I want to replace my electric water heater. The current water heater does not have a drain pan. I'd like to add one with my new water heater. This is all in the basement.
Our basement does not have a floor drain. The waste pipe is about 4 feet off the floor. There is a sump pit however, and I'd imagine that's the best place to connect the drain pan to.
How exactly do I do this?
The sump pit is sealed (piece of plywood). I can certainly drill through that, but if I connect PVC from the drain pan to the sump pit then I'm effectively "unsealing" the pit right (air can travel freely from the pit to the drain pan)? I notice the A/C condensation line has a trap built into it, so it's still sealed. Would I need to elevate the drain pan and water heater, and install a trap?
See the picture.
Best Answer
I have a setup similar to yours and the radon installers put a foam sheet over a hole in my sump cover, almost like a thin sheet of packing foam. This is almost airtight but allows some suction for the fan. You could terminate the drain line over a small hole that was covered with foam or paper such that the the air would be sealed in, but in the case you get water from the heater it would drip through it. You could also put a check valve in the pvc line from the heater but it would have to be loose so a trickle of water would trigger it. A trap would dry out, although the HVAC trap probably dries out during the winter anyway....but the suction from the fan should override that small opening.