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[feline groovy]

I live in an apartment and the water heater has apparently broken; both the kitchen and bathroom have no hot (or even warm) water.

Can the replacement be 'installed' underneath the bathroom sink, instead of under the kitchen sink where the old one is?

TIA for the help!  

8-)

[Sweetbay magnolia]

HI, @feline groovy.  You'd really need to seek a master plumber to examine the piping in the unit to determine that.  I wish I could send my favorite man, David, to you - he has some personality quirks but is excellent with plumbing.  

My home has a BS installation of a hot water heater, in a closet over a trap door to the crawl space.  And the water main is a plastic pipe below - great!  Hot water heater bursts and melts water main!

Good luck.  Maybe there are some master plumbers here.

[ValuSkr]

Wouldn't the landlord be responsible for repairing / replacing the HW heater?

[feline groovy]

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@ValuSkr wrote:

Wouldn't the landlord be responsible for repairing / replacing the HW heater?

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Yep; I was just wondering if the replacement could be located elsewhere.

[sandraskates]

@feline groovy the landlord needs to fix that ASAP. It's a habitability issue. I would have thought that the water heater is not physically located in your apt but in a central place.

You're probably thinking of an Insta-hot or other on-demand hot water heater. But if you live in an apt you'd need to discuss that with your landlord. Probably ain't gonna fly. . .

[feline groovy]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

HI, @feline groovy.  You'd really need to seek a master plumber to examine the piping in the unit to determine that.  I wish I could send my favorite man, David, to you - he has some personality quirks but is excellent with plumbing.  

My home has a BS installation of a hot water heater, in a closet over a trap door to the crawl space.  And the water main is a plastic pipe below - great!  Hot water heater bursts and melts water main!

Good luck.  Maybe there are some master plumbers here.

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Hey, Sweet - thanks for your reply and good wishes!

I figured that my question might not have a quick/easy answer, but am hoping anyway.

;-)

But I find most personality quirks interesting, so send David right over, LOL.

Wow, sorry to hear about your hwh location; total bummer!  What's a "BS" installation, though?  

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Oh, it's only a bad design.  It's not the end of the world if it fails.  I've thought about the ramifications.  I'll deal.  BS of course means bull but I can't say the rest of the word.

[feline groovy]

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@sandraskates wrote:

@feline groovy the landlord needs to fix that ASAP. It's a habitability issue. I would have thought that the water heater is not physically located in your apt but in a central place.

You're probably thinking of an Insta-hot or other on-demand hot water heater. But if you live in an apt you'd need to discuss that with your landlord. Probably ain't gonna fly. . .

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I know (and agree) that this is a habitat quality issue, sandra, but I'm lucky that 'roughing it' without warm/hot water doesn't faze me too much.

There's alternate ways to get things clean in the interim.

I actually have no idea if my apartment complex has a central hot water heater or whatever, but that's an interesting point.

BTW, there's 5 disconnected buildings in this garden apartment complex, with about 20 apartments in each one.

Each tenant pays a separate electric bill, so heat and hot water are not included.

Thanks for the "Insta-Hot" and other on-demand hot water heater info., and you're probably right that one of those likely won't fly with my schmucky landlord.

[feline groovy]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

Oh, it's only a bad design.  It's not the end of the world if it fails.  I've thought about the ramifications.  I'll deal.  BS of course means bull but I can't say the rest of the word.

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Ya know, that's what my first thought was, LOL.

Yeah, that design is kinda bullsh*tty.

[Snowpuppy]

It's not just relocating your hot water tank, it's also relocating your fuel or power source.

If you have an electric hot water tank then you'll likely have the large 3 prong plug very close to the tank. Same with gas fired hot water tank, it should be close to the natural gas line/fuel shutoff valve.

My guess is that under the sink you've got an electric unit that doesn't need to be vented like a gas tank would. It's probably also near your electric range. Just a guess.

Your landlord would have to run the electric plug to the bathroom. Far too much $ and may not be to code.