Let's talk about water heaters

when I replaced mine a few years back, I bought one that was medium in the "efficiency" range (the $ numbers on the yellow tag tell the energy usage efficiency).  but what was important to me was the model I bought had dual heating elements in order to provide hot water quickly when in high demand, but being able to "maintain" hot water on only one element.

the 2nd element only comes on when the demand is high.  we've never run out of hot water with this unit, even when we had 4 of us living here taking showers one after the other.

Well if it's an electric heater you need, definitely go for one that has two heating elements. In order to save money with my hot water heater, I downsized to a 30 gallon tank from a 40 gallon tank, and I still have plenty of hot water. I also put my tank on a timer that only comes on twice a day for a few hours each time. So my tank is only operating about 8 hours a day, and I was able to set the timer only to come on during peak times. This cut my electric bill down a whole lot, and I still have plenty of hot water when I need it.

You may want to contact your electric company, because sometimes they'll offer to give you free energy saving tank in exchange for your old one.

If you have a truck, you can take the old tank to the scrap yard and get $10-15 bucks for it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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well, most of the ones I know of don't shut off during "down times' on their own - you'd have to add a timer like wayne mentions.

if they do make them with built in timers or "smart meters" to determine your actual usage and provide hot water during those times then those would most likely be very expensive.  and it takes a good amount of time to heat up 30 or 40 gallons from "room temp" so having it "off" during the night for example you'd still want a couple of hours before showers are needed in order to get it up to the correct temp for being completely off for several hours.

Janet if you're not simply replacing with in kind and are
considering making a change here are some important
considerations.

• Size
• Fuel type and availability.
• Energy efficiency (energy factor)
• Estimate costs.

I am assuming then you guys don't have gas as well as electricity. The ultimate way to go is a gas heater that only turns on when you need the water and it heats it on the go. You never run out then. But this is only good of course where gas is available. 

You might want to look into Point of Use water heaters. They are more expensive to buy/install but save a fortune in hydro/gas and they work quite well. Some areas provide government vouchers or rebates because they are more environmentally friendly than traditional tank water heaters. They are also MUCH smaller than a big ole tank so it saves square footage in your home.

Thanks guys.  This is great!

Jeff, we might consider a gas one, but gas bottles are pretty expensive these days (we're out of town, so can't get a town hook-up.)

Beepster...I noticed those point-of-use heaters.  That would be sweet...but do you need one in every bathroom and the kitchen?  

On a side note...for several years we lived in a very out-of-the way place, but happened to be near a power line, so we had electricity, which was unusual there.  My husband found the heating unit from an old dishwasher when we lived in a big city for a few months, brought it home and installed it above the shower...a hot shower that hardly used any electricity OR gas, and didn't require heating water on the stove for a bucket shower...it felt like luxury. :)

So, I guess we've had a point-of-use heater before. :) 

djwayne:  great idea to turn the temperature down.  I've never figured out why water needs to be so hot it almost burns your hands!  Thanks for the link to the timer too.  We'll definitely look into it.  Right now this is our rental house, and our oldest son is living in it.  But I don't want them to waste $ on power, nor do I want to if we move into it.  

Mike, thanks for those links!   

The Energy Star symbol is what you're looking for. The higher the rating, the more effecient it will be. Make sure the new one runs on the same size breaker, generally 30 amps. The larger the water heater, the larger the power consumption. If it's outside get an insulating blanket for it and insulate any exposed piping-tubing. Make sure the elements are the removable-replaceable type. It's optional whether or not you want to roll the old one down the mountain while shooting it with high powered rifles.

Tankless water heaters are great. My SIL has one. 

I am really glad you didn't call it a "hot water heater", that is pretty much standard around here. 

J

Not sure how much this will help, but some food for thought ...

We had a tankless/on demand electric water heater for a good 6 ~ 7 years before it died. Depending on how big your house is, how many story's, where you place it, it can take a very long time for the actual hot water to work it's way through the pipes to your showers and faucets. Reason is, a tank heater keeps the water hot and the heat transfers through the pipes and keeps the line warm to a certain extent. Make sure you buy that tube shaped foam insulation for all your hot water pipes.

Some of those tankless heaters need regular maintenance. You have to check the heating elements to make sure they aren't leaking, but it's just a quick turn of a wrench and you're good to go.

Ours eventually died because I didn't know at the time you had to check the elements, they leaked, rusted out, and the elements opened (came apart and didn't heat any more). Another thing ... they usually come with a lifetime warranty on the elements ... but if they are no longer in business, or they rust from leaking ... you're out of luck.

We replaced it with a Rheem brand tank heater that maintains the water temp in a tank and we saw no difference in our electric bill. I think the reason is, we had to run the tankless one so long before hot water got to where we needed it that it actually used more electricity than the Rheem because it ran longer. Tankless ones draw a LOT more amperage than a traditional tank water heater, but they run significantly less so in the long run, they are supposed to save money. Again, it greatly depends on how long your pipe runs are, and if your basement is heated. If it's 55 down there in the winter, your pipes are going to cool off very fast.

I don't even know the specs on the Rheem we have, I never heard of them to be honest. It was bought for a project where my wife used to work, the project got canceled, and they threw it out, so she got permission to bring it home. Brand new. It sat in our basement in the shipping container for 8 years before we ended up needing it.

The idea to put small tankless heaters right at the source of usage is a great idea. That's what I'm going to do next time around. It saves massive amounts of water because you don't have to run the faucet waiting for the water to get hot, and the elements aren't running as long so you save a lot in electricity. Plus, if one goes bad ... you have backups at other places in your house. They make small ones just for this purpose.

If you have a smaller house with short pipe runs you probably wouldn't benefit from a heater at each sink/shower.

On a side note ... something I learned the short time I was fixing appliances ... thanks to the Feds ... all new dishwashers have to run at a certain efficiency. The water going in to dishwashers has to be 120F as soon as the wash cycle starts. If not, some will throw an error code or the wash cycle will take a lot longer. The fix is, run your tap water until the water is hot so it takes less time to get to the dishwasher ... so in reality, we're actually wasting more water because of the newer 'efficiency'.

Thanks Bub.  That's all very helpful!!

Yes, I do, Bob, and I highly respect your opinion. Thanks so much!  (my son just told me his wife won't tolerate anything less than 140 for her showers anyway). :)  

Thanks again...I appreciate you chiming in here! 

@Robert... I completely agree but the elements do run hotter so (and I may be wrong because I'm no mathematician) having the tankless elements running the whole time while waiting for it to come out of the fixture would likely use more energy than a tank... but obviously the tank will use far more energy maintaining it's own temp in the long run. So in low usage homes that long run wouldn't be such a big deal but in a home with a large family in it it might make a difference. So yeah... use a big tankless for the main plumbing stack and the smaller point of use unit for fixtures further away. At least that's how I was taught to do it.

@jbow... ??? How does that work? Sounds like it would just make the tank work harder.

Beepster


@Robert... I completely agree but the elements do run hotter so (and I may be wrong because I'm no mathematician) having the tankless elements running the whole time while waiting for it to come out of the fixture would likely use more energy than a tank... but obviously the tank will use far more energy maintaining it's own temp in the long run. So in low usage homes that long run wouldn't be such a big deal but in a home with a large family in it it might make a difference. So yeah... use a big tankless for the main plumbing stack and the smaller point of use unit for fixtures further away. At least that's how I was taught to do it.

The tankless elements(or burner) use zero power if water is not flowing through the unit. That's the whole idea, really.
It only fires up when hot water is needed. A normal gas water heater is rated at 40,000 BTU's. this is a fairly constant usage.
A gas tankless water heater needs 200,000BTU's when it is running. While this may seem high, realize that this sort of demand is limited to maybe 20 minutes out of an average day. The temperature of the water is increased 90 degrees while passing through about 15" of pipe in the unit in a matter of seconds.
For a large family, a properly installed tankless unit is sweet. You can take five showers back to back, and the last person has hot water. Not so with a storage tank.
fwiw I am a 15 year plumber, trained in tankless installations. They are not right for every situation, but can be gold when they are.

Jbow, a recirc system may be just what you need.
It will maintain hot water to the most remote bathroom if properly installed.
It is most suitable with a storage tank,but it can be done.