water heater

**sinopa27** · 12-07-2009, 05:16 AM

I read on someone's post that they cut off their water heater to save money.

I want to know if that is ok to do that. I know we only need the hot water when we wash dishes and take a shower. Otherwise, the hot water tank is sitting there with hot water and energy being used to keep it hot.

Can I shut the water heater off and turn on a few minutes before I need it to take a shower?
Will this mess up my water heater??

Also, I want to turn down the temp of the water heater and I don't know what to do.

*FYI, no man in my home to help me. So please explain in layman's terms.

**ladytoysdream** · 12-07-2009, 05:52 AM

Some people have a schedule of turning off and then back on their hot water heaters. If I did that with mine, I would have to do it at the breaker box. Flip the switch.

Currently our's is not using electric. We had a heat exchanger put on it when we did our heating system for our outside wood furnace in late summer of 2008. Cuts down the electric bill by about $ 30 a month. Wood costs are less than $ 600 a year to heat entire house and all our hot water.

**savvy_sniper** · 12-07-2009, 07:58 AM

Look on the water heater for the temperature setting knob. I just turned mine back a notch and waited a few days to see the results. In the winter I turn it up one notch. Once I got the temperature turned down as much as possible, I only had a minimum gas bill every month about 6 months out of the year.

You can also go to your local home improvement store and buy an insulated blanket that goes around your hot water heater. It helps to keep the heat in.

**sinopa27** · 12-07-2009, 10:20 PM

Ok....I tried to turn the little gauge that is on the water heater. And water started leaking out. So, I stopped. I am going to have to find out how to turn the water temp down. I will go and get an insulated blanket also. Thanks for the advice.

**Greebo** · 12-07-2009, 10:24 PM

Wrong valve.

The temperature controls will be near the bottom and very clearly marked as a temperature control.

**McD** · 12-07-2009, 10:29 PM

Sinopa, have you checked youtube for instructional videos? The year hubby was in Iraq, youtube helped me fix my garbage disposal, light the pilot light on my water heater, etc.

Also, the temperature valve on my water heater has an area marked vacation--helps me figure out which is which.

**sinopa27** · 12-08-2009, 01:07 AM

I have a gray metal cover with screws in it. I am going to get a screwdriver and open it up. Thanks FV friends!

**sinopa27** · 12-08-2009, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by MrsMcDowell

Sinopa, have you checked youtube for instructional videos? The year hubby was in Iraq, youtube helped me fix my garbage disposal, light the pilot light on my water heater, etc.

Also, the temperature valve on my water heater has an area marked vacation--helps me figure out which is which.

Awesome idea. I didn't think of this. I need to go to youtube more often.

**MaryCarney** · 12-08-2009, 01:59 AM

You can buy a water heater timer - we have one and it cost around $40. (Pretty sure it came from Lowe's) I'm not at home right now or I'd go look at it and tell you the brand.

Ours is set to be 'on' from 5-9am and 5-9 pm, and there is a manual over-ride switch, too. When we installed it (probably 6 years ago) we saw an almost immediate decrease of $20 per month to our electric bill.

**Grainlady** · 12-08-2009, 09:58 AM

Do you have an electric or gas water heater?

Turning the temperature below 120°F can lead to bacteria growth in your hot water tank. The potential for development of Legionella bacteria, which can lead to Legionnaires' disease, has been found in warm water in hot water heaters.

It's recommend you keep electric water heaters at a minimum of 140°F, while some say a bare minimum of 130°F might work; while a 120°-125°F temp for a gas heater is minimal. Not only because of the bacteria but because of the design of electric vs gas. I've read several places suggesting keeping an electric heater at 140°F.

**old_lady_in_the_shoe** · 12-08-2009, 11:28 AM

We have an electric water heater and we cannot turn ours off and on, other than flipping the breaker. We do flip the breaker off and on. We usually flip it off at night when we go to bed and then flip it on in the morning. The water is insulated well and the water stays hot throughout the night, in fact I get up and take a shower every morning with no problems. We keep ours set on 140, it can go a bit lower, but it doesnt seem "hot" when we lower it and if it gets to low, then our dishwasher will have to heat the water and therefor saves us nothing. The temp. should be plainly marked, once you find it. On our older on it only said hot, hotter and hottest, we used the hotter setting as the hot setting was too cool. YOu just have to fidget with it and see what you think after a couple of days.

**fixer** · 12-08-2009, 11:44 AM

I would lower the temperature as much as possible, then use an insulating blanket. If you want to shut it off during the day, I recommend a timer. Breakers are designed to be an over current protection device, not a switch. Using one this way is not a long term solution. I installed a switch and a timer for our water heater. Depending on how well it is insulated, it will take time to recover after being turned off.

**Greebo** · 12-08-2009, 12:16 PM

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricit...atertimer.html

**MaryCarney** · 12-08-2009, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by MaryCarney

You can buy a water heater timer - we have one and it cost around $40. (Pretty sure it came from Lowe's) I'm not at home right now or I'd go look at it and tell you the brand.

Ours is set to be 'on' from 5-9am and 5-9 pm, and there is a manual over-ride switch, too. When we installed it (probably 6 years ago) we saw an almost immediate decrease of $20 per month to our electric bill.

It's called The Little Gray Box and the manufacturer is InterMatic

**KeithBC** · 12-08-2009, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by sinopa27

Can I shut the water heater off and turn on a few minutes before I need it to take a shower?

No, you definitely cannot turn it on "a few minutes" before you need the hot water. Depending on how long the heat was off and how well insulated the heater is, the temperature of the water may have dropped a considerable amount. (Install extra insulation to reduce this.) It takes more than a few minutes to warm it back up again. You'd need to turn the heat back on at least an hour before you need the hot water.

If you want a more permanent fix, you might want to investigate installing an "on demand" water heater. This type of heater (more common in Europe) does not store any hot water, so it does not use any energy when you are not using hot water. It comes on only when you open a hot water faucet, and it heats the water almost instantly. The downside is that it takes a ton of electricity to run it when you are using water, so you might need an electric system upgrade.