[at-l] felix's e-mail re making a diff - oh, and some picsfrom our wild ...

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 08:25 PM 2/9/2004 -0800, Casey Jaymes wrote:
>Are several small water heaters like this really more economical than one 
>large water heater? Doesn't usually work that way...
>
>Casey

The traditional tank heater heats large volumes of water and keeps it hot 
so it will be ready when you want it. A demand heater runs the water 
through a coiled tube around a heating element and heats the water only 
when the tap is turned on. There are sensors that turn off the heater when 
the flow of water in the pipe stops so you are paying to keep large volumes 
of water all night or while you are away at work all day.

A demand heater is more expensive initially because it is a more 
complicated device (flow sensors, etc.) but they are less costly to operate 
and are likely to last longer than a traditional tank if you have hard 
water because by not keeping the water constantly hot they don't accumulate 
mineral deposits as quickly. They come in individual tap size (about the 
size of a portable CD player) and in larger multiple tap sizes. The larger 
ones are about the size of a small day pack (see it's hiking related).

There are ways to make your traditional tank more efficient: add to the 
tank insulation with a tank wrap kit, insulate your hot water pipes between 
the tank and the tap and add a timer to the tank circuit that shuts it off 
during periods you won't be using the hot water for several hours. One of 
the simplest is to turn the tank thermostat down to 105? if it is set higher.

Saunterer