Would doing this harm my water heater???

[dfchelbay]

We have a gas water heater, and I'd like to reduce the gas bill. I was wondering if I would do any harm to the water heater if I turned it to vacation after showering in the mornings. That's is when the dishwasher too would be run, after a shower in the morning. It's your standard 40 gallon hot water heater.

So, are there any unforeseen problems or damage I might cause to the water heater if I turned it on when I wake up, take a shower a little later after its warmed up, then turn it to vacation after a showers? Do that every morning.

Any problems doing this?

 

[cglaura]

I have a timer on my electric water heater...it is only on for 3 hours at night. I've had this heater for 7 years with no issues.

I'm not sure if having gas version would make any difference though, if it would affect the gas line or anything. But the tank itself should be fine.

 

[JaOdNaM]

I did this alot in the winter. my gas heater 40gal is in my utility room which is in my uninsulated garage. my heater would run alot because it would lose its heat. also being a firefighter and single I would turn it off whenever id goto work and turn it back on whenever i got home the next morning. i saved a good bit on gas bill and it did no harm to my heater. they sell timers at your local hardware store for this exact function.
I'm remodeling my home right now and plan on insulating my garage and utility room and installing a door on the utility room as well as buying one of those insulation-coats for my heater to help it from loser its heat.
Just some tips you might want to look into.

 

[Jeff_G]

You just need to be careful of Legionnaires' disease. Running the heater at 140 degrees for 32 minutes to kill off any forming bacteria..

http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/hotwater.html

You would have to judge if the risk vs benefit are worth it for your family, if you have any one in the family that is immunocompromised then I would not risk it.

 

[seashoreCM]

In my opinion turning down the water heater will not hurt it.

But you may not save gas or electricity unless at least 12 hours pass before you need to turn it back up. And it takes longer for electric water heaters to heat up again compared with gas.

Put a (usually fiber glass) blanket made for that purpose around the water heater to keep the water hot longer. For a non-electric heater leave the top surface and the bottom 12 inches of the unit uncovered and cut out a small square so the control box is still visible.

You may need to run the water heater in the "very hot" setting every so often to combat the Legionnaires disease issue above but it should not be running "very hot" for long periods of time.

Drain about 3 gallons of water from the bottom of the heater every 3 months to get sediment out. (Drain more water if you get lots of sediment, or lengthen the time interval if you don't get much sediment). A gas heater should be set to "pilot" and an electric heater breaker should be flipped off while you are doing this; open a hot faucet upstairs and be sure water is running from it before turning the heater back on. A garden hose cap such as furnished with a daisy chainable lawn sprinkler can come in handy if the water heater drain valve drips.

Home handyman hints: http://www.cockam.com/home.htm

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We do this all the time. Why heat water that no one will be using.