Water Heater Blanket Works

[gathermewool]

Water heater: Unknown age - never asked previous owner (house was built in 1980, but I doubt it's that old)

I was in the same Home Depot aisle as the water heater blankets, looking for something else, when I asked the worker there if these were worth it for older heaters. He gave an absolutely NO, they are a waste of money. Well, it was $20, IIRC, so I decided to do an experiment. I wrapped the blanket around the circumference of the heater, from the top-most horizontal point (but not covering any of the top) down to around 3/4 of the tank, and leaving a 6" gap where it didn't make it and two ends didn't meet.

I inserted a meat thermometer between the insulation and the tank

Obvious Result: the thermometer read much higher than ambient temperature.

//

I bought another blanket from the Walmart clearance section for $10. I wrapped this one from the top down and taped it all up, so that now the top 3/4 of the tank is covered, including the top of the tank.

I inserted the meat thermometer through the top of the insulation and found the following result:

Ambient: 68.0F
Tank Top: 108.6F

Who knows whether I'll recoup the $30 on my electric bill, but it was worth it to me for the data alone.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Since your water heater uses about 25% of your home energy my guess is you will recoup your cost very quickly.

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Since your water heater uses about 25% of your home energy my guess is you will recoup your cost very quickly.

Are you sure about that 25%? That seems really high especially for in the South where A/C is (almost) as important as water.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by benjamming
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Since your water heater uses about 25% of your home energy my guess is you will recoup your cost very quickly.

Are you sure about that 25%? That seems really high especially for in the South where A/C is (almost) as important as water.


I live in New England....My heat expense is WAY HIGHER than my cooling cost.

 

[walterjay]

If it is a gas heater be careful not to get in near the intake or vent pipe. I have seen the skin on them melt. Follow directions carefully to avoid fire hazard.

 

[Donald]

Dump your water heater and get a hybrid.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by walterjay
If it is a gas heater be careful not to get in near the intake or vent pipe. I have seen the skin on them melt. Follow directions carefully to avoid fire hazard.


It's electric. Unfortunately for me, everything is electric, including our baseboard heat!

Originally Posted by Donald
Dump your water heater and get a hybrid.


We may do this, based on price and feasibility