Anyone have a gas water heater?

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imported_RedlineIRL

New member
I can't believe I am asking questions about a hot water here on Autopiaa, but I don't know anyone else personally with a gas water. I recently bought a house with a Whirlpool gas hot water heater, and I have noticed that I have to have the water running for about a minute before the water starts to get hot. The heater itself works and all, the gas doesn't shut off at all. The heater is located on the far corner closest to the kitchen wall, so there is probably 15 ft of piping from the heater to the kitchen faucet, and it still takes a good minute or so before the water starts to get hot.



A few people have suggested to me to get a insulated cover and to put foam insulation over the pipes, but with what little distance there is between the garage and kitchen, and with temperatures in the 50s, it does not seem like it should have to take that long to get hot water.



For gas water heaters supposedly being so efficient, I am not seeing how they can be. Is this typical behavior for a gas water heater, or does it sound like something is messed up on it?
 
It takes about that long for mine to get hot, especially upstairs. It gets hotter quicker in the downstairs, but it is not immediate. Not quite a minute, but probably closer to 30 seconds. It takes about a minute upstairs (especially first thing in the morning). I have a Ruud Hotwater Heater with a Powervent. Insulating the pipes will not do anygood as far as having instant hot water, but it will help to keep pipes from freezing if in a cold area of the house. My wife and I recently replaced ours 2 years ago and with the powervent, it was around $1100.00 installed. We were then pricing out the tankless "instant" hot water, which are much cheaper and is said to be much more efficient. Needless to say, after reading many reviews on the tankless hot water efficiency, coupled with the fact that these have endless hot water, when this hot water heater goes, it will be replaced with a tankless. This will come in handy when filling the whirlpool hot tub, too.
 
The problem is simply heat loss in the water lines, not heater efficiency.



When the faucet is off, water is in the entire run from the hot water heater to the faucet due to the pressure. This water will sit and cool over time and takes some time to get all the cooler water out before you actually get water from the heater. It may take 1/2 gallon or more of water before you flush the water cooling in the pipes to get hot water. Insulating pipes from the water heater can help but the loss depends on how your plumbing is done (distance of pipe from heater to the faucet).



If you really want efficient hot water and instant hot water consider a Rinnai tankless system. It heats on demand at the faucet.
 
Bunky said:
The problem is simply heat loss in the water lines, not heater efficiency.
Click to expand...





+1. Yeah, this issue has nothing to do with it being gas. It's simply the run from the tank to the faucet.



I'm fairly certain all our domestic hot water pipes have those foam insulating jackets on them. I'm pretty sure it's code in Massachusetts.







We've got a device like this in our house:



C. Charles Hahn said:
You can also get recirculation systems to add on to existing gas or electric hot water heaters:
Click to expand...





The foundation of the house is long and the builder added a loop with one of these circulators to keep the water warmer for the outlets at the far end of the house so it wouldn't take so long to get hot water. It does work.
 
You could run a re-circulation loop; find the furthest HW fitting and run a 3/4-inch pipe back to the water heater, connect to a spare connection (preferably near the bottom). Insulate the pipes to limit heat loss. If fitting a pump you'll need a 'flow switch that turns it on only when there is a HW requirement
 
Do insulate your pipes with foam covers. Insulate both the hot and cold pipes while you at it. The cold pipes won't have condensation and dripping in the hot humid summer months and the water will stay cooler in the pipes too. In the winter months the hot water in the pipes stays hot longer once they are insulated. Insulating the pipes also has the advantage of protecting them from freezing if you get severe cold snaps in your climate.
 
Most building codes require an expansion tank. These should be installed on the cold water line after the water meter and pressure regulator. If someone installed the expansion tank on a hot water line you will get the problems you discribe.
 
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