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MarilynW
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| Posted: Dec 31 2008 at 9:06am | IP Logged
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We have to replace our water heater this week  We have been managing with a 50 gallon electric heater. All the contractors we have talked to think this is very small for a family of 8. There is a big difference in price between a 50 gallon and a 75 gallon. Do any other larger families manage with a 50 gallon?
Thanks for any advice.
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Bridget
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Well, a family will manage with whatever they have. But when you have a house full of older children, no matter how many hot water usage rules you lay down, you want the biggest tank you can get.
We have a 90 gallon and we still run out of hot water. It isn't just the showers, it's the increased laundry and dishes as well. Little kids don't use nearly the hot water big kids do, so it's hard to imagine till your there.
(We do have an engineer friend with 11 kids who rigged up a timer on the hot water tank so that his teens only get a 10 minute shower before it cuts off.  )
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JennGM
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Marilyn, Have you looked into tankless water heaters? I wish we had gotten one when we replaced ours last year. To think how we wouldn't have to worry about flooding from a leaking water heater!
My sister just did it for her family (4 boys). We were just discussing this last night. The industry keeps improving, and it's really a good energy saver. Their only "complaint" is in the morning they don't have hot water immediately for the shower, so you have to run it a bit, because there is no tank, but otherwise they are very pleased. I can get more information if you wish.
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Lavenderfields
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Jen,
I would like more information. How big is their house. Do you need more than one at a certain point. Letting the water run to warm up is not a problem, our bedroom is the farthest from the water heater now, it takes a long time to get hot water in the morning.
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Robynn
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ctrivette
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We have a tankless in this house. I like it, we never run out of hot water, but it does take a minute or two to get the hot water across the house. I keep thinking that it would be more efficient to have a small one under each sink/hot water tap, but I haven't really looked into details of that. We always had a 40 gal in other houses and this is much better!
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Carole N.
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Marilyn, we had a 50-gallon hot water heater in the states with our family of five. It was 10 years old and worked great when the children were younger, but dh was waiting for it to fail in which point he planned on replacing it with a tankless. He firmly believes it is the only answer to teenage showers! 
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MarilynW
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Thank you for all the suggestions. I have spent the morning investigating the tankless - we are electric only and it seems to do this will involve fairly extensive electrical upgrades/work - (our house is 30 years old) - Jenn, I would be interested in hearing which contractor did your sisters heater - I could not even find one in our area.
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Rachel May
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JennGM wrote:
| My sister just did it for her family (4 boys). We were just discussing this last night. The industry keeps improving, and it's really a good energy saver. Their only "complaint" is in the morning they don't have hot water immediately for the shower, so you have to run it a bit, because there is no tank, but otherwise they are very pleased. I can get more information if you wish. |
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I was just going to suggest this too. A neighbor wondered why these weren't installed in the new military housing we have. I'm curious, does the tankless take longer than with a regular water heater to get the hot water? We still have to run the water for a bit to get the hot stuff.
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juststartn
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Well, we've got two hot water heaters (big house). One services the mudroom 3/4 bath, the laundry, and the kitchen. The other takes care of the other two, full, bathrooms.
We plan to upgrade to tankless when the time comes.
Rachel
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KC in TX
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We also have two 55 gallon water heaters that run simultaneously. We still run out of water though especially in the winter when baths need to be warmer.
I'd love to have a tankless but we don't have gas in our area.
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Lavenderfields wrote:
Jen,
I would like more information. How big is their house. Do you need more than one at a certain point. Letting the water run to warm up is not a problem, our bedroom is the farthest from the water heater now, it takes a long time to get hot water in the morning.
God Bless
Robynn |
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Their house is about 2500 sq. ft., one level, 3 full baths. Their house uses gas, so that is key, as Marilyn states above. The brand they have is Rheem.
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mrsgranola
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Our house has 3 levels (walk-out basement) and we have 2 fifty gallon hot water heaters. We looked into the recirculating system but the builder said it wouldn't work with our house plan somehow. I'd still like to look into something different when the time comes to replace one... at least the one that doesn't hook to the kitchen and laundry room. HTH!
JoAnna
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: What size water heater do you have?
