Water Heater again!

[clare]

s are not made to be "accurate" or "Linear". They are simply a fuel level indicator. They are GENERALLY very repeatable. I have never, personally, owned a car that the fuel guage would read too low one time and too high the next, and I've only had one that would effectively run out of gas before the guage showed empty - and on that one (1995 Pontiac TransSport) it wasn't a guage issue. If I hit rough road (washboad) with lessr than 1/4 tank the bottom of the plastic tank would shake so much the fuel pickup sucked air, and the engine ran out of gas. Bleed the air out of the injector rail, and it would start right up and go another 70km or more on smooth roads. Most cars are set up to turn on the low fuel warning with a 20 mile or

30km "reserve". I had one that when it said empty it WAS empty, and one that would go 100km after the guage stopped moving below empty - but both were CONSISTENT that way.

I DO zero my ODO at every fillup - and I DO watch the trip meter - but I watch the fuel guage to determine when I need fuel. My Ranger can give me 15MPG, or it can give me 27MPG - and that is a BIG difference in the number of miles I get on a tank!!!!!

Same with the Taurus. 22-34MPG depending on road conditions, fuel, speed, temperature etc, all on the same trip (3000 miles) over a 2 week period.

[philoÂÂ]

You are entitled to ask

[CRNG]

On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 15:23:02 -0700, "Julie Bove" wrote in

What is the make/model of the water heater?

[Julie Bove]

Not sure of the model. It's on there somewhere as I heard the plumber talking about it. I just didn't see it. It's a 50 gallon, Bradford White.

[Julie Bove]

I personally don't use a lot of hot water. I take quick showers, rarely use the dishwasher and almost always wash clothing in cold. But... Both daughter and husband take super long showers and she is guilty of letting the shower run for 10-20 minutes or longer before getting in it. Twice she has fallen asleep with the shower running. I don't even notice until I realize that it is very quiet and then I can feel the steam wafting out here. By then the entire room is dripping wet. Neither she nor husband will use the vent fan! Oh and body take super hot showers. I can not bear to get in the water at the temperature they do.

[Julie Bove]

Yes. But I really don't think that was the problem. It is no longer getting the fault that it was since he changed the part.

[Stormin Mormon]

Thermopile: N. The domed, mounded up mass of used thermostats back at the shop, cause the boss never throws anything away.

Thermopile: V. The act of technician putting thermo- stats on top of the thermopile.

Thermopiler: N. The technician who is forced to put the thermostat on the pile, rather than throw it out.

Gomerpiler: N. A technician who only replaces thermostats but doesn't know how to diagnose anything else. A home owner can be a Gomerpiler.

[VinnyB]

On Fri, 5 Sep 2014 02:30:25 -0700, "Julie Bove" wrote in

This is acceptable behavior from a daughter?

[BenDarrenBach]

Thermo-pile: Noun; A hemorrhoid induced by a over-heated Jacuzzi.

[micky]

You're right.

You-2 should lay down the law. This is a tremedous waste of everything. gas or electricity; water, and the steam is not good for the house. Even in the biggest house it only takes 2 minutes for the hot water to arrive.

As to hot showers, my mother thought hot baths were wonderful. She begged me to try them and finally promised she'd never say another word if I tried one once. I did and I hated it. She kept her word, though.

I take warm baths, and have to add more hot water every so often. I brought in a thermometer to find out if the water was getting colder or if I was just getting used to it, but I have only done one inconclusive test.

My new water heater was not set as hot as the previous one, also bought from Sears. I've been setting it up a little at a time, and then one time it jumped up a degree or so on its own. I'm not sure how hot I want it to be. It's nice that I can still put my hand in straight hot water without burning myself, but if I don't make the tub hot enough on the first 3/4's, just adding hot water is not enough to finish the job.

[philoÂÂ]

So you are saying that it's now fixed?

[BenDarrenBach]

Something like: DS1-50S6FBN

[Malcom "Mal" Reynolds]

both daughter and husband have many behaviours that most would find unacceptable. daughter refuses to cook most of the time but has special food needs that the others don't. she also seems incapable of shopping for food correctly.

it's obvious that with the major heat demand being the showers being abused, a 50 gallon tank is absurd. smaller tank will teach them to use water more wisely...eventually

[Julie Bove]

I looked on the receipt. It does have a thermopile.

[Julie Bove]

I know it's on there. I just didn't see it.

[Julie Bove]

It's not acceptable for anyone but it's still what happened.

[Julie Bove]

We used to take baths. We had to quit for a variety of reasons. One being getting in and out of the tub without injury. We have a stupidly huge jetted tub. I do prefer the tub but can't get in and out well and the water heater simply isn't big enough to heat enough water to fill it.

[Julie Bove]

I guess that remains to be seen. The plumber never did get back to me but he said he might not until Mon. It is working now and there are no faults.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Temperature should be 120 to 130. Any hotter is a scalding potential problem, anything less invites bacteria to thrive.

Filling a big tub takes lots of water and energy. Showers can be much more efficient unless you buse them running the water for a long time before getting in, etc.

[TomR]

I think it would really be helpful if you would go and take a look at the model number and post the model number here. If you have a digital camera, sometimes an easy way to see and read the model number is to take a photo of it.

Among other things, that would allow people here to determine if it is a direct vent water heater etc., and also enable looking up the various parts that your particular water heater has.

You could also go to

and try clicking on "Repair Help" in the upper right hand corner of the page. Water heaters are shown under "Heating and Cooling". And, the actual parts are shown on the main page.

Also, with a digital camera or cell phone camera, you could take a photo or two of the "venting" that keeps coming up as a possible cause/issue/problem. You could use a free website like

to create a link to the photos that you could post here.

This is a long thread, and you have been very responsive to what has been posted, but I think a little more detail about the specific model number and what the venting looks like may help -- especially since you said that you keep spending a lot of money having people come out to look at and try to fix the problem.

Good luck.