Ware Heater Quality

Rick,

Electric water heater efficiency is 3.413 BTU/Watt. That conversion factor does not change with age of the heater. If the power is going in the heat ends up in the water. It has nowhere else to go! With a gas water heater, there are flue losses, some of the heat goes into the water and some goes up the flue. As a gas water heater ages, soot and corrosion and lime build up on the heat exchange surfaces; then more heat goes up the flue & less into the water, so the efficiency drops.

As for warranties, my brother is a full time plumber. He commonly sells tanks with 8-10 year warranties. Look around.

Stretch

Reply to
stretch
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Gas get less efficient with age not electric. Electric for most everyone is more expensive per btu. Electric for me in the midwest is 3x the cost of gas If you have gas heat consider gas your utility bill will show you Ng and Kwh costs, I junked my electric for gas.

Reply to
m Ransley

Is it true that electric hot water heaters run at far less efficiency as they age(like me, I guess). If so, is that in the design or just inevitable e.g. corrosion, buildup on the elements, etc.? Are there more efficient heaters available? These days it appears that 5 yrs is the life expectancy of most of them

cheers

Rick Hollett

Reply to
rick hollett

Alright, I can't spell either! How about Water Heater?

Reply to
rick hollett

Well no, it's just 100%.

And that conversion factor is 3.413 Btu _per hour_ per watt.

Then again, as crud builds up, recovery time lengthens.

Nick

Reply to
nicksanspam

Does this apply as well to a gas tankless water heater? Wayne

Reply to
Wayne Whitney

Reply to
rick hollett

No, it is not true. An electric water heater is always 100 percent efficient. The heat has to go somewhere and it goes in the water. If you are referring to insulation, then yes it could deteriorate some and allow more heat into the room instead of staying in the water. But over the heater's life time you would never notice the difference.

And no, a heater lifetime is not 5 years unless you live in a place that has severely corrosive water. Not sure if you mean the water heater or the electrical element. Elements in our hard water area commonly last 10 years or more, but some do fail as early as 4 or 5 years.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Gas tankless don`t loose efficiency, last 3 times as long and save energy every day, I junked my electric for a Bosch gas tankless. If you want tankless look at Rinnai , they are the most efficient.

Reply to
m Ransley

Why do you want to heat hot water?

Reply to
Oscar_Lives

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