What is your hot water tank thermostat set at? We have a fairly small tank and for our family of 4 the hot water has been running out fairly quickly. I checked and it was set for 120. I moved that up to 130.

Dave

uh, probably be a better idea to get a bigger tank. Or look into an on-demand, tankless water heater.

You flush the tank lately ?

Build up from lime and other minerals will often decrease efficiency

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How old is the tank? If it's pretty old, might be worth putting an insulation blanket around it.

I agree with rz...sounds like capacity is your problem, not temperature.

What size?

ours is 40 gal for 2 of us, set to 140º if memory serves. gets cold here in the basement.
and about 5 years old with blanket.

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!#$@@$#!

Quod suus via crustulum saxum

2 in series works great. set the first one to preheat the water and use as a holding tank. 2nd to bring the water up to your desired temp. I have 2 40's in my basement and never, ever run out of water.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

140 degrees eh? So I'm still 10 degrees colder than you frank. I guess I will see how it goes at 130, i could certainly tell the difference coming out of the facet.

Dave

Do you have teenage daughters? Agree with the above suggestions. Take a look at a "drain heat recovery" system. You can check it out at [gfxtechnology.com]

Before you do anything, flush out the tank (it should be done every 6 months) using the bottom drain. If you don't flush it out, the sediment on the bottom becomes an insulator that reduces the effectiveness of the burners (gas water heater). If you haven't done it in a while, then you may have an issue with the cheapo plastic drain valve clogging with sediment and not closing properly. Go here for help: [www.waterheaterrescue.com]

Minimum tank temperature must be 130 degrees to minimize bacterial growth (i.e. Legionaire's disease), though if you have a gas water heater, the stratification of heat from burner to tank top can often create disinfection-level (130+) temps at the bottom near the burner, while maintaining less than 130 at the outlet on top and so is OK. However, anything above about 130 at the outlet is a serious scalding hazard (1 second exposure for serious scald at 140 degrees). Also, high tank temperatures dramatically increase the energy consumption rate. The "proper" way to deal with these somewhat incompatible temperature ranges is to have a highly efficient water heater run at around 130, and use a mixing valve on the hot out line to mix cold water in so that the faucet temperatures are below 120.

BTW, I installed a GFX. It works fantastically well for such a small investment. However, whether or not you can install one depends on the clearance in your crawlspace/basement.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2006 11:55AM by davester.

Speaking of water heaters don't ever buy a Whirlpool at Lowe's, they're junk. My first one
lasted 3 years. They replaced under warranty but not without argument. Search the web and
newsgroups and you'll see what I mean about them being junk. Whirlpool got the bright idea
of putting a circuit board on top instead of tried and true tank mounted thermostats. The
gas one's aren't any good either.

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Grateful11