Commercial grade


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Old 11-19-20, 11:21 AM
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Commercial grade

Hi
I asked plumber for an estimate for water heater replacement. There is nothing wrong but it is old and not enough to fill our tub. I think old one was 40gal.
He offered 50gal commercial grade for $1300 (labor and parts). He said it will allow 4 showers since there are 4 people in the family.
I am more concerned about filling this tub because it is bigger than normal one.
Anyway He said commercial grade 50gal heater can fast heat 89gal.
Is it true? Does it all make sence? What do you think?
 
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Old 11-19-20, 12:42 PM
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Where did your 89 number come from?

What was the wattage of your old water heater and what's the wattage of the new heater you are considering?

Unless the plumber is also including the cost to upgrade the wire and circuit breaker to the water heater I doubt it will be able to heat more water faster. After all, both your old and new water heaters can only draw so much power from the circuit and that's what determines it's heating capacity.
 
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Old 11-19-20, 01:12 PM
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I dont know. He simply said it is 50gal heater which can make 89gal of hot waterfast.
I Google it. Check out this link. Maybe this is what he meant.
 
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Old 11-19-20, 01:36 PM
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I didn't see whether the existing was 40 gallon electric or gas, so I'll assume it's electric as did PD, although "fast heat" implies a larger heat input and there was no mention of increasing what would have been an existing 25A or 30A circuit for a 4,500W @ 240V.

I spec'd a 100 gallon, 4,500 W electric water heater for one of my homes in 1993 and NEVER ran out of HW with it controlled by time clock and energized 8 hours/day. The home had a large whirlpool tub and multiple showers with the flow restrictors drilled out. Don't spend extra for a "Commercial" - if there is such a thing - just specify tank size and wattage for a domestic type.
 
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Old 11-19-20, 02:51 PM
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I agree..... just specify a regular 50 gallon electric water heater.
 
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Old 11-19-20, 09:59 PM
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I am pretty sure that I need gas water heater.
 
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Old 11-20-20, 04:52 AM
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Gas water heaters do generally have a faster recovery time than electrics. You plumber may be wanting to install a larger heater with a higher btu burner. That may/might work but you really need to look at your gas system to make sure it can supply the extra fuel a larger heater will require.
 
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Old 11-20-20, 07:01 AM
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I am pretty sure that I need gas water heater.
Is a gas water heater what you have now?
 
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Old 11-20-20, 08:23 AM
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You never ran out of hot water using the 100 gallon tank heater because you just did not draw close to 100 gallons each day.

"Fast" heating is irrelevant when the heater is time-of-day controlled by your utility company and the time it can kick on is not during the times you use hot water.

If you set the heater temperature higher, everyone mixes in more cold and less hot for a shower so the tankful lasts longer. But the life of the heater (in years) may be shortened. The Tank Booster (tm) and similar gadgets (sold separately) are connected on top of the water heater and perform a little of this hot-cold mixing ahead of the shower faucet for the purpose of preventing scalding injuries.
 
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Old 11-20-20, 09:22 AM
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I checked the label on current water heater and it says 50gal, 38000btu, mfg 2008 and there is some expansion tank on top.
I simply dont understand why I am told to replace it with same size if we complain mainly about hot tub.
If I dont like 50gal for $1300 then he offered 75gal $2000.
And then my friend said that it is easy so I can replace it myself.
I dont know.
 
 

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