Lacking Hot Water
#1
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Lacking Hot Water
I have 2 50gallon gas hot water heaters installed in parallel for a 6unit apartment building. One of them was replaced a few days before Christmas and is a few inches taller than the old one. Recently I got a couple complaints that the hot water is not too hot. Could the fact that the hot water heaters are not exactly the same height affect it or could it be that perhaps they are using the hot water when a couple others were taking a shower at the same time? I never had a problem before. Then again, its been zero degrees here in Chicago for over a week. I just set the each thermostat to 5 degrees (half a noth) over the middle white line and will see how it goes.
#2
The temperature of the incoming cold water makes the heating cycles prolonged for the water heaters.
IF the heaters were plumbed/installed identical to each other and in paralell to the water lines, one heater can dominate in producing hot water over another.
You take chances raising the thermostat settings over the 120 degree mark.
Doing a bucket test determining how many actual gallons of hot water you are getting from the water heaters would give you the facts of whether there's a problem or not.
2-50's should give you approximately 76 gallons of ready to use hot water figuring on the 12 gallon rule.
IF the heaters were plumbed/installed identical to each other and in paralell to the water lines, one heater can dominate in producing hot water over another.
You take chances raising the thermostat settings over the 120 degree mark.
Doing a bucket test determining how many actual gallons of hot water you are getting from the water heaters would give you the facts of whether there's a problem or not.
2-50's should give you approximately 76 gallons of ready to use hot water figuring on the 12 gallon rule.