Water heater question...

[04 commemorative]

I have a 1 year old AO Smith 50 gallon electric water heater (note I didn't say "hot water heater")...if I were to go away for 10 to 12 days would it be better to turn it off or leave it on keeping temp ? I'm wondering what the great VB minds have to say :seasix:

[Don Rickles]

Are you Jewish? :confused5:

[Force-1]

Does it have a vacation setting?

[04 commemorative]

Are you Jewish? :confused5:

I was once made an honorary Jew,does that count :confused5:

[Frankie the Fink]

I do not, modern versions are pretty efficient but I doubt there is any mechanical harm in doing so...however, if you have any nasties lurking around in the tank (read up on Legionnaire's disease) lower temps will let them thrive (hence I do not)..

https://www.hotwatersafety.org/blogs/what-to-know-about-legionella-bacteria-in-hot-water-heater-tanks

[Bruze]

I have a 1 year old AO Smith 50 gallon electric water heater (note I didn't say "hot water heater")...if I were to go away for 10 to 12 days would it be better to turn it off or leave it on keeping temp ? I'm wondering what the great VB minds have to say :seasix:

Won't make a big difference in electric usage.

However, if you have a well I would shut the pump off, or if you're on municipal water I would shut off the main incoming -- all this in case something blows so you won't be flooded.

[04 commemorative]

I always shut the water main to the home whenever we go away for 2 or more days for that reason....never know when a hose or water tank is going to take a shit.

[Vandelay Industries]

I always shut the water main to the home whenever we go away for 2 or more days for that reason....never know when a hose or water tank is going to take a shit.

This. And leave the water heater as is.


If you have a hot water heater, turn that down. :yesnod:

[Big bob]

Not needed but a good time drain and flush and replace anode rod.:seasix:

[Vandelay Industries]

Not needed but a good time drain and flush and replace anode rod.:seasix:

Replace a year old anode rod? :skia:

[Big bob]

Replace a year old anode rod? :skia:


I missed that but doesn't hurt to check. Some last longer than others depending on many things.:seasix:

[Mick]

Won't make a big difference in electric usage.

:skep:

Unless he has one of those "perfectly insulated" tanks that I used to run across in theory classes in thermodynamics, it will reduce the amount of electricity used.

[the new me]

Replace a year old anode rod? :skia:

Yes. Replace it with a powered anode. They don't require changing so you don't ever have to worry about whether you replaced the anode too late and you've eliminated one more maintenance task in your life.

[Unsuspicious]

:skep:

Unless he has one of those "perfectly insulated" tanks that I used to run across in theory classes in thermodynamics, it will reduce the amount of electricity used.

How many days does it take for a tank to lose all of its heat? I think the energy savings would only start once it plateaus

[Yadkin]

Turn it off.

[Onebadcad]

All this goes away when you take OBC advice, get the tankless.

[Vandelay Industries]

Yes. Replace it with a powered anode. They don't require changing so you don't ever have to worry about whether you replaced the anode too late and you've eliminated one more maintenance task in your life.

:seasix:

I did that with my 6 year old gas unit a couple months ago.

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[Big bob]

:seasix:

I did that with my 6 year old gas unit a couple months ago.

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I have wondered about those. But mine only get used a few months then get drained.:cert:

[GTOguy]

I have wondered about those. But mine only get used a few months then get drained.:cert:

Down in Boyd, or up at the Michigan place?:)

[Frankie the Fink]

How many days does it take for a tank to lose all of its heat? I think the energy savings would only start once it plateaus

Yes - and there are devices, smart ones, that will cut off the water supply to your entire house and notify you if a major leak occurs...

Phyn makes one version but there are others....

[BayouCountry]

For the little money saved, I would rather have hot water when I get home. If I leave for a month then I will shut it down.

I had a main valve installed when I did some plumbing upgrades. I haven’t used it when I went on vacation. If I do shut off the water I will also shut off the electric water heater just to be safe.

[Mick]

How many days does it take for a tank to lose all of its heat? I think the energy savings would only start once it plateaus

No, when no one is using hot water, you only have to use electricity to replace the heat that is lost to the surrounding environment. As soon as the tank starts to cool at all, the driving force for heat loss (delta T) is lowered, so the loss is less. The rate of savings is maximized when the tank reaches ambient temperature, but some savings happens while it is cooling down.

[tjfontaine]

10-12 days I wouldn't bother.

I also replaced my anode rod this year with the same powered one that Vandelay did. My water heater is only 4 years old, and we have VERY good water here without a lot of minerals. BUT, the old anode rod - at only 4 years old - was in similar condition to Vandelays. Gave our system a really good flush. We also shut off the water when we are on vacay buy my homeautomation system takes care of all that for me and it also monitors for leaks throughout the house.

[04 commemorative]

Yes. Replace it with a powered anode. They don't require changing so you don't ever have to worry about whether you replaced the anode too late and you've eliminated one more maintenance task in your life.

How does that work ?
The ceiling above my water heater is to close to the top so I would have to either drain the tank and tilt it over or drain the tank and pull the rod up,hold it with vice grips and hack saw it off in one or maybe two pieces. I was figuring on getting one of the rods in segments to put in but This interests me too.

[tjfontaine]

04

Yeah - same thinking here last fall. Then I found the powered anodes and did research on those on youtube.

I had my plumber install it - usually I am DIY but I had him here for like 5 other things so I had HIM remove the old one (usually they are STUCK on there) and drain it.

If you DIY it - rent an impact wrench from Home Depot or ? and put the socket on there I watched him do mine came right out.

Well worth it to do the powered. My plumber works for one of the big, good HVAC companies here and says they are installing these on many of their high end builds now.

[Big bob]

A impact is a must but be very careful and just barely break it lose. If you let it spin it can do significant damage. :sadangel:

[Humanoid 3.0]

1 year old? Should have got a hybrid water heater. Would have saved you more in the long run vs shutting it off for 10-12 days. Now you sound like hippy matt. The only real way to know how much savings you would get is to know how many times it cycles on to keep the temp.

Here is some calculation off the interwebs, insert your own numbers

A well insulated water heater loses about 1/2 to 1 degree of temperature per hour. A 50 gallon water heater with a standby loss of 0.75 degree per hour would lose 50 x 8.34 x .75 = 313.33 BTUs per hour. In 24 hours that's 7,506 btus per day. At 3.41 btus per watt, that's 2201 watts, 2.2 kwh per day. At perhaps $0.10 per kwh, that's a cost of about $0.22 per day.

That's not a lot of money, but there are other reasons to turn off the water heater anyway even though it may not save a lot of electricity. For one thing, if there is a loss of water pressure due to a leak in the water heater or somewhere else in the house, the heating elements will burn up if they're not immersed in water.

[Vandelay Industries]

10-12 days I wouldn't bother.

I also replaced my anode rod this year with the same powered one that Vandelay did. My water heater is only 4 years old, and we have VERY good water here without a lot of minerals. BUT, the old anode rod - at only 4 years old - was in similar condition to Vandelays. Gave our system a really good flush. We also shut off the water when we are on vacay buy my homeautomation system takes care of all that for me and it also monitors for leaks throughout the house.

I flushed mine too. First time for that heater. :willy:

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[Vandelay Industries]

How does that work ?
The ceiling above my water heater is to close to the top so I would have to either drain the tank and tilt it over or drain the tank and pull the rod up,hold it with vice grips and hack saw it off in one or maybe two pieces. I was figuring on getting one of the rods in segments to put in but This interests me too.

Anode rods are soft, a hack saw will go through it like butter.

There's a fireplace upstairs above my water heater resulting in less space above, so I had to clamp & cut too.

[Humanoid 3.0]

They sell foldable anode rods :yesnod:

https://images.thdstatic.com/productImages/7b0a8c03-92fb-49f5-9e84-8e939a08211f/svn/cmi-inc-water-heater-anode-rods-m341444-c3_600.jpg

[Force-1]

Tankless FTW!

[04 commemorative]

I was told that electric on demand water heaters are not the win.

[Force-1]

I was told that electric on demand water heaters are not the win.

Mine is gas.

[Yadkin]

Pro tip for taking out anodes, or rusted exhaust manifold bolts (similar). Torque out first. If it's seized then torque in, just enough to move it, then out. You may need to repeat this cycle several times, and then again if it starts to seize again as you're removing the threaded part.

[Vandelay Industries]

They sell foldable anode rods :yesnod:

https://images.thdstatic.com/productImages/7b0a8c03-92fb-49f5-9e84-8e939a08211f/svn/cmi-inc-water-heater-anode-rods-m341444-c3_600.jpg

Those are great for travel.

[Humanoid 3.0]

Those are great for travel.

Can double as some sort of extended nunchucks :issues:

[jw38]

Tankless FTW!

Mine is gas.

:iagree:

[Frankie the Fink]

I was told that electric on demand water heaters are not the win.

If you live in Florida with hurricanes and possible power outages and infrastructure loss, knowing you have 80 gallons (in my case) of potable water in a tank is a comfort, I'll never go tankless...

And there are several youtube videos of removing the anode rods, on the tougher ones, plumbers use ratchet straps around the heater or rig support to a wall stud to keep the whole tank from spinning.

[the new me]

How does that work ?
The ceiling above my water heater is to close to the top so I would have to either drain the tank and tilt it over or drain the tank and pull the rod up,hold it with vice grips and hack saw it off in one or maybe two pieces. I was figuring on getting one of the rods in segments to put in but This interests me too.

Re getting the old one out: As has been mentioned, they are soft. You can probably bend it as it comes out, too. Depending on condition, it may be very easy to bend.

Regarding how powered anodes work: First, let's talk about unpowered anodes.

Water heater tanks are made of steel. The water in the tank acts as an electrolyte, i.e. allows the movement of electrons when there is an electrical potential between, for instance, dissimilar metals. Typically, the steel of the heater's water tank gives up electrons more easily than whatever other metal is normally present. This causes corrosion in the tank, which lets the tank leak, and causes you to buy a new water heater.

A sacrificial metal that gives up electrons more easily than steel can be put in the tank. We call this sacrificial metal an anode. Anodes are not just found in water heaters. They are a common feature of boats, especially in salt water. The friction of the movement of the boat on the water tends to generate a small electrical current that will cause metals on the boat to corrode, i.e. give up electrons. On boats the sacrificial anode is typically made of zinc. They more commonly call these "sacrificial zincs" on boats. The sacrificial zinc is typically bolted to the outside of the hull below the water line. They are replaced on condition, unless you like having other metals, e.g. your propellor or prop shaft or metal hull (if your hull is metal), be sacrificed instead. But it's conceptually the same thing as the anode in your water heater. Anodes for water heaters are typically made of aluminum or magnesium. IMO magnesium is better because it's generally good for your health to get more magnesium. Many people believe aluminum is actually toxic and prefer to avoid it in their drinking water (and cooking equipment).

So if an anode's job is to give up electrons, what does a powered anode do? It takes electrons from your house power and donates those electrons more easily than the steel of the tank and more easily than whatever the powered anode's emitter is made of.

The ones I have get their DC power from a wall wart (plugged into the house AC).

If you pay attention, you'll see what seems to be the exact same water heater available at two different price points and the guarantee is longer with the more expensive heater. Why? Because the more expensive heater will have more than one anode (typically two). So it takes twice as long to use up two anodes as it would to use up only one, thus they can guarantee the tank for twice as long. Remember, when the anodes are used up, your water heater's tank becomes the sacrificial metal.

But why pay extra for more anodes? Why not just change the anode? Since time immemorial people have asked this question. But many people find when it's their turn to prove to the world that you can just keep changing the anode and the water heater's tank will last decades, that they forget to change the anode or that it's too difficult to change for some reason, like the tank is already starting to corrode because the anode is a little too worn, etc.

So if you put in a powered anode when the water heater is new, you'll never have to deal with funked up anodes again. Buy the heater with only a single anode. Take the anode out when the heater is being installed and put in a powered anode. After that all you have to do is occasionally test the powered anode. Mine has a couple of test points on it and you use a VOM to make sure that it tests within limits. (Powered anodes can fail, but not because they are consumed. They can fail because of electrical problems, mechanical damage, etc.) A good time to test the powered anode is when you flush your tank out every year. (It is also recommended to remove and inspect a regular anode when you flush the tank out so you can stay ahead of potential failure. But who does that? If you did, though, the anode would be relatively easy to remove each year. They typically get hard to remove when it has been years between removals.)

[the new me]

I must point out that how long your unpowered anode(s) last depends on how much hot water you use and the condition of the water coming into the water heater. Some people report that their local water causes a water heater's anode to be fully consumed in only a few months.

A powered anode eliminates having to worry about how often your anode will need to be changed.

[A/E]

Are you Jewish? :confused5:

As an admirer of the Hebrew Folk's Financial Savvy . . .

How do I buddy up for Financial Tips and AdviSe ?

Is it . . .

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Asking for a Wealthy Friend . . . :leaving:

[Vette40th]

I always shut the water main to the home whenever we go away for 2 or more days for that reason....never know when a hose or water tank is going to take a shit.

Great idea. Now to find a T wrench water meter keys the significant other can use too.. They all seem to suck