"AlaJoe" wrote in message
...
I have a 50 Gallon electric water heater that is just not getting the
job done. One person can shower as long as he wants but the recovery time
is just too long between users and My wife, My kid and ,myself are trying
to take showers within one hour and it just will not keep up. So I am
looking to either add an additional water heater and split off one
bathroom or increase the size of the one. My question is about energy
usage.
I have looked at 30-80 gallon heaters and there does not appear to be
much difference in energy usage. The 30 Gallons heater have an annual
energy estimate of about $405 to $410 and 80 gallon heaters about $440 to
$450. Does this mean if I add a 30 gallon water heater in addition to the
50 gallon I already have to seperate one bathroom I will spend about $820
to $850 a year to keep 80 gallons of water heated to where I could buy
just one 80 gallon and only spend about $450?
Would one 80 gallon allow three people to take back to back showers?
Which set up would work best?


*Instead of adding a second tank you should get a water heater with a faster
recovery rate. What is the wattage ratings of your water heater elements?
It should say on the nameplate. A 4500 watt element will heat a lot faster
than a 3000 watt element. I would call the manufacturer to see if the
existing tank can be upgraded with different elements. Of course your
electrical supply will need to be sized accordingly. I am assuming that
your current water heater is operating correctly. You could have the slow
recovery problem with one element not working.

I got a call from a new condo owner last year. She had recently replaced the
electric water heater and the new one kept blowing the circuit breaker. It
was a 50 gallon unit with 3500 watt elements. The original tank was a 50
gallon on a 15 amp circuit. I surmised that the builder installed low
wattage units to save energy as these condos are on a time of day electric
service where the day rate is much higher than the night rate. I had to
install a 30 amp circuit for her new water heater. It probably took a long
time for the old water heater to get fully heated, but with one occupant the
hot water loss was acceptable.