Options For Water Heater?

Tonkadad

What are my options for heating water for a household of 8 people. The 50 gal electric heater we have now is not cutting it.

It would be nice to have hot water when taking a shower.

thanks,

Bruce

Double-A

What are the ages and bathing habits of the 8 people?

In other words, are they adults or kids (pre-teen) and do they take a bath, or shower, how long usually, and when, morning or evening before bed?

How many bathrooms?
How many shower stalls?

Do you have gas on the property, or available in the neighborhood? Natural or Propane?

Do you have a good plumber?

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

Ron The Plumber

On-Demand tankless, no need for a tank.

kbsparky

Try using a Rinnai unit

kyle181

go with a takagi tankless unit and a 40 gallon electric tied in as a holding tank for back up

KillerToiletSpider

Back up for what?

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.

Herk

If you've got eight people in the house I'm hoping you have more than one bathroom. In that case, I'd probably want two 50-gallon heaters. But it depends on the layout of the house and the number of baths, as well as the location of the kitchen. If you have three bathrooms but everybody uses the same one, two water heaters in different locations wouldn't help much. It's also possible to manifold water heaters together.

A 50-gallon high recovery natural gas heater would produce a lot more hot water than a 50-gallon electric.

__________________
There are no dumb questions - just a lot of inquisitive idiots.

robertc65

Hey Double -A,

I think your questions are relevant, but things do change. What if the kids grow older? What if two people decide to start taking showers in the evening instead of the morning? You see what I mean? If a plumber asked me these questions in trying to decide what size or how many hot water heaters to install, I would just have to laugh.