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Posted by RicodJour on April 7, 2008, 2:01 pm
On Apr 7, 1:24 pm, "Thomas G. Marshall"
show/hide quoted text
> Ok, our 40 gal gas water heater is failing. About 10 years old, which I
> hear is ok.
> But every time I talk to someone about their 40 gal water heater, they all
> complain that they run out of hot water (comparable size homes and kids).
> Bur our builder (and all builder's we spoke to when looking to build)
> *insist* that 40 gallons is enough.
> But we were always worried about running the wash or dishwasher before
> showering, or two long showers would result in the 2nd losing water.
> Complete with those water saving disks etc.
> 1. Is 80 gallons overkill? Perhaps I'm reacting viscerally.
> 2. Am I going to notice a large gas usage increase?
> 3. Are there rules in place limiting the water tank sizes?
> 4. Are there any particular brands to look for or stay away from?
> I'm sorry for the barrage of questions.
Instead of replacing the old with a newer version of the old, you may
want to look into a tankless water heater instead of keeping that 40+
gallons of water at ready-to-be-used temperature 24/7/365 when you
really only need the hot water for _maybe_ an hour a day. They've
been in use around the world for decades, but are just gaining
momentum in the US.
Here's one link: http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/ I haven't
read through that link, but it seemed to hit the high points and will
give you an overview - from there it's up to you and your finely honed
Google skills.
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Posted by Bill on April 7, 2008, 2:50 pm
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> Instead of replacing the old with a newer version of the old, you may
> want to look into a tankless water heater instead of keeping that 40+
> gallons of water at ready-to-be-used temperature 24/7/365 when you
> really only need the hot water for _maybe_ an hour a day. They've
> been in use around the world for decades, but are just gaining
> momentum in the US.
> Here's one link: http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/ I haven't
> read through that link, but it seemed to hit the high points and will
> give you an overview - from there it's up to you and your finely honed
> Google skills.
Tankless is the way to go.
Just ask yourself, do you keep your auto running in the driveway so it will
be warm when you get in it?
They say tankless is 80% more efficient than an electric tank.
That one is more expensive, but it recoupes in cost in two to three years.
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Posted by mike on April 7, 2008, 2:59 pm
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> > Instead of replacing the old with a newer version of the old, you may
> > want to look into a tankless water heater instead of keeping that 40+
> > gallons of water at ready-to-be-used temperature 24/7/365 when you
> > really only need the hot water for _maybe_ an hour a day. =A0They've
> > been in use around the world for decades, but are just gaining
> > momentum in the US.
> > Here's one link: =A0http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/=A0I haven't=
> > read through that link, but it seemed to hit the high points and will
> > give you an overview - from there it's up to you and your finely honed
> > Google skills.
> Tankless is the way to go.
> Just ask yourself, do you keep your auto running in the driveway so it wil=
> be warm when you get in it?
> They say tankless is 80% more efficient than an electric tank.
> That one is more expensive, but it recoupes in cost in two to three years.=
Spare us the tankless marketing bullship. Standard water heaters DO
NOT run constantly. They are well insulated and have a large thermal
mass of water inside.
When tankless salesmen feel the need to trot out BS like that, it
makes me distrust any further "data" they want to push.
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Posted by RicodJour on April 7, 2008, 3:30 pm
show/hide quoted text
> > > Instead of replacing the old with a newer version of the old, you may
> > > want to look into a tankless water heater instead of keeping that 40+
> > > gallons of water at ready-to-be-used temperature 24/7/365 when you
> > > really only need the hot water for _maybe_ an hour a day. They've
> > > been in use around the world for decades, but are just gaining
> > > momentum in the US.
> > > Here's one link: http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/ I haven't
> > > read through that link, but it seemed to hit the high points and will
> > > give you an overview - from there it's up to you and your finely honed
> > > Google skills.
> > Tankless is the way to go.
> > Just ask yourself, do you keep your auto running in the driveway so it will
> > be warm when you get in it?
> > They say tankless is 80% more efficient than an electric tank.
> > That one is more expensive, but it recoupes in cost in two to three years.
> Spare us the tankless marketing bullship. Standard water heaters DO
> NOT run constantly. They are well insulated and have a large thermal
> mass of water inside.
> When tankless salesmen feel the need to trot out BS like that, it
> makes me distrust any further "data" they want to push.
No, they don't run constantly, but they do maintain a large amount of
mass at a substantially higher temperature with relatively little
insulation. There's only one way to do that - throw money at it. The
standard water heater tank doesn't have a setback or vacation setting,
so it maintains that higher temperature regardless of the amount of
hot water actually needed, time of day, etc. Tankless is a superior
system for almost everyone. I don't buy anything based on what a
salesman or marketing department states without performing some due
diligence and investigating on my own.
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Posted by PeterD on April 7, 2008, 9:05 pm
On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:30:10 -0700 (PDT), RicodJour
show/hide quoted text
>> Spare us the tankless marketing bullship. Standard water heaters DO
>> NOT run constantly. They are well insulated and have a large thermal
>> mass of water inside.
>> When tankless salesmen feel the need to trot out BS like that, it
>> makes me distrust any further "data" they want to push.
I was going to jump on Mike but then you proved him totally correct!
show/hide quoted text
>No, they don't run constantly, but they do maintain a large amount of
>mass at a substantially higher temperature with relatively little
>insulation.
The insulation in most water heaters today is good and easily
supplicated as well. That's not a valid point at all.
show/hide quoted text
>There's only one way to do that - throw money at it. The
>standard water heater tank doesn't have a setback or vacation setting,
Sure it does. Gas water heaters do have (and have had for years) such
as setting. An electric heater has the circuit breaker--kick it off
and the hot water cost is then zero.
show/hide quoted text
>so it maintains that higher temperature regardless of the amount of
>hot water actually needed, time of day, etc. Tankless is a superior
>system for almost everyone.
Nope, not even slightly.
show/hide quoted text
>I don't buy anything based on what a
>salesman or marketing department states without performing some due
>diligence and investigating on my own.
Which you didn't do here. There are many situations where tankless is
far from optimal.
Oh, and FYI, I've had both, and I'm totally satisfied with the results
of my 40 gal *tanked* water heater! We're not talking investigation
here, but real world experience.
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> hear is ok.
> But every time I talk to someone about their 40 gal water heater, they all
> complain that they run out of hot water (comparable size homes and kids).
> Bur our builder (and all builder's we spoke to when looking to build)
> *insist* that 40 gallons is enough.
> But we were always worried about running the wash or dishwasher before
> showering, or two long showers would result in the 2nd losing water.
> Complete with those water saving disks etc.
> 1. Is 80 gallons overkill? Perhaps I'm reacting viscerally.
> 2. Am I going to notice a large gas usage increase?
> 3. Are there rules in place limiting the water tank sizes?
> 4. Are there any particular brands to look for or stay away from?
> I'm sorry for the barrage of questions.