Water Heaters - location of water heater

My water heater is in the crawl space of my house. I am renovating my bathroom, and I'm thinking about moving the water heater from the crawl space to the attic (to avoid having to go in the crawl space). Between an attic and a crawl space, which is a better place to locate a water heater?

My personal preference would be the crawl space. This is due to the chance of a leak. You can ,however, purchase a pan that the heater sits in that has a connection for a drain pipe to take the water to a safe place for drainage. (rather than your ceiling) If you go with the attic installation, I would also recommend piping the Temp/Pressure relief valve out of the house. Good luck.

Good point from majakdragon. I think another issue is getting at the water heater to drain it and most of the time a crawl space has easier access than the attic. So far, two votes for crawl space.

Three votes for crawl space. Attic installs take more time and effort. But my main concern is high dollar property damage should a leak develop. Drain pans are good, but sometimes they cannot keep up with the flow of water. Also, you would be less likely to notice a small leak when it begins. How often do people go into the attic to check the water heater?

All water heaters will leak, it's just a question of when. In fact, if you look on the label of the water heater it says something like "this water heater will eventually leak, it should be placed in an area where the resulting water flow will not cause damage to the structure".

Good luck with your project.

I was worried about a leak, as well, so as much as I hate my crawl space, the water heater will stay there. Thank you all for your opinions. Now which one of you all wants to crawl down there and drain it for me?