Hot water heater

[TheMartianChick]

I consider my hot water heaters (my home has two) to be a part of my emergency water storage. They each hold 40 gallons so that is 80 gallons of water that is always getting refreshed and rotated. In an emergency, I can shut off the main and drain the tank with the spigot on the side of each one. For that reason, I'd probably never go to a tankless. In my area, when the power goes out, we still have running water. With the hot water tank, it takes awhile for it to cool off so we still have hot /warm water flowing from the tap for another day after the power goes out.

 

[Emerald]

I have to say that so far we haven't really been in a bind where I needed hot water super fast so it hasn't been a big deal here. and when I do fuss at it taking a bit to heat up I think about how many servants one needed back in pre electric days(or kids or self haha) to heat up water for a bath or dishes or a nice hand washing. but my mind wanders like that. Makes me special! lol

 

[Nifty]

I consider my hot water heaters (my home has two) to be a part of my emergency water storage. They each hold 40 gallons so that is 80 gallons of water that is always getting refreshed and rotated. In an emergency, I can shut off the main and drain the tank with the spigot on the side of each one. For that reason, I'd probably never go to a tankless. In my area, when the power goes out, we still have running water. With the hot water tank, it takes awhile for it to cool off so we still have hot /warm water flowing from the tap for another day after the power goes out.

Great point! We've talked about using ours for the exact same reason, but when we look into instant hot water heaters, that point never comes up as a "con" to having them. Good reminder!

 

[Emerald]

OH! I forgot! our big pressure tank for the well has a drain feature that our other one did not and so there is about (guessing here) maybe 100gallons in there. It is really big compared to our old one which was about 70 gallons - I'm thinking this summer about getting water tanks/barrels for our roof so that in the summer I can catch some water for the gardens. more prepping to do.

 

[Marianne]

Doh! I was pretty sure we'd go tankless, too. Never considered that I might want that water reserve.

BUT, we have three wells on the property so I never gave much thought about stockpiling water...unless a storm was coming. Then everything gets filled with water, bathtub, buckets, etc. No power=no water.

Under normal circumstances, I'd go tankless - JMO. It's a matter of lifestyle.

 

[danielburns271]

Find a durable heater, a heater that's really well known ,a heater is using electricity which is risky if not use properly...Buy a branded heater for your safety!

 

[chickenjoe]

Good point! Probably named by the same people that write "ATM Machine"


We were going to put in an instant hot water heater when we replaced our old tank one, but they were still just catching on in the US (they are pretty standard in lots of Europe) and the plumber was going to charge extra since he didn't know how to do it. IMO he should have offered to do it cheaper since he'd be learning something new on our dime (and possibly making mistakes).

Same thing for LED lights LED stands for Light emitting diode

 

[ducks4you]

We went tank less about 8 years ago. I love it. What people are surprised with is the "cold sandwich" when the cold water in the line needs to be emptied ahead of the hot water. I've been watching "This Old House" and they now make a hybrid tank less, which continually heats about 15 gallons of water and eliminates the cold sandwich.
Once you get the hot water going an ARMY can take a shower at my house. Mine is run on natural gas.