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Things you can do to increase amount of hot water
 
Use 6 wraps teflon tape
? White for water lines
? Yellow for gas lines

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Teflon tape at Amazon

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Pipe wrench at Amazon
Channel locks

Resources:
How to remove rusted element


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Knipex channel locks
Irwin pliers
replace anode rod
Inspect anode each 2-5 years
Anode rod prevents tank from rusting
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Anode rods at Amazon

Resources:
Replace anode rod
How to maintain water heater

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Impact wrench at Amazon

Resources:
Replace anode rod
How to remove short water heater nipple
Water pressure gauge

Pressure gauge/ attach to water heater drain valve
Pressure over 80 psi can damage water heater and household plumbing
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Water pressure gauge
Temperature-pressure gauge

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Identify water heater valves
Troubleshoot water pressure
Automatic water heater shut off valve
Prevent flood
Automatic water shut off valve
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Water detectors at Amazon
Automatic water heater leak shut off at Amazon
Resources:
Leaking water heater/ steps
Pressure reducing valve
Pressure reducing valve
Pressure over 80 psi can damage water heater and household plumbing
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Pressure reducing valve

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Identify water heater valves
Troubleshoot water pressure
Sharkbite pressure gauge
Sharkbite pressure gauge

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Sharkbite pressure gauge

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Water heater valves

Water heater circulation system

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Grundfos at Amazon

Resources:
How to install recirculation system
COLD side Sharkbite flexible water heater connector
COLD side Sharkbite flexible water heater connector

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Sharkbite water heater connection
Braided water heater line
Stainless steel flexible connection

Resources:
How to install electric water heater
How to install gas water heater
Leaking water heater
HOT side Sharkbite flexible water heater connector
HOT side Sharkbite flexible water heater connector

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Sharkbite water heater connection
Braided water heater line
Stainless steel flexible connection
Braided water heater line
Flexible water heater connection

Resources:
How to install electric water heater
How to install gas water heater
Leaking water heater
89T thermostat kit
Electric water heater thermostats
Thermostats stick melt and come out of calibration... replace thermostat
Symptoms: Cold water, uneven temperatures, reset tripping, TP releasing water
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Water heater thermostats at Amazon

Resources:
How to replace electric water heater thermostat
Add another thermostat to water heater
How to wire thermostats
Marathon water heater thermostats
Two water heaters
Troubleshoot electric water heater
Icon gas valve   
Gas water heater thermostats
If tank is overheating or not heating correctly, replace thermostat
Symptoms: Cold water, uneven temperatures, TP releasing water
Buy:
Gas water heater thermostats at Amazon

Resources:
How to replace gas water heater thermostat
Add another thermostat to water heater
Troubleshoot gas water heater

Things to do:

#1 Adjust water heater thermostat to higher temperature.
Resource How to adjust thermostat
Higher thermostat setting such as 130-140°F means the tank is full of hotter water ... which means more cold is mixed at shower valve to temper bath-shower down to typical 104-110°F°.
Once heated, the 130-140° tank holds more hot water energy that should yield more usable hot because less hot is drawn out of tank for each gallon of 104° hot used at shower ... which also means less cold water enters tank, and tank cools slower ... so a tank full of 130-140° water lasts longer than tank heated to 120°, and the result is higher first hour delivery (amount of usable hot water from a single continuous draw).

Adjust water heater temperature higher in winter when incoming water is colder.
120° F is temperature for optimal savings, 140°F is for killing bacteria  
Temperatures above 135° are increasingly dangerous and will scald (burn) the skin in seconds, and can lead to permanent injury or death.
Older people and children have less sensitivity in feet and extremities, cannot react quickly, and are more easily injured by hot water.
To protect against scalding, install mixing valve at water heater. Mixing valve can be adjusted to different temperatures. The valve automatically adds cold water to prevent high temperature water from entering household plumbing.
Buy from my affiliate links:
Mixing valve kit
Water heater mixing valves
Honeywell mixing device#2 Mixing valve can increase amount of hot water when waater heater thermostat is set higher than 120°F.
The valve automatically adds cold water to prevent high temperature water from entering household plumbing. This also reduces the amount of cold water that enters tank each time there is a draw.
Every 10 feet of 1/2 pipe holds .12 gallons of water.
If bathroom is 20 feet away ... 3 showers per day = .72 gallons per day x 365 days = 262 gallons of cold water that does not enter tank.
That means 262 gallons of cold water is not heated to thermostat set point.

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Mixing valve kit
Water heater mixing valves
Resource
How to save hot water using mixing valve
Two water heaters#3 Add a second heater or use old heater as passive tempering tank
You can preheat cold water with a passive tempering tank that uses ambient room temperature to heat incoming cold water before it enters main tank.
Or turn on power to tempering tank when guests arrive or demand is higher.
Resources:
Two water heaters
Tempering tank
Under counter water heater#4 Hand washing adds cold water to tank
When hot is turned on, even a moment, cold water immediately enters water heater.  This cools the tank and reduces amount of hot water inside tank.

Install small under counter water heater and connect to cold water so it draws no hot from tank.
Connecting small heater to cold means you can wash hands, clean up etc without removing hot from main water heater. This means the main heater will supply more hot water. This is also a good strategy for conserving water without waiting for hot to arrive from main tank.
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Point of use water heaters
#5 Use dual handle faucet: 
When hot is turned on, even a moment, cold water immediately enters water heater. 
A single handled faucet lifted in center will draw hot water from tank, and add cold water into tank.
Applies to gas and electric heaters. Buy Dual handle faucets at Amazon

Adding cold water to tank reduces the amount of hot water inside tank resulting in lower first hour delivery (usable hot water from 1 draw).
Installing dual handled faucets makes it easier to isolate hot-cold usage and avoid adding cold water to heater.
You can also turn off hot water going to each sink, and install small under counter heater at 1 sink and use that faucet for hand washing.

Tea Kettle
Use a tea kettle, pot heater at sink. For some folks, this saves drawing hot water from heater.
A small tea kettle keeps water warm or hot to make tea or wash a glass etc.
Buy:
750 watt pot heater
1500 watt Tea kettle
#6 General things to do to increase amount of hot water: How to increase amount of water:

-Buy new heater with higher efficiency if old heater is on last days. Don't oversize, don't undersize, buy right size What size water heater
-Maintain water heater to keep efficiency high How to maintain water heater
-Clean sediment out of tank Clean sediment out of tank

-Fix faucet cartridges. Bad single-handle cartridge can add cold water to hot. Check for crossover
-Fix drips and leaks that run hot water out of tank.
-Use a shower shut off valve Buy: Shower shut off

-Insulate water pipes throughout house. Insulate water heater   Read 9-ways to save with water heater

-Install two water heater tanks. Two water heaters
-Install tempering tank to passively preheat incoming cold water in winter. Tempering tank

-Install under-counter water heater at sinks. How to install under-counter water heater
-Install insta-hot faucet in kitchen. Use pot boiler at kitchen sink. See examples

-Install larger water heater with more gallons. How to install gas water heater
-Gas water heaters heat more quickly than electric. Buy 50,000 BTU heater instead of 40,000 See chart
-Install water heater with higher recovery rating, and higher first-hour delivery. Calculate first hour

-Electric water heater can be rewired to increase recovery time so tank heats faster and delivers more hot before running out. Rewire electric water heater for simultaneous
-Install larger wattage element in electric heater water if wiring supports conversion See chart  Should I replace 4500 watt elements with 5000 watt elements?

Change water use
-Install low flow shower heads and aerators so hot lasts longer.
-Don't use the oversized bathtub
-Take showers instead of bath. Shower uses 5-9 gallons hot water, bath uses 12-15 gallons See details
-Take showers in quick succession so hot water located at top of tank does not cool when incoming cold water arrives.
-Do not turn on hot water when using cold water so more hot is available. Single handled faucet lifted straight up will cause cold water to immediately enter tank  Read about:. Dip tube  &  Crossover

Other options:
-Electric: convert elements from non-simultaneous to simultaneous operation. requires additional circuit breaker and wire to heater, and rewire of heater. Simultaneous wiring
-Gas water heater: install external air intake so ambient room temperature is not lowered in winter when combustion draws cold air through cracks and doors.

-Reduce water pressure in house using pressure reducing valve. Turn down water well pressure. Hot water lasts longer. Plumbing pipes and fixtures last longer.
-Clean restrictions in pipes. Low hot water pressure
-Shorten distance from hot water tank to usage point. Distance hot water travels in 30 seconds

-Install recirculation system Recirculation system puts hot water at faucet so there is less waiting.

-Turn off hot water to washing machine.
-Install dishwasher on cold water line instead of hot. Wash dishes by hand.

-Leave gallon jugs of water in sun during day for hot water needed at lunch or dinner.
-Install solar water heater in addition to other sources. Solar water heater
water flow rate Hot water slow to arrive at faucet?
1) Use timer and 1 gallon container to see how many gallons of water come out of faucet in 30 seconds.
2) Measure distance from water heater to faucet.
3) Open hot water faucet. Use timer and see how long it takes hot water to arrive at faucet
4) Measure water pipe diameter. Most pipes from water heater are mixed 3/4" & 1/2"
5) Use chart above to see if hot water is slow to arrive at faucet.
Resources:
Low hot water pressure
Crossover
Broken dip tube
Water pressure gauge #7 Low / High water pressure
Low pressure can cause shower to run short of hot water
High water pressure can push the water too hard and can run tank out of hot water
The source of problem can be tracked down
Resource
Low hot water pressure

Max household pressure should be 80 psi
Check for low and high pressure at outdoor spigot
Buy:
Water pressure gauge
Temperature-pressure gauge

Bath uses 12-14 gallons hot water

Regular bath uses 13- 15 gallons of hot water (20 gal water total)
Set water heater timer for 45-60 minutes for hot bath
Resources:
DIY box timer
DIY wall timer
DIY wall timer, home automation module
Control water heater with switch
Control water heater with switch2
DIY Wi-Fi control
Wemo wifi
DIY Zwave
DIY zwave 2
Z wave switch controls heater
Off-peak
Change temperature using timer
Add meter to water heater
water consumption shower Shower uses 6 - 8 gallons of hot water (10 gal water total)
Set water heater timer for 20-30 minutes for hot shower


Family chart for setting water heater timer,
based on incoming water temperature
#8 Storage tank
Storage tanks are used alongside ordinary water heater.
Hot water from ordinary heater is circulated into storage tank when temperature inside storage tank drops below set point. The objective is keeping the storage tank fully heated.

Storage tanks can supply more hot water for high usage conditions, but water heater must have enough heating capacity to keep up ... you cannot expect a 20-30 gallon heater to supply enough BTUs of hot water for a storage tank, depending on size of tank and usage ...
single batch once per day vs continual draws throughout day.
Resource:
Storage tank and booster-heater.pdf
Tank plus booster heater
AO-Smith-storage-tank.pdf
Commercial-storage-tank-specs.pdf
Two-water-heaters-and-storage-tank.pdf
hatco booster heater #9 Booster heater

A booster heater is for supplying 180°F hot water
Typically used for commercial applications such as washing dishes.
Use for sanitizing or commercial process
Gas and electric models
Single-phase and 3-phase models

Can be used to increase supply of hot water

Buy:
Hatco booster heaters

Resources:
Hatco booster heater sell sheet
Storage tank and booster-heater.pdf
Tank plus booster heater
hot water consumption Water heater holds 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 80 gallons of hot water depending on size of tank. A fully heated 40 gallon tank gives you 2 baths and a shower at one time.
Sizing chart
Choose right size. Undersized heater works harder and won't last as long. Oversized heater wastes energy.
Post 2015 heaters require high tech for sizes over 50 gallon
Electric over 55 gallon require Hybrid
Gas heater over 55 gallon requires Condensing
To achieve same hot water consumption as previous heater without buying more expensive heater install 2 water heaters, cut consumption, maintain heater, turn up thermostat temperature

Resources:
Two water heaters
Which is best hybrid heater
Condensing heater
9 ways to save with water heater
What size heater
airplane Resources:
Troubleshoot electric water heater
Troubleshoot gas water heater
Additional links

How to install gas water heater

Leaking water heater

9 ways to save with water heater

How to wire off-peak water heater

Clean sediment from tank

Anode rods

Low hot water pressure
water heater safety precautions
Water heater safety precautions

Replace circuit breaker

See basic 120V and 240V water heater circuits

How to wire Cooper 277

Remove water heater from attic
Support the economy:
Buy water heaters from my associate links:

50 gallon Gas water heaters at Amazon
40 gallon gas water heaters at Amazon
50 gallon Electric water heaters at Amazon
40 gallon electric water heaters at Amazon
Hybrid / heat pump/ water heaters at Amazon

Resources:
How to install gas water heater
How to install electric water heater
Troubleshoot gas water heater
Troubleshoot electric water heater
Point of use water heaters
Resources:
Troubleshoot Gas valves with manuals
Icon gas valve

How to replace water heater element Waste King disposal
How to wire tankless electric


Install point of use water heater
Titan tankless

Contactors/ relays
Install and troubleshoot garbage disposal Waste King disposal
Programmable timers

Woods timers
surge protection
Anode rods anode rods
Recirculation system

Tankless recirculation
Point of use water heater
Type 1 and type 2 surge protection surge protection
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Industrial electric

Industrial supplies

Tools and home improvement

Home and garden

Hayward pool
Pentair pool

Southwire electric
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Tools

DEWALT
Black and Decker
Stanley
SKIL
Makita
Porter-Cable
Bosch

Irwin Hand tools
Klein hand tools
Fluke electrical testing
Dremel hobby tools

Campbell Hausfeld air powered
Tekton automotive

Powerbuilt automotive
Saws and saw blades
box timers Resource:
Compare box timers
DPDT timers
Intermatic
Control water heater w/ Z-wave
Intermatic control centers Resource:
Intermatic control centers: and parts
Digital control centers and parts
Tork control centers and parts
Subpanels
All control centers and parts
Enclosures
programmable timer Resource:
Programmable timers
Countdown timers
Off delay timers
On delay timers
Timer modules
Din rail
Twin & one-shot
Woods
Intermatic
Tork
Low voltage power packs Recirculation systems
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