Has anyone done this or seen this?

[citywide service]

I thought several times about putting a 240volt timer on my water heater and wrapping it with insulation (its inside the house) to hold some heat.

I thought of using the 8145-20 timer from Johnstone supply but it is a bit pricey; probably pay for itself in energy savings but is there another option to consider?

I am going all electric and would like to save as much as possible on the bills so any other ideas are welcome as well.


Thanks,

Citywide.

[mattm]

I've put timers on water heaters several times. I use a 120v timer and break the control voltage. But as long as the timer is rated for your amperage you'll be ok. I don't know if you'll save much on a residential application considering recovery cost.

[otto]

Just break the power to the lower element, not both. That way the recovery won't eat all your savings. The timer contact won't be heavy enough for the element load, so you'll need a separate contactor rated for the amp draw.

[James 3528]

If you have a heat pump, put a energy recovery unit on it.

[t527ed]

they make timers for water heaters not as pricey as the 8145 timers.

[murphy2000]

Why not just use an everyday sprinkler timer ?

Run the timer output to a relay to handle the high amps from the water heater.

Just my 2 cents.

[air2spare]

a tankless hot water heater and be done with it

[oroy54]

Its not so much of the price of electicity but the water used.

[Diceman]

Also if ya really got some extra energy and time, get a pre-tank, just a reg tank that holds the water before it goes to the water heater, especially if you live north and incoming water can get down to 40 degrees in the winter, the pre-tank will bring it up to room temp anyway.

[The Penguin]

They say that if you wrap an extra layer of insulation around your tank and insulate the first six ft of hot water pipe you will save some dough

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by Diceman
Also if ya really got some extra energy and time, get a pre-tank, just a reg tank that holds the water before it goes to the water heater, especially if you live north and incoming water can get down to 40 degrees in the winter, the pre-tank will bring it up to room temp anyway.

How do you prevent condensation on that?

[Diceman]

Originally posted by condenseddave

Originally posted by Diceman
Also if ya really got some extra energy and time, get a pre-tank, just a reg tank that holds the water before it goes to the water heater, especially if you live north and incoming water can get down to 40 degrees in the winter, the pre-tank will bring it up to room temp anyway.

How do you prevent condensation on that?

Buy an insulated tank, like a reg water heater, probably the cheapest thing out there, but don't hook up the gas or electric.

[otto]

How do you prevent condensation on that?

I used to see those tanks in the city when I did res service. They do condense, and if you insulate them, then you lose the effect. Besides, they steal heat from your basement. They gotta warm up somehow. I think it was more effective when people had a small Kewanee coal burning boiler in the basement of a 2 flat, that's where I saw them. And they usually were disconnected. Huge beast of a tank made with rivets.

Wish I had the foresight to have a camera back then. I saw some pretty neat stuff in old basements.