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Posted by Jeremy Hine on February 11, 2005, 3:40 am
What would cause an older 240 waterheater to increase my power bill. I
also have electric furnace that regularly gets a new filter each 6
weeks. AC/heater unit (outside) was serviced in late Dec, had both
sequencers replaced. Same goes for electric dryer around October. It
might not be the waterheater at all, its just the only thing that hasnt
needed any immediate attention. I can bet its never been flushed,
elements replaced, or anyother maintenance done to it.
I'm in a 25 year old singlewide mobile home in Northcentral Florida.
Any suggestions?
-Jeremy
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Posted by Tom on February 11, 2005, 8:59 am
show/hide quoted text
> What would cause an older 240 waterheater to increase my power bill. I
> also have electric furnace that regularly gets a new filter each 6 weeks.
> AC/heater unit (outside) was serviced in late Dec, had both sequencers
> replaced. Same goes for electric dryer around October. It might not be
> the waterheater at all, its just the only thing that hasnt needed any
> immediate attention. I can bet its never been flushed, elements replaced,
> or anyother maintenance done to it.
> I'm in a 25 year old singlewide mobile home in Northcentral Florida.
> Any suggestions?
> -Jeremy
>Some years ago, I sold an electric dryer to a customer. She called to
>complain that she was getting shocks when she touched it. I went out and
>took my VOM. The dryer was hot but then I unplugged it and it still showed
>current flow. It (as was the practice then) was grounded to a nearby water
>pipe. She had also mentioned that she was getting a shock when she touched
>the shower faucet controls. I asked her if she had noticed a change in her
>electric bill. She said yes, that it had really jumped up the previous
>month. To end the story, her water heater elements had shorted out to the
>water. Didn't kick a circuit breaker as apparently there was enough water
>and piping to absorb the current flow unless she provided a better circuit
>with her body. I'm sure an electrician will and can provide a better
>answer here...I just thought I would pass on my experience.
Tom.
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Posted by g on February 11, 2005, 11:59 am
First check your bill and see if both the previous reading and the
current reading are ACTUAL as opposed to ESTIMATED. I have seen some
pretty odd "estimates" on my bill.
Next, check the "current" reading (not "electrical current", but
current in the sense of "now") on your bill against your actual meter.
I've had the electric company misread a digit several times. If your
meter has rotary dials be sure to read them carefully. On many of them
1/2 the dials are counterclockwise and the other half clockwise.
Also be careful when a "needle" is just about right on a number. When
this happens you have to check the next dial to be sure of what the
reading is. If the next dial is still on 9, then the questionable dial
hasn't reached the number it appears to be "on". Depending on which
dial is misread, that could cause a large change in your bill.
A couple of decades ago I lived alone in a small apartment and wasn't
home much. I received a bill saying I had used 1069 KWH that month. I
checked my previous bills and none were for more than 75 KWH. I called
Con Edison and explained to the woman that the meter reader had
obviously misread the "thousands" digit on the meter.
She asked me if I had an air conditioner. Nope. A fan? "Do you really
think a fan would use 1000 KWH?" I replied. "Well you know that
electric bills are higher in the summer..."
She grudgingly gave me the credit but not without giving me a stern
warning that if the next reading showed I had actually used that power
they would still bill me for it. I didn't worry.
Greg Guarino
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Posted by Colbyt on February 11, 2005, 12:28 pm
show/hide quoted text
> What would cause an older 240 waterheater to increase my power bill. I
> also have electric furnace that regularly gets a new filter each 6
> weeks. AC/heater unit (outside) was serviced in late Dec, had both
> sequencers replaced. Same goes for electric dryer around October. It
> might not be the waterheater at all, its just the only thing that hasnt
> needed any immediate attention. I can bet its never been flushed,
> elements replaced, or anyother maintenance done to it.
> I'm in a 25 year old singlewide mobile home in Northcentral Florida.
> Any suggestions?
> -Jeremy
As others have said, if it is not a rate increase, then I would look at the
water heater.
My daughter had a ruptured element in one that added $175 to her bill one
month. It did not trip the breaker. It just fed 30 amps to ground for a
period of time.
Colbyt
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Posted by Joseph Meehan on February 11, 2005, 7:38 pm
Colbyt wrote:
show/hide quoted text
>> What would cause an older 240 waterheater to increase my power bill.
>> I also have electric furnace that regularly gets a new filter each 6
>> weeks. AC/heater unit (outside) was serviced in late Dec, had both
>> sequencers replaced. Same goes for electric dryer around October.
>> It might not be the waterheater at all, its just the only thing that
>> hasnt needed any immediate attention. I can bet its never been
>> flushed, elements replaced, or anyother maintenance done to it.
>> I'm in a 25 year old singlewide mobile home in Northcentral Florida.
>> Any suggestions?
>> -Jeremy
> As others have said, if it is not a rate increase, then I would look
> at the water heater.
> My daughter had a ruptured element in one that added $175 to her bill
> one month. It did not trip the breaker. It just fed 30 amps to
> ground for a period of time.
???? How is that possible? Where did the heat go? What limited it to
30 amps?
show/hide quoted text
> Colbyt
--
Joseph Meehan
26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math
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> also have electric furnace that regularly gets a new filter each 6 weeks.
> AC/heater unit (outside) was serviced in late Dec, had both sequencers
> replaced. Same goes for electric dryer around October. It might not be
> the waterheater at all, its just the only thing that hasnt needed any
> immediate attention. I can bet its never been flushed, elements replaced,
> or anyother maintenance done to it.
> I'm in a 25 year old singlewide mobile home in Northcentral Florida.
> Any suggestions?
> -Jeremy
>Some years ago, I sold an electric dryer to a customer. She called to
>complain that she was getting shocks when she touched it. I went out and
>took my VOM. The dryer was hot but then I unplugged it and it still showed
>current flow. It (as was the practice then) was grounded to a nearby water
>pipe. She had also mentioned that she was getting a shock when she touched
>the shower faucet controls. I asked her if she had noticed a change in her
>electric bill. She said yes, that it had really jumped up the previous
>month. To end the story, her water heater elements had shorted out to the
>water. Didn't kick a circuit breaker as apparently there was enough water
>and piping to absorb the current flow unless she provided a better circuit
>with her body. I'm sure an electrician will and can provide a better
>answer here...I just thought I would pass on my experience.