Water heater choices

The old water heater finally gave out and started leaking so time for a new one. A lot has changed in 30 years. Now there are mini tank and tank less instant on water heaters. So which one is the best for me?

First lets look at what the home needs and what it has had for 30 years: 2 bathrooms and one 40 gallon tank style water heater on a 30 amp breaker max 4500 watts. So I went to www.consumerreports.org to learn how to size the heater for peak use and Gallons Per Minute (GPM). They suggested looking for a heater with a 12-year warranty, which typically includes a longer or thicker element.

I learned a lot about hot water heaters when hurricane Andrew blew the house down. We had no electricity from the grid for 3 months and so I hooked a 5k generator to the panel and made sure it did not feed back into the grid. Then I crank up the generator, turn off the breakers to the fridge and water pump while I heat a tank of water for 20 minutes. Once I had a tank of water heated up turn off the breaker to the water heater and turn the pump and fridge on and I can take a shower with hot water while the generator powers the water pump from the well.

So what if I go tank less? Well the smallest tank less requires a 40 amp breaker and 38 amps startup and that means my 5k generator will not power it I would need a 8.4k generator.  I also learned from a Solar Passive House Reconfiguration course I took that I don’t need the power to the hot water heater all day and night. So I keep the breaker off to the hot water heater all the time unless I need hot water and if so then I turn it on 10 minutes before getting in the shower and 30 minutes for a bath. I turn the water heater off after the shower or just before entering and thus it remains off until I need hot water again. This practice reduced my electricity bill significantly.

I plan in the very near future to route the cold water up on the roof and pass it through a Solar Pre-Heater before going into the water heater. This may eliminate the need for electric heat and the new well-insulated water heater will serve as an excellent container to hold the water heated by the sun. The new heat trap nipples that come with the unit help hold the heat in when not in use. If I need additional hot water I just turn on the breaker for 30 minutes and I have a tank of hot water.

I checked out the National Corporate Home Improvements stores and  they only had 6 year warrantees starting at $240 and the longer warrantees going for over $300. Then I stopped at Lawrence Plumbing where I have done business with the local Homestead Company for years. I love keeping the money in the same town and spending it with the little guy wherever possible because once you give it to the big corporations you never see it again whereas someone from Lawrence might by some fruit from me or send me a customer. So I bought 40-gallon high efficiency water heater tank made by AOSmith with a 10-year warrantee for slightly less than big guys wanted for a 6-year warrantee modal. What a deal!

I got at least 15 years out of the old AOSmith water heater so continuing with the brand that treated me right all these years felt good. I will continue with the “breaker off until needed” system and now this more efficient tank will hold the hot water longer and save me money. For those who’s breaker is not so easily accessed or they are too busy to remember to turn it off and on they can install a timer so hot water will be there for your morning or nightly shower.  For most situations the water heater only needs to be on in the morning and at night for about an hour each time or even less for one person. That’s 2 hours a day or less instead of 24 hours a day. You can see where the savings will come in and pay for the timer installation real quick.

A Solar preheater for hot water heater is simple to build or buy and good to use with either a water tank system or even to pre-heat the cold water before entering a tank less system. With a pre heater and a well-insulated water heater for a holding tank in Florida it may provide most or all of the hot water demands year round.

Photo from Hotwater.com