yeah, i agree with another poster- either the top or the bottom element
is on, not both at once. And, each is 5500 watt when either is on.

also, we live in a semi-rural area- there is no natural gas line past
our house. LP is not a near term option for us- we would have to bury
gas line and the way our property is, i don't see a good spot for a
tank where the delivery truck could reach his line to from our
driveway. I know and agree with others that LP or nat gas is the most
energy effecient. Trust me, if we were set up already for gas, we
would have a gas dryer, hot water heater, range etc.

i also have a 2nd part to my question- Sears has a 12 year water heater
on their web site. If you want to see what i'm talking about, go to
sears.com and paste the item number into the search box. Then click
the product specs tab. I'm looking at the Kenmore Power Miser 12-
sears item # 04232184000, in the product specs it lists an alternate
dual power option.

here is what it says:
"Alternate Dual Power- Max Fuse Req'd- 20 amps; Minimum wire size - 12
ga; Wattage at 240V - 3800 watts"

yet, at the bottom of the page, it says:
"Power - Type - Electric; Wattage at 240V - 5500 watts; Max Fuse Req'd
30 amps; Min wire size 10 ga"

When I called Sears cust service, I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling
that the woman on the other end knew what she was talking about. She
said there is a bar that comes with the heater and that you put the bar
somewhere to make the electric work different (3800 watts vs 5500). If
this is true, it would possibly be an easy switch to run off of my
generator. What I'm wondering is if the lower watt option is possibly
for use in mobile homes, where the wiring is less beefy and different
quality than in regular homes. Again, I didn't hang up the phone with
a lot of confidence that she knew what she was talking about.

Thanks again!