I am looking for a gas hot water heater I can instal in a crawl space. I have 3-4 feet of headroom. It needs to be big enough to supply all the hot water for a 4 bedroom house. However the water system does not supply enough water for 2 showers at once. Bosh makes a tankless heater that would fit, but I am not going to spend the $1000 for it. I plan to instal it myself.

I presently have a 40 gallon tank in the garage with about 30 feet of pipe to the most used lavatory. It is over 20 years old, and likely will need replaced soon. When I replace it, I am mostly interested in installing the new one closer to where the hot water is used the most often to avoid the long waits for hot water. The gas meter is close to where I want the heater, and has 1 inch pipe.

I don't think my electrical system has the capacity to switch to electric.

The best I can come up with on tankless gas that will fit in your space is out of your price range, however If you have 220 in your house Bradford -White has a 39 gallon Low-boy electric heater #LD50L3-3C090 that's only 33" from the floor to the junction box. I have a suggestion that you might consider. My house was built 50 years ago with a built in countertop heater in the kitchen. Major surgery to replace. By maintaining and flushing the heater every month to remove mineral build up it still heats water like it was new. In 50 years I've had to replace only one element. Unless your tank is leaking why tear up your house to replace it. Let me show you how to flush and maintain your heater. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Good luck Tom

Electricity is out out of the question. I only have 100 amp service now. I would have to have a new panel installed. My neighbor did, and now finds his incoming service wires too small. The electric company refuses to upgrade it. Their customer service sucks.

In the mean time, due to minimum billing, my summer gas bill would still be about the same whether I continue to heat the water with gas or not, but my electric bill would go up.

I am fairly casual on my maintenance. Once in a while when I want some water in the garage, I drain what I want out of the bottom. It must be often enough, because it never looks too bad. Maybe it is the ones that never have any water drained out that only average lasting 10 years. Since mine is over twice that old, and I am having some problems with the pilot light going out, I figure I should replace it at a time of my convenience. They can choose a poor time to fail without notice.

Also, I expect the new one to go in through the 18'' x 32'' access. I already have an 80,000 BTU furnace down there.

Sorry, The best I can come up with in a lo-boy standard gas 40 gallon water heater is 47 3/4" high which is too large to fit through your opening. Have you considered replacing or rebuilding your pilot light assembly? BTW---Natural gas or Propane? One of the reasons for a pilot light to go out is excess condensate built up in a drip loop that finds its way down the gas line and into your pilot light shutting it off. A drip loop consists of a inverted tee with a 6" capped nipple hanging down from it. Moisture from the incoming gas line will fall down into the loop and not ge4t into the pilot light. Not all systems have a drip loop but it's something you might want to look into. Regards, Tom

I checked, there is a 5'' drip leg just before the control. It was dry inside. Also there is an 18'' section of verticle 3/4'' pipe the gas comes up through. As the gas company suggested, I replaced the thermocouple. A guy at Lowe's suggested the gas valve is going bad. I am just not interested in putting money into something well past the average life.

I have a Bradford White water heater and the pilot light has gone out. Should I smell gas around the element?

If it is only a faint odor, relight the pilot light. If it is strong, shut off any other flames, don't switch any electrical stuff and start squirting soapy water around the controls. If you find bubbles, shut the gas off and fix the leak. Do not hesitate to call on a pro.

Thanks Labman