On May 29, 8:30 am, Michael wrote:
On 2007-05-29 09:03:53 -0400, said:





On May 29, 7:29 am, Michael wrote:
We have an old AO Smith 40 gallon gas water heater which seems to have
some leakage issues.

We have been anticipating replacing it for some time now but I need
some advice.

There are five of us in the house (including my 15 year old daughter,
who takes very extended showers!)

The current unit seems to poop out after 2 or 3 showers and we will not
run the dishwasher or washing machine in anticipation of showering.

For a new unit, should we go with a larger unit (75 gallon) or are we
better off with a smaller 50 or 65 gallon with a faster recovery time?
What about the "instant," tankless water heaters?

What gives the best performance, balancing efficiency and hot water
availability?

For your 3 stated criteria, tankless wins. The downside is that the
cost of the unit is high and you may need to upgrade your gas line to
the meter to support it. The key question is how much more capacity
do you need from a conventional unit? If you're only just about
running out of capacity on the existing one, I'd go with the 50-65 and
look for one that is faster recovery as well.

I'd also check the flow rates on showers and change the heads if
needed.

How well do the tankless work in a northeastern climate though?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


It's just a matter of how big of a unit you need, how big of a gas
line, and how much you want to spend. There are spec sheets readily
available online that show the flow rate vs water temp rise the unit
will support. No question gas ones can work, electric is a diff story.