Reduce hot water tank size

[Martik]

Is there any way to do this? I would like to get it down to 5-10gals to encourage wasteful kids from taking long showers.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

A 2 X 4 is about the only short term cure for this.

TURTLE

[effi]

what if they counter your move by taking long cold showers?

[plumbplumbplumb]

If they do counter your move, consider a compromise: Put a tankless point of use water heater at the shower.

Consider the Stiebel Eltron:

[Martik]

Good idea, and with a 3 minute timer should work well :)

[SQLit]

When I had the 3 kids in the house I just used a timer. There were 5 of us and a 30 gallon tank. Showers were 5 minutes and baths were 15. I installed a flow control shower head for the children's bathroom. They showered at 7-8 and the wifely and I were around 9-10.

[AUSTIN1880]

Sure, have your plumber replace your existing tank with a 10 gal tank. Of course then YOU can't take a long hot shower then either...

Ed

[scott_z500]

You could also try turning down the temperature knob on the water heater. Has almost the same effect as limiting the amount of hot water that they can use. Then put a tankless hot water heater on your own bathroom so you can take showers as long as you want.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

No Kids are smart and you will be waiting to take a show the first time you install this set up.

2 X 4 installed at the right place will fix this problem.

TURTLE

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Hey if you have any spec.s or type electric tankless equipment I would like to see it. You can send it to this e-mail addy here. I want a Electric type whole shower ability and not just a sink or small ability. I have a bunch of lines on gas type but no electric types.

TURTLE

[Matt]

I have to agree with turtle here. Whatever happened to discipline? There is nothing wrong with your water heater, nothing wrong with your plumbing system.

The problem is your kids are inconsiderate, and that is what needs to be repaired.

You could spend thousands on plumbing equipment to fix the problem, and the kids will work a way around it.

If you are dead set on spending money to fix the problem - I'd hire a plumber to cap the hot water feed to their shower. A week or 2 of cold showers may provide the incintive you are looking for.

[Greg O]

My wife wanted a larger heater because our daughter would drain our 40 gallon heater when she showers. I had to explain that it would not cure the problem, the kid would just take longer showers! Greg

[Steve B.]

Pull a wire off the bottom element and cap it off iwth a wire nut. Since heat rises the top element will keep the top of the tank hot pretty much reducing your capacity by half or more.

The down side to this is that you and/or your spouse and the washer and dishwasher are also handicapped by the lower amount of available hot water.

Steve B.

[Bubba]

Why not install very low flow shower heads and lower the water pressure to your home. If you dont have a pressure regulator into your home, install one. I got sick of cold showers with a 50 gal gas and 4 women in the house. Cut down the pressure, installed low flow shower heads (as in, the type that blow out more air than water) . Now they can take long showers and I still get hot water. Bubba

[Steve B.]

My sollution is similar. The low flow head is in the bathroom everyone else uses and the drilled out head is in the bathroom I use. Lucky for me nobody here has caught on to this in the last three years :-)

Steve B.

[stuart8181]

[Martik]

The lowest is 1.7gpm which is still alot ie: 20mins=34gals Maybe I'll experiment with different drill sizes

[andy everett]

[Martik]

Good idea except the idiots who finished the basement drywalled over the shutoff valves