During my long drive my thoughts roamed to... Part 2... (1 Viewer)

[JJ]

Inspired by the excellent answers to my first question I pose the second one...

For years I used a Palamo instant hot water heater. When you wanted hot water you just turned on the hot tap and the water was heated as it flowed through the heater.

Old age (in the heater and me) led me to switch to a Malaga 3E boiler type system where the water is heated up and stored in the heater's tank.

When the hot water in store cools to below a certain temperature the heater fires up and heats it back up to maximum.

So here is the question for you Wise Ones...

Given that you have a full tank of hot water at bedtime, is it more economical to switch the system off thus letting the already hot water in the tank cool off completely meaning you have to start from scratch in the morning or should one leave it on allowing it to fire up every now and again during the night to keep the hot water up to temperature (with the bonus of having a tank full of hot water first thing in the morning (or in my case mid day) when you get up.

Thanks in anticipation...

JJ

 

[pappajohn]

more wasteful but more economical to allow to cool depending on water usage.

or at least it is with our immersion heater at home.

 

[vwalan]

jj ,better to stick with the instantanious ones. cheap in spain or even cheaper in maroc. i use a morco ,could have saved lots buying abroad. ask in a ferreteria or look in a supermarket .carrefoure or something. get rid of the boiler.

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[hilldweller]

the tank cool off completely meaning you have to start from scratch in the morning or should one leave it on allowing it to fire up every now and again
JJ

You answer that with a stopwatch.

First let it get cold and time it 'till till it gets hot. There's your price from cold in seconds.

Then listen in the evening, how long off, how long on. You can then estimate how long it will run all night.

So is the all night burn longer than the start-up from cold burn - simples.

 

[Scout]

get up eariler then its not so much of a problem

 

[GregM]

We are newbies but we turn the heater off a while before bedtime, we then use the hot water that is still in the tank for washing up etc, using the hot water up. If we need to top up a bit of extra we use the kettle.

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[madbluemad]

I'm always thinking about this one and cant make up my mind so I let SWMBO take control. Then if its too expensive its her fault. I still pay mind you.

Jim

 

[ArenqueRojo]

Here is a theory for which I have no supporting physics and even less maths:

I assume that the heat loss is greater when the difference between the tank and the ambient temperature is greatest.
So if you heat the tank in the morning you are creating the maximum heat loss for a shorter period than you would if you maintain the maximum heat loss all night.

I shall, however continue to waste heat because I need hot water ready to do the washing up which I should have done the night before and before Liz realises I didn't do it

Patrick

 

[scotjimland]

Here is a theory for which I have no supporting physics and even less maths:

I assume that the heat loss is greater when the difference between the tank and the ambient temperature is greatest.
So if you heat the tank in the morning you are creating the maximum heat loss for a shorter period than you would if you maintain the maximum heat loss all night.

I shall, however continue to waste heat because I need hot water ready to do the washing up which I should have done the night before and before Liz realises I didn't do it

Patrick

I'd go along with that.. :thumb:

If you extend the time span from overnight to several days then it becomes fairly obvious it's more economical to switch it off.

jim

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[JayDee]

The lagging doesn't seem to be very effective, does it? Any chance of increasing it? Been thinking about doing this around our MH hot water tank, but don't know enough about the safety aspects / fire hazards.

Any ideas?


John

 

[JJ]

Great answers again, thanks everyone... yes I thought about the lagging Jaydee but more lagging would mean less space in the wardrode where I have fitted the heater.

JJ

PS. Didn't like the idea of getting up earlier! What's that all about? ;-)

 

[davetthedon]

Ah you see its a matter of juxtapositions. If you were in a cold place, ie up north, then an all night burn would be too dear, whereas if you were in warmer climes then it wouldn't fire anywhere near as much. Also up north they take cold showers, and in the Med they don't wash much (stand in a supermarket queue in Marseille). So its obviously cheaper to be in the south and save your money for wine and food. They also don't boil their water for tea, which goes to show the Johnny Foreigners lack of grasp of all things British. :thumb:

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[The vagabond]

For at least ten years any hot water that we have left over, either from boiling the kettle or use of a water heater we store in a couple of large stainless steel flasks, it's cheaper to reheat and it's usualy hot enough to wash with in the morning. Glass flasks are not good for this.

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Just boil a kettle !!!!!
As said before...
SIMPLES.....!!!!!.....