, making sure to fair the edges. This will eliminate "crevice corrosion" from happening to the tank. Plus, if you don't completely glue the strips to the tank, it's kinda the same thing (although not as bad) as sitting the tank on the shelf - you'll still get moisture between the tank and the strips.

 

[atrick]

You can run 3/4" thick pieces thru table saw to get thinner pieces if 3/4" is too thick. You can run 1/4" pieces or even 1/8", you just need space to get water out and air flow thru. Be surprised what a 1/8" air space can do for drying out water.

 

[Pirate Lady]

Well my current heater lasted 23 years before it rotted. I think I'll install my new Kuuma on the shelf, OEM style, with the expectation that I'll have found my next boat before this one gives up the ghost.

Thinking same. It’s 30 yo, I be dead by time I need another. I don’t have hoses I have hard pvc lines so if I raise the tank I will have to redo the lines. All good ideas, thanks.

 

[Shoyrtt]

Thinking same. It’s 30 yo, I be dead by time I need another. I don’t have hoses I have hard pvc lines so if I raise the tank I will have to redo the lines. All good ideas, thanks.

One suggestion, don't use Pex for your hot water output line. Whale Pumps makes a 1/2" flexible line and a 1/2" to 15mm fitting to tie into the Sea Ray system.

 

[Pirate Lady]

What a 30 yo water heater looks like

 

[Fill Ess]

What a 30 yo water heater looks like

Nothing a little bondo won't cure