Water Heater ,

[sailor2mon]

What is the easiest way to remove the water heater. Mine still does OK, but after reading the posts here I know it is short lived. I am thinking of getting one next time I see one on sale just to have the spare available. If I remove the wooden access door will it come out through that?, (If I remove the frame?)
Lived aboard 11yrs...guess it has lasted well.
I don't keep it on unless I need some hot water.

[dsavary]

I also had a leaking water heater in my 1991 C34. A word of advise, only a seaward heater fits under the gally sink without removing the counter top. Take out the access door to the heater on the port side (where you get access to the shut off). Make sure you remove the door and its frame.
The heater "justs fits" through this opening. I think you will find your leak on the aluminuim welded seam around the center of the tank and only when under pressure. I bought an exact replacement from BoatUS for $179.  I also opened the cover and added alot of more insulation.  In boat now on third season works better than orignal. Good luck.

[Ron Hill]

Doug is correct on the removal and installation. I'm assuming that your C34 is a 1988 with a square water heater. Seaward sells a galvanized and a stainless model, however the price is different. Both have the same "innerds" so save your $ and buy the galavanized. Make sure that you get the version that has the same water hookups as the one you take out - or you'll be doing some additional plumbing.  Ron

Ron, Apache #788

[Hugh17]

I know I'm replying to an old topic here, but it was useful as I replaced my 6 gallon water heater last weekend on my C34 MK1. As learned from comments in this and other related posts, the water heater can be extracted through the access opening on the cabinet side under the sink, but the door and trim must first be removed. I'll post a couple pictures below of the process. Also, the drawer frame/trim under the double sink must also be removed as it blocks the removal/entry of the water heater from a height perspective. Once the heater in completely inside the cabinet area it drops down a few inches which allows the drawer system to be reinstalled.

There are several options for water heaters from aluminum to stainless steel tank, from galvanized to stainless steel to enameled steel jackets, from front heat exchange to rear heat exchange, and from front/rear mount to side mount.

I chose the Whale/Seaward aluminum tank with galvanized jacket, rear heat exchange and front/rear mount. Mainly my decision was based on going back with as near as possible the same model as removed. I did consider the front heat exchange and believe it would work better, but it's also a more expensive option. Just a FYI, I don't think the side mount option will go through the access opening even after removing the trim, so the front/rear mount is a must!

With some keen shopping this is a $225 to $275 replacement project.

[Stu Jackson]

http://c34.org/hot-water-heater-plumbing-galley-sink-drain-replacement/

[Ron Hill]

Jim : You bottom picture kind of screwed with my mind - until I decided it was sideways!!
Hinges should be on the left instead of on the bottom!

A thought

[Noah]

Ron- not sidesways, just photo distortion that makes it look very wide not square. The door hinge is on the left side as it is in real life.

[Hugh17]

Sorry for the picture distortion. It seems to do that with a phone but on the laptop it looks proportional. One more item of possible interest with this water heater replacement project is that I added a new plywood shelf over the existing round plywood base that is epoxied to the hull. In a perfect world if I had more time I would have preferred to remove that old plywood, clean and paint the exposed bilge area and then installed the new base platform for the water heater.

I also added a 2" filler under one end of the new base shelf to somewhat level the water heater. It was guess work since I didn't have measurements and made the new base shelf prior to traveling the 200 miles to my boat. Bottom line is that it's much better than before. One of my future projects when I have more than a few hours at the boat is to remove the water heater and pressure pump, clean and paint this entire area. Then I want to replace all the plumbing, build a new pressure pump wooden base mount and reinstall everything.

[ChrisOB]

If anyone with an older boat is planning to do a water heater replacement I highly recommend removing the sink mine popped out and it has made it much easier. I have a square one on order, not sure if it the raritan was original.