Water Heater help needed - at wit's end


  #1  
Old 01-10-06, 02:55 PM
imanta
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Water Heater help needed - at wit's end

Alright, so I am not ready to throw myself in front of a speeding vehicle just yet, but I am not sure where to go from here.

We have a 5-6 year old Rheem electric water heater. It is larger than our house needs, but we seem to run out of hot water quickly. Basically a 20 minute shower results in all hot water being gone.

I have tried the following:

1. Increased the temperature on the water heater. This gave us about 5 more minutes of hot water and the water is nice and hot right out of the tap.

2. Drained the entire water heater and checked the coils. Both were hot to the touch and I swapped them to see if this might make a difference. I did not think I needed to replace them given they were both warm to the touch (implying they were working).

So where else do I look? Am I as far as I can go before I need to look for external help?
 
  #2  
Old 01-10-06, 05:21 PM
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You need a continuity tester in order to determine if both elements are working. Warm to the touch does not guarantee anything but the fact that one of them is working, not both.
 
  #3  
Old 01-10-06, 08:33 PM
L
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"Warm to the touch..." means the upper element is heating. "A 20 minute shower..." means EITHER that the lower element isn't working, OR that you don't have a flow restrictor in the shower head and you are completely draining the tank in 20 minutes. (20 minutes IS an awfully long shower!!)
 
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Old 01-11-06, 01:20 AM
J
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I agree that 20 minutes shower may be a high expectation for your water heater. Mine was worse than this when I replaced it for an NG unit. Pulled the heating elements out and at first thought they were ceramic coated. Then I realized this was calcium buildup.
 
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Old 01-11-06, 08:14 AM
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You don't say how large is "too large for the house". Lets do a little math.
Water saver showerhead is 2-1/2 gallons per minute. Lets say you have a 50 gallon tank.
2-1/2 GPM X 20 minutes = 50 gallons of water.
I realize that part of the water is cold water but the ratio of hot to cold is important. Every gallon of hot water is instantly replaced by cold water so the hot temp drops with every gallon you use. If it is cold where you live the water is also colder coming into the tank so it will take longer to heat.
Your answer may be to make sure your showerhead is a water saver type, take shorter showers, or take a little bit cooler shower. Good luck.
 
  #6  
Old 01-11-06, 10:59 AM
X
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Does gas vs. electric make a difference?

Because I take a steaming hot shower for 20 minutes and I don't run out of hot water.

State WH, 40 gallon, gas.
 
  #7  
Old 01-11-06, 11:02 AM
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Gas water heaters have a higher recovery than electric.
A malfunctioning electric water heater with only one element working cannot compete with a fully functioning gas water heater.

When doing a gas to electric or electric to gas conversion, you gain 12 gallons of hot water when switching to a gas water heater, you lose 12 gallons of hot water when switching to electric, unless you buss bar the lower models on water heaters that have that option. Most new ones (except Sears Kenmore brands) have 4500 watt elements that narrow that margin of recovery.

So, if you have a 40 gallon gas water heater and you are changing out to electric, you better upsize your electric to a 52 or 55 to get the same functionality.
 
  #8  
Old 01-11-06, 11:07 AM
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Thanks Dunbar.

That is useful information.
 
  #9  
Old 01-18-06, 03:08 PM
J
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Sounds like the lower thermostat is bad .............
about $9.00 at ace hardware .........
when the top can not keep up it requires the bottom to heat up............
when the lower thermostat is bad the lower fails giving less then
a full tank of very hot water for your shower.......
 
 

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