View Single Post
Old 09-05-10, 01:26 PM   #11
Patrick
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: East Coast of Florida, USA
Posts: 149
Thanks: 2
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NiHaoMike View Post
For a little energy saving, disable the bottom element. That will reduce the volume of water that is heated.
Thanks for the suggestion. Here is my dilemma. My tank is 50 gallons. My wife likes to take Jacuzzi baths in HOT water and the tub takes about 50 gallons to fill to a reasonable level.

My understanding of how the water heater works is that it runs on the lower element most of the time which heats the entire volume of the tank. But if you put a great demand on it by using a lot of water quickly, it kicks on the upper element to get "quick recovery" so that you're not getting excessively cold water in your shower/tub, etc.

So if I change it so that only the upper element runs, will my wife run out of hot water for her baths?

Patrick is offline   Reply With Quote