brock_lee t1_iuu2ih2 wrote on November 3, 2022 at 12:40 AM

You will get so tired of connecting and disconnecting a hose everyday, that you won't do it, and that one day it's going to freeze, and you're going to have a nasty flood. Just don't do it. There are so many issues here, like why do you need a hot water heater in your shop, versus running a hot water line out to the shop? But the problem there is regardless of what you do, you're going to go a while without using the hot water, or the hot water heater in the shop, and it's going to freeze, and it's going to break, and it's going to leak and cause a flood. Just don't do it.

If I were considering this, what I would do is I would run a hot water line to a frost-free spigot on your house, and then if I want hot water in the garage or shop I would run a hose out there, and when I turn on the hose in a few minutes I'm going to have hot water. When I turn off the hose and disconnect it, everything's fine. If I turn off the hose and forget to disconnect it, the frost-free spigot is still going to save my ass.

syncopator OP t1_iuu6aci wrote on November 3, 2022 at 1:06 AM

I can totally understand your concerns here, but I'm not going to forget to disconnect.

I'm talking about using it like three or four times a year, primarily for things like my upcoming pig butchering and hopefully deer processing. Flipping on the breaker and filling the tank, then shutting it down when I'm done will be no different than the same process I use at a friend's cabin.

The shop is too far from the house to reasonably use a frost-free from there, not to mention that forgetting to disconnect that hose would absolutely cause a problem if it's cold enough to freeze. A closed hose hooked to a frost free spigot will break that spigot like it had never heard the words "frost free". Ask me how I know that...

The water heater will be in a place where even if it did flood, there will be zero consequences. Also, I wouldn't even be planning to do this had I not found a working water heater for $25.

5degreenegativerake t1_iuu6ad6 wrote on November 3, 2022 at 1:06 AM

Amen.

Prier makes a really nice hot and cold combined spigot. I have one. Any temperature water you want on your garden hose with all the ease of a normal spigot.

syncopator OP t1_iuu9nfg wrote on November 3, 2022 at 1:30 AM

All for it, except the location I want the water is about 300' from the house. I'd be 4x in garden hoses and new spigots than the $25 I paid for the water heater.

whabt t1_iuusqe1 wrote on November 3, 2022 at 4:03 AM

I mean the cheap water heater is great and that solves the heating water problem. Moving the water to a different building is an entirely different task and if you cheap out there you'll be sad about it later, guaranteed.

Trench and run a proper line to your shop. The water heater (even if you bought brand new) was never going to be the most expensive part of this endeavor.

If it really is only a few times a year, then hoses could work but you'll never want to trust them.

Maybe a hard line to the shop wall and connect the hose outside of the building?

syncopator OP t1_iuuvx1b wrote on November 3, 2022 at 4:35 AM

I’ve got power in the shop, so the water heater will be at the location where I need the hot water. There’s a frost free hydrant near the shop so getting water to the heater is easy.

Of course the “right” way to do it is trench and plumb to the shop but in order to make that work I need to also finish and heat an insulated area as well as bust up concrete to get water lines from trench to water heater. Maybe one day but for the 3 or 4 times a year I’ll use it that’s a lot more project than is called for.