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    The material presented on this page is intended to start you thinking about what you can do today that might someday save your life.  If nothing else, our "Tip o' da Week" can improve your comfort level during a disaster.
    We do not present ideas that cost a lot of money (like structure reinforcement).  These are "do it yourself" projects and are relatively inexpensive.

    Well there are three main reasons why you should secure your hot water heater:

• A water heater is a very heavy item if it is filled with water.  Water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon, and most residential type heaters hold 50 gallons. Excluding the weight of the empty heater, we are talking about 400 pounds of water!  Most heaters, like my Kenmore Economizer model, are 5 feet tall, and sit on a skimpy 18 inch base. It doesn't take much movement at the base to cause a large swing at a 5 foot height.  Once 400 pounds of water starts to swing, there is little chance to stop it.  No one wants a 400 pound object to fall on them, but there are other reasons why you should secure the heater.
• Some water heaters are Natural Gas models.  If the heater tips over, or just swings violently, there is a very high probability that the gas line will not hold up to the 400 pound load, and will result in a gas leak.  One of the most frightening aspects of a earthquake is the risk of fire from broken gas lines!
• Finally, the heater can function as a 50 gallon water reserve that may tide you over in a small disaster.  (Keep in mind, however, that it doesn't matter how much water is available in the basement if the structure is damaged!  It's not worth risking your life to obtain.  So, make provisions for storage of water in several locations away from the main structure.)

    The officially sanctioned heater strap kits use metal straps and brackets.  These kits may be required by your local building codes!  The metal strap kits require use of leather gloves and tools for cutting the straps to length.  It can be done, but it is a pain! We are presenting Our method for informational purposes only. You must determine the merits of this method for yourself, and must assume responsibility for the implementation!

    No heater instillation is the same, but lets look at how I secured the heater in my own house.

Top left support.

• First, I bolted 2 foot long 2x4's between adjoining wall studs on the outside of the wall.  One was located about a foot above the floor, and the other about 6 inches from the top of the heater. These 2x4's provided a solid platform for the heater to rest against when secured to the wall.  They also distributed the load over two studs to prevent the heater from breaking through the drywall.
• The Concrete under my heater is not level near the wall. I needed to secure the heater where the floor was level.  This required the use of construction shims to provide the required floor position relative to the wall. The construction shims were installed to the cross link 2x4's and the back of the heater.  They also provided a higher degree of rotational stability for this installation.
• The heater inlet and outlet pipes should be flexible.  They will provide a small degree of protection from quake- induced pipe damage, but they also allow a degree of heater re-positioning.

Bottom Right support.

• Next, I installed 4 1/2 inch lag screws through the dry wall, and into the two wall studs.  Two were installed near the top, and two near the bottom of the heater.  Now, this is what made the project a breeze!

I used a set of Auto type adjustable tie downs as shown.

    These items are typically used to tie down loads in pickup beds, or trailers.  Most stores that carry automotive accessories will stock them in sets of four.  You should be able to find them in the $10-$12 range for a set of four.

    Epicenter has several sets of these tie downs in stock if you can't find them locally, and will make them available for $10 as a courtesy to our visitors.  They are not on our products order form so add them in the comments section of the order form if you can't find them locally.  Again, you should be able to find them locally.

    Once the installation is complete, all that is left is to place the tie down hooks in the eye screws and pull hard on the adjuster strap!