Folks, how many times have you run out of hot water? It can be pretty frustrating if it happens while you are in the middle of a shower, doing the dishes or trying to get all your laundry done.
You just might need a larger hot water (H.W.) tank to meet the needs of your family and your family’s lifestyle. Here are a few guidelines to help you choose the right sized hot water tank:
For Natural Gas H.W. Tanks:
If you have less than five people living in your home and you find that you don’t use an excessive amount of H.W., consider a 150 litre (33 imperial gallon) tank with a 36,000 BTU per hour input rating (10.6 KW).
If you have five or more people living in your home, or you simply use a lot of H.W. because everyone showers at about the same time each day, etc., consider a 189 litre (42 imperial gallon) hot water tank with a 45,000 BTU input (13.2 KW).
For Electric H.W. Tanks:
If you have less than four people living in your home, you’ll probably need a 175 litre (40 imperial gallon) tank with two 3-kilowatt heating elements.
If you have five or more people in your home or tend to use a lot of H.W., you may want to step up to a 270 litre (60 imperial gallon) tank with two 4.5-kilowatt elements.
Tips to Save Energy (and therefore money):
Insulate your H.W. piping with 12 millimetre (1/2 inch) fibreglass or foam insulation to reduce heat loss as the H.W. is distributed throughout your home.
Insulate any H.W. piping that passes through unheated areas such as crawl spaces, attics and carports, etc.
Remember to flush your H.W. tanks every couple of years to prevent sediment build-up on the bottom of the tank and on the heating elements which can reduce the lifespan of your H.W. heater.
Be Prepared For The Worst:
Have you ever left your house for a period of time and wondered what would happen if the H.W. tank was leaking or the toilet tank cracked or the dishwasher leaked.
At our home we had the personal experience with the latter two items. Luckily with the broken toilet tank we were home and could shut off the water.
On the occasion that the dishwasher leaked we were fast asleep upstairs. Normally we would have been unaware of the leak until morning and by then much damage would have occurred. However I awoke to the audible sound of an alarm going off. What was it you ask? The alarm was coming from the product called the Flood Stopper Valve which had shut off the water to the entire house when the sensor was activated. Since the Flood Stopper main control panel was blinking zone # 3 I knew to look at the dish-washer. Upon removing the front panel I discovered that the 1/2″ copper pipe feeding the dishwasher valve had come off allowing water to spray under the dishwasher thereby setting off the sensor and shutting off the main water supply.
This product was worth its weight in gold that night.
It’s Just That Easy!