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Besides saving energy does a cooler temperature on the heater prolong its useful life? | ||
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| No, not like Bill Clinton  |
You could save some money by not heating your hot water | |||
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| Member |
Did some estimates on that recently and it came to likely saving around $50 per year. Couldn't find any info on longer life from doing that. To hopefully extend water heater life we also replaced the old anode rod with a Corro-Protec Powered Anode Rod. | |||
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| Thank you Very little  |
 As to your question, I would imagine if you lower the max temp it has to heat the cold water as much, but unless you're going from 130 to 90 I doubt your bill would see anything. You could put a 24 hour timer on the power source and cut it off during the day when you are not using hot water, just have it come on an hour before you need it like AM showers. Could add a solar water heater to the system and let the sun heat up water during the day to reduce the time it runs. We installed an on demand water heater, it cut the LP use in half since it's not keeping 50 gallons of water hot all day when it's not being used. which is good considering the cost of the LP has gone up over time. Right now I'm thinking Solar panels would have been a good idea based on the Iran situation that is going to drive inflation through the roof for the next year as we fight Iran... Oil is up to $90 a barrel, almost double. | |||
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| Member |
[ You could save some money by not heating your hot water[/quote] ^^^^^^^^^^^^ That is most unpleasant but about the only choice after a hurricane when the power is off. Now if you are smart you fill the garden hoses and place them in the sun. It gets smokin hot as they say, | |||
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| His diet consists of black coffee, and sarcasm.  |
Isn't that a redundancy? I don't see what meaningful difference there would be in its durability or longevity. Maybe the heating element in an electric one. I recently had an electric replaced. It was in my dwelling when I moved into it, so was a minimum of 16 years old. Even then it only leaked a little bit, not a catastrophic failure. "The Almighty, He put some livin' things on this earth so a man can eat." - Festus Haggen, Gunsmoke | |||
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| Averaging 6.3 posts per year |
Department of Redundancy Department Texting.......easier than calling. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
 הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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semi-reformed sailor |
No, it’s a consumable item. Prepare to replace it after ten years “You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020 “ in my opinion, anything that we can do to trigger a potential aneurysm in a leftist is a good thing and worth doing” nhtagmember 2025 | |||
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| Member |
And buy one from the pro plumbing shop not a box store | |||
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delicately calloused |
My plumber friend says you can extend its life by preventing or removing sediments. I’ve never been that into it enough to flush one out or get a water softener. You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier | |||
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| If you see me running try to keep up  |
So wait until it is cold then heat it? I doubt that would save any money, it would probably cost more. People harp at calling them hot water heaters but that is what they are ands what they do. It is only cold the first time it kicks on. I am referring to nat gas and electric traditional, not on demand heaters. | |||
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| semi-reformed sailor |
My dad’s a retired plumber. Every year on Valentines I replace the smoke detector’s batteries. And in March (around my wedding anniversary) I flush the water heater. Not to extend its lifespan, but to get the crud out of the tank. I also remove and inspect the anode (it’s a 1 1/16” socket) BTW you may need 2 people and a cheater bar for it as they have a 600 pound gorilla installing it at the factory. In central Texas I get a lot of calcium and crap from the city. Where I used to live in eastern nc i was on a well and the water heater was on the other side of the filter system and I didn’t get anything “You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020 “ in my opinion, anything that we can do to trigger a potential aneurysm in a leftist is a good thing and worth doing” nhtagmember 2025 | |||
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thin skin can't win |
Still, isn't it a warm water heater? Or a hot but not quite hot enough needs to be hotter than the hot it already is but not really from cold needs to be hotter water heater to split the difference? Either way, if it was already hot, why the hot hell do you want to heat it? That's going to look like shit on a website or box, BTW. You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02 | |||
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| Edge seeking Sharp blade! |
I think lower temp setting may cause less sediments if water isn't soft, but I'm not sure. Sediments decrease efficiency and could impact longevity. I set mine to vacation setting if away for a while, and before I reset to normal, I put a short hose and drain a 5 gallon bucket until it looks like sediments stop coming out. It takes 5 minutes. I just replaced mine and the old one I installed in 2004, so it lasted about 22 years. The old one didn't leak, but the pilot kept going out. I probably could have replaced the thermocouple and control and gotten another 5 years out of it for about $100. I had already bought a replacement last year, so I just replaced it. | |||
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Down the Rabbit Hole |
Remember this one, Georgeair? https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...660068715#4660068715 Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell | |||
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Member |
Lower temperature equals less pressure on everything especially the T&P valve. ----------------------------------------- Roll Tide! Glock Certified Armorer NRA Certified Firearms Instructor | |||
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| A day late, and a dollar short  |
Yep!  ____________________________ NRA Life Member, MGO Annual Member | |||
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Fighting the good fight |
It's not hard. I do mine once a year, in the fall. Takes about 45 minutes total to drain/flush, but less than 5 minutes of that is actual work on my part. It's worth the few minutes a year to extend the heater's lifespan. | |||
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| If you see me running try to keep up |
Because water heaters keep hot water hot. It is no different than your HVAC system, if you have it set to cool to 70 it will kick on at 71 and turn off at 69. If you want your house heated to 70 in the winter it will heat until 71 then turn off and come on again at 69. HVAC keeps a cool house cool or a warm house warm just like a water heater keeps hot water hot. Unless of course you have an on demand water heater which will heat cold water to hot only when needed. | |||
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