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?

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.

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?

On May 29, 9:03?am, wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

avoid tankless, go with a 75 gallon 75K BTU regular tank. just make
certain it will fit in the available space.

tankless sound wonderful till you deal with needing a larger flue,
power line, no hot water on low flow, new gas line and possibly new
meter, you must take into account winter incoming water tempperature,
regular maintence, standard tanks rarely require much of anything,
tankless need a certified technician check every year or two.

a 75K BTU 75 gallon tank will provide you nearly endless hot water
about 4 TIMES your current tank!!!

look at recovery rates this would double your water capacity while
doubling the heating capacity, overall about 4 times your existing
tank....

a big downside to tankless, if something fails you have no hot water
at all, and many a power failure means no hot water at all.

with a regular tank you still have hot water for some quick showers.

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.

On 2007-05-29 09:35:58 -0400, " said:

On May 29, 9:03?am, wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

avoid tankless, go with a 75 gallon 75K BTU regular tank. just make
certain it will fit in the available space.

tankless sound wonderful till you deal with needing a larger flue,
power line, no hot water on low flow, new gas line and possibly new
meter, you must take into account winter incoming water tempperature,
regular maintence, standard tanks rarely require much of anything,
tankless need a certified technician check every year or two.

a 75K BTU 75 gallon tank will provide you nearly endless hot water
about 4 TIMES your current tank!!!

look at recovery rates this would double your water capacity while
doubling the heating capacity, overall about 4 times your existing
tank....

a big downside to tankless, if something fails you have no hot water
at all, and many a power failure means no hot water at all.

with a regular tank you still have hot water for some quick showers.

Saw this one online.

AO Smith GPHE-50
90% efficiency
Power vent
50 gallon
First Hour Delivery: 127 gallons
Recovery(90 degree rise per hour): 92 gallons
76k btu input per hour

Any comments?

In article 2007052908290216807-mikegoldnj@yahoocom,
(Michael) says...
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?

Go with a 35 gallon quick recovery, preferably gas fired. That will get
the teenager out of the shower when she runs out of hot water, and the
next shower will be ready to go in short order.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

Of course you could try setting limits and actually directing your
teenager's habits. O, I forgot. It's no longer a parent's right or duty to
direct they must just suffer whatever the princess inflicts on them.


"Michael" wrote in message
news:2007052908290216807-mikegoldnj@yahoocom...
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?

On 2007-05-29 10:46:25 -0400, "Dave" said:

Of course you could try setting limits and actually directing your
teenager's habits. O, I forgot. It's no longer a parent's right or duty to
direct they must just suffer whatever the princess inflicts on them.


"Michael" wrote in message
news:2007052908290216807-mikegoldnj@yahoocom...
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?

"Dave"

How about you save your crap for some other newsgroup or stick to
subjects on which you actually can provide intelligent comment.

Yep. Ignore the real problem and attack the messenger. The princess rules in
your house too.


"Michael" wrote in message
news:200705291050558930-mikegoldnj@yahoocom...
On 2007-05-29 10:46:25 -0400, "Dave" said:

Of course you could try setting limits and actually directing your
teenager's habits. O, I forgot. It's no longer a parent's right or duty
to
direct they must just suffer whatever the princess inflicts on them.


"Michael" wrote in message
news:2007052908290216807-mikegoldnj@yahoocom...
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?

"Dave"

How about you save your crap for some other newsgroup or stick to subjects
on which you actually can provide intelligent comment.

On May 29, 10:00�am, Michael wrote:
On 2007-05-29 09:35:58 -0400, " said:





On May 29, 9:03?am, wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

avoid tankless, go with a 75 gallon 75K BTU regular tank. just make
certain it will fit in the available space.

tankless sound wonderful till you deal with needing a larger flue,
power line, no hot water on low flow, new gas line and possibly new
meter, you must take into account winter incoming water tempperature,
regular maintence, standard tanks rarely require much of anything,
tankless need a certified technician check every year or two.

a 75K BTU 75 gallon tank will provide you nearly endless hot water
about 4 TIMES your current tank!!!

look at recovery rates this would double your water capacity while
doubling the heating capacity, overall about 4 times your existing
tank....

a big downside to tankless, if something fails you have no hot water
at all, and many a power failure means no hot water at all.

with a regular tank you still have hot water for some quick showers.

Saw this one online.

AO Smith GPHE-50
90% efficiency
Power vent
50 gallon
First Hour Delivery: 127 gallons
Recovery(90 degree rise per hour): 92 gallons
76k btu input per hour

Any comments?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

how about a link to it online. do you need a power vent? is the
current tank a power vent?

home depot and lowes sell high recovery tanks up to 100 gallons,

compare current tanks first hour and recovery with perspective new
tank .

I like long hot showers thats why I upgraded to a 50 gallon 75K BTU
tank here, a 75 gallon wouldnt physically fit the space really glad I
did this we al;mostr never run out of hot water unless both washing
machines and dishwasher is all running at once

On May 29, 11:04?am, "Dave" wrote:
Yep. Ignore the real problem and attack the messenger. The princess rules in
your house too.


appears a princess rules in YOUR home too.

often its easier to accomodate people on stuff, i dont know about you
but I pick my fights...

hot water? not worth the effort..

On May 29, 8:29 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?

Michael,

How do you heat your house? Have you looked into adding a unit to the
heating systme for heating your hot water? For instance, adding an
indirect water heater or booster tank? If your heating system is old
you may want to look at the overall picture of both heat and ho****er.
Also, you may want to consult your local heating contractor for
reccomendations.

-paul

In article om,
wrote:
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 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.

Would it also be worth looking into a "point of use" heater, either
tankless or with a small tank, for the shower? The shower seems to be
the problem area.

--
--Tim Smith

In article ,
"Dave" wrote:
Of course you could try setting limits and actually directing your
teenager's habits. O, I forgot. It's no longer a parent's right or duty to
direct they must just suffer whatever the princess inflicts on them.

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?



--
--Tim Smith

On 2007-05-29 11:43:45 -0400, Paul Flansburg said:

On May 29, 8:29 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?

Michael,

How do you heat your house? Have you looked into adding a unit to the
heating systme for heating your hot water? For instance, adding an
indirect water heater or booster tank? If your heating system is old
you may want to look at the overall picture of both heat and ho****er.
Also, you may want to consult your local heating contractor for
reccomendations.

-paul

We have a NG fired, forced hot air system (High efficiency, direct
vent/sealed firebox). The furnace was just replaced about eight years
ago, A/C coil and compressor replaced a year after that.

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?

I went through this a few years ago, only 4 in the house but 2 of them
teenagers. I went with a 50 gallon gas-fired conventional water
heater and it has served us well. No hot water availability issues in
practice, although I suppose in theory it could happen through
coincident heavy usage. That is, I wouldn't guarantee that it would
never happen, but in practice it has been fine. Your old unit may be
limed up and in fact have less capacity than its rating.

When my daughter took showers I used to shout through the door, "leave
some water for the fishes in the sea."

"Heathcliff" wrote in message
ups.com...
When my daughter took showers I used to shout through the door, "leave
some water for the fishes in the sea."


Translation: I have no influence over the princess. She rules the house.

On May 29, 3:21�pm, "Dave" wrote:
"Heathcliff" wrote in message

ups.com...

When my daughter took showers I used to shout through the door, "leave
some water for the fishes in the sea."

*Translation: I have no influence over the princess. She rules the house.

I bet dave has a BAD attitude because kids ion his house have stream
rolled over him, he takes out the aggression by finding fault here.

Now take for instance a home with a 60 amp main breaker.

When too many people turn on appliances do you complain too much power
is being used? or do the right thing and upgrade to 100 or 200 amp
service?

In daves world power would be rationed. Turn on hairdryer 4 minutes,
now hair dryer off curling iron on 3 minute max, hey want toast OK you
have 2 minutes

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?

You may be trying to solve the wrong problem.

Replace the shower head with a hand-operated sprayer on a hose. Then
everyone can take a "Navy Shower:" Wet, lather, rinse. Total water usage,
1.6 gallons.

On 2007-05-29 16:33:11 -0400, "HeyBub" said:

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?

You may be trying to solve the wrong problem.

Replace the shower head with a hand-operated sprayer on a hose. Then
everyone can take a "Navy Shower:" Wet, lather, rinse. Total water usage,
1.6 gallons.

Unfortunately my daughter has been blessed with a head of THICK, CURLY,
LONG hair...just the shampooing portion takes a while...then there's
conditioning, etc.

On May 29, 4:38?pm, Michael wrote:
On 2007-05-29 16:33:11 -0400, "HeyBub" said:





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?

You may be trying to solve the wrong problem.

Replace the shower head with a hand-operated sprayer on a hose. Then
everyone can take a "Navy Shower:" Wet, lather, rinse. Total water usage,
1.6 gallons.

Unfortunately my daughter has been blessed with a head of THICK, CURLY,
LONG hair...just the shampooing portion takes a while...then there's
conditioning, etc.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

hot water cost minimal, wedding costs out of this world

Incidently point of use heaters are too small to do much of anything
for shower apoplications

for dave the complainer? would you have the pretty gal shave her head
to save water?