8 (US) gallon electric water heater (120v), is it enough !?

Uzin

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Oct 26, 2005
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I see a lot of condos here have a small (120v) electric water heater of 8 (US) gallon - that is 3.7 litre a gallon by the way as oppose to the UK gallon which is 4.5 litre, this confused me to no end for sometime, everything here is in US gallon.

But I wonder if that is enough for showering, say two people for 6 or 7 minutes each ! I don't know what temperatures they get up to and of course it depends on the shower head flow but I wanted to know people's experiences - if anyone has them.

I guess if you just want lukewarm water in this country it shouldn't take much hot water to mix with the cold to achieve that.

By the way this is a nice little calculator that helps to do some theoretical calculation in litres (though I don't think that reflects the practical experience...)

How long does the hot water last when taking a shower?
 
May 29, 2006
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Most showers are 2GPM so that would be 4 minutes of shower time on full hot. 120v isn't going to be able to do instantaneous water heating and will have a recovery time of about a half hour or more. You can raise the temp of the heater to get more showertime, but then cost is much more. You can also pre-heat the water to 80?-100? by having the water in a black tinaco on your roof. I find a 20 gallon tank is about the minimum for a shower and the temp has to be over 130? if more than one person is going to use it. Bigger tanks do not use much more energy, demand for hot water does.
 

Uzin

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Oct 26, 2005
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I see what you mean, on paper 8 gallon seems to be really small, but I see a lot of people have that small one, so wondered if for just lukewarm shower in this climate that is enough.

I am looking to change from instance/tankless gas heater due to pressure issues (3rd floor, always a pain), but only have a small under the sink area to put the electric one and that might be even too small for a 12 gallon one... !
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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we have 12 gallon water heater. needs to be on for about 15 minutes (minimum) before showering. enough hot water for the two of us (i like hot hot hot showers) and no problems when we have a visitor stay with us for a while.
 

zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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shower together save water and electricity. You can learn to live with it. Most Dominicans in poor neighborhoods shower without hot water smell a lot cleaner than the majority of tourists I smell next to me in line.
 

Uzin

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Oct 26, 2005
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I will measure up a 12 gallon one to see if it fits under the sink in the kitchen, if not then have to go with the small 8 gallon one - I see some of them have hot/cold pipes coming out from the side, so that would be ideal. Tips on places in the north coast that might have these would be appreciated...
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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where on the NC? ferreteria freddy in POP has a variety of water heaters, from small ones that can fit under the sink (used to have one in a previous place) to big ass locomotive sided ones.
my advice regarding under the sink stuff: if your cupboard has wooden "floor", take it out. the heater should be on the tiled floor and not on wood. you will thank me for this. wood will crack, break and rot with the heat and humidity. ideally you should have some holes in that cupboard, a wooden grill in the door on side, for ventilation.