Water heater being installed as we speak... Goodbye oil!
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Posting from iPhone?
The phone was meant to take pics sideways? Put the button to the right and take a sideways pic? The phone will post straight.
It was taken with an iPhone, but I uploaded via my mac. eh, you get the idea at least.
post a closeup pick of your yellow sticker please on the mararthon, my 50 gallon heater was installed 2008, came with my house when i bought it, it says something like $454 a yr energy cost, now enjoy $200 a month electric bill's
post a closeup pick of your yellow sticker please
post a closeup pick of your yellow sticker please
I've not run my furnace for sometimes a year whih no ill effect's, usually in the fall insted of wasting pellets over a chilly night, i'm at 3/8 barrel for 2-3 yr's now
Did you try turning it up? THey do have temp adjustments on them. I run my 30 gal about half way up(5 of us) ,but bump it up higher if we have company (7 or more).Been here 25 years and went through about 3 HW heaters but never had a need to go bigger.
maple1
Minister of Fire
I put in a new 80 gallon electric tank last fall, and decommisioned my oil burner.
Family of 5. We used to use around 150 gallons of oil for DHW in the non-heating seasons. I'm heating the new tank mostly with my wood boiler now, but before that got all up & running, the electric bill went up about $30/month with the new hot water tank. The new tank was less than $400. Getting off the oil was a no-brainer. If I was in an area with good rebating etc. on heat pump water heaters, I'd have one of those real quick.
Family of 5. We used to use around 150 gallons of oil for DHW in the non-heating seasons. I'm heating the new tank mostly with my wood boiler now, but before that got all up & running, the electric bill went up about $30/month with the new hot water tank. The new tank was less than $400. Getting off the oil was a no-brainer. If I was in an area with good rebating etc. on heat pump water heaters, I'd have one of those real quick.
I run it in "hybrid" mode which uses the heat pump exclusively unless there is a high demand. With only three of us in the house, I don't think we've ever run off the heating elements except for the initial fill. I'm hoping it will also reduce the need for a dehumidifier in the summer, which will help save a few more dollars on the electric bill.
So far I'm happy with it. If I didn't have the pellet furnace down there it might not work out as well. My basement used to drop down into the mid 50's when I ran the pellet and wood inserts upstairs. Now it stays in the mid 60s.
RCCARPS
Member
Just installed a 40 gallon direct-vent propane water heater to the tune of $1100 with misc parts 
. Turns out when you need one in a rush you pay the price. I am just fortunate lowes had one in sock. Old one was a 75 gallon that had the bottom blow out of it mid-day. Set the house alarm off and I came home to the police clearing my house room by room with guns drawn.... Fun.
Only 2 of us in the house so the 40 gallon will be more than enough. Plus a direct vent propane 75 gallon would have cost me at least $1500-2000.
Would have loved to switch to an electric. But with a finished basement with the tank and electric panel on opposite sides that was not possible.
. Turns out when you need one in a rush you pay the price. I am just fortunate lowes had one in sock. Old one was a 75 gallon that had the bottom blow out of it mid-day. Set the house alarm off and I came home to the police clearing my house room by room with guns drawn.... Fun.Only 2 of us in the house so the 40 gallon will be more than enough. Plus a direct vent propane 75 gallon would have cost me at least $1500-2000.
Would have loved to switch to an electric. But with a finished basement with the tank and electric panel on opposite sides that was not possible.
10 gal per shower.... Thats what, 3-4 minute showers? How do you guys manage it Seasoned.....
We must take pretty long showers as we ofter run out after 2 back to back on our 40 gal indirect. Never could figure out why it cant recover fast enough heating off the 140k boiler either...
We must take pretty long showers as we ofter run out after 2 back to back on our 40 gal indirect. Never could figure out why it cant recover fast enough heating off the 140k boiler either...
I think I could run my water continuously with my 40 gallon indirect and not run out. The boiler was 75k. What temp is your boiler running at? Do you have hard water maybe your getting really bad heat transfer.
Its a steam boiler so it doesn't stay hot on standby. It has to cold start whenever the indirect calls for heat which probably creates some lag, though with 140k input (or maybe its 120 i have to double check) it comes up to temp fast. the indirect is coupled to a high limit aquastat on the boiler that cuts the burner off at 180 on an DHW cycle.
I think we just take really long showers
What's a good ratio of size of heater to use?
I hate to admit it, but i'm very wasteful in the shower. I stand there for 10 min a morning half spaced out. lol my roommate shaves his head every morning in the shower. my gf, well... shes a girl. lol so each of us end up about 20 min of hot water each. We go in succession 1-2-3 in the morning, and with the boiler its not a problem. I go last... so I want to make sure if I do this, I still have a hot shower.
I hate to admit it, but i'm very wasteful in the shower. I stand there for 10 min a morning half spaced out. lol my roommate shaves his head every morning in the shower. my gf, well... shes a girl. lol so each of us end up about 20 min of hot water each. We go in succession 1-2-3 in the morning, and with the boiler its not a problem. I go last... so I want to make sure if I do this, I still have a hot shower.
20 minutes is more standard for real people and if you start that clock when you first open the faucet then I believe that very few regular people take 10 gallon showers. So 20 minutes with a low flow 2gpm shower head is 40 gallons. But wait, shower water is not straight 120 degree hot water, it is mixed with cold 55 degree water to get you from 120 down to 100 degrees or so. This means that your 40 gallon tank can make way more than 40 gallons of shower water and while you are in the shower, the water heater is trying to recover.
A 50 gallon HWT is very standard for 3 bedroom homes. Anything smaller might actually hurt the home's resale value. There is no real downside to a large water heater, the element sizes are the same. You're just storing more heated water.
The upside is a smaller footprint.
Good job on the marathon, bad job on the install. I can overlook the concrete blocks but the exposed romex cable hanging there is not per code.
A 50 gallon HWT is very standard for 3 bedroom homes. Anything smaller might actually hurt the home's resale value. There is no real downside to a large water heater, the element sizes are the same. You're just storing more heated water.
The upside is a smaller footprint.
Good job on the marathon, bad job on the install. I can overlook the concrete blocks but the exposed romex cable hanging there is not per code.
Im not using all hot. Have the shower valve at about half/half . 10 Gal With a 1.2 Gal SH would get you about 10-15 Min. Wife showers much longer about 30 MIn so she goes through 20 Gal+.Claims she never runs out. Also I do have a tempering valve that mixes some cold so you dont get scalded. At times when we have more people in the house i simply turn up the temp further to make the water hotter. Hence the mixing valve mixes MORE cold in you actually use less hot water from the WH. Both the dishwasher and our Washing machine have their own built in WH so they always work at the correct temp. WIfe and i almost never take back to back showers at least when were not sharing a shower.
mrjohneel
Feeling the Heat
I'm definitely going to get an electric water heater this Spring/Summer to end my dependence on oil. My pellet stove has saved me over $1000/yr so far. I have a 50-gallon electric water heater in my family's summer house on the Cape and have never run out of hot water with long outside showers, dinner guests, etc. Also, next week I am having a full-blown energy audit -- infrared imaging of the walls, smoke test with a fan on the front door etc. I'm hoping I can fix myself whatever it reveals, saving some money. This is the year for me to finally get as energy efficient as I can. (Wish me luck.)
Anyone in this situation will need a large WH. Only other solution would be a smaller one run at high temp with a tempering valve.
The electrical wire should be in conduit from the heater to junction box on the wall or above. However there is debate as to whether its required usually the town inspector has the last say, Id be willing to bet they will say it should be in conduit. To bore you with details NEC code says not to put NM wire in a raceway which conduit qualifies but its usually expected for it to be in conduit going to hot water heater. Can't win...
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