The recover rate for a 40 gal. Bradford White is 41gph, and a 50 gal. is
51gph. My price for a 50 gal. is about 15% higher than a 40 gal. With new
insulated tanks, the heat loss for the extra 10 gallons is minimal. Most
families are fine with a 40 gallon. If you had more people, I'd recommend a
50 gal., because extreme temperature differences can shorten the tank life.

"Jim Redelfs" wrote in message
...
I am going to replace my old, conventional gas furnace and gas water
heater in
about two weeks. Now comes the part where I do my homework - studying I
have
NEVER done (furnace) and only once, briefly, for a water heater.

My contractor has recommended that, now that our home is occupied only by
me
and my wife, we downsize the gas water heater from its current 50-gallon
capacity to a forty.

Although our home has one full and two "3/4" baths, the shower in the
finished
basement is virtually never used. We only occasionally have overnight
guests
but, with three grown daughters (two with children), we VERY-occasionally
(rarely, really) have four adults and little kids for a few nights.

Obviously, I do not want to REGRET downsizing. The fifty-gallon gas water
heater I have now was a "spec" unit when I bought this home while
half-built -
a spec house. The new one I am considering is called a "forty" but is
rated
at 38-gallons with a "high recovery" rate of 48 atop a 50k burner.

Will this one do the trick for us, with a little PLANNING done when the
kids
are here (VERY rare for overnight/shower/laundry use)? TIA!
--

JR