Gas Water Heater - Keep On Or Turn Off?

[carloscalvo]

Just moved into a new place. It has a gas water heater, which I do not have experience with. When I do not need hot water immediately, should I turn it completely off or just keep it on the lowest setting with the pilot light on? What about when I leave the apartment? I did some online research and have seen different ideas as to which option would lower energy costs.

 

[gpop]

Calefone. Keep it on pilot lit (low). Turn it off if you are gone for extended periods (several weeks, months).

EDIT: how old is you calefone? Newer ones are fairly easy to maintain. You can keep them on at any temp for normal use. Generally I turn it off (with spigot on the wall turned to off too) only when I go on a trip.

 

[Joe]

I've never heard of people turning off the pilot light every time they stop using hot water. Putting it on the lowest setting is not going to save energy. If you want to save energy take cold showers.

 

[ArielFabian]

I would follow gpop recommendations, turning heater off and on many times is not a good idea, the pieces are not always made of a good quality material and if it does not turn on, it is going to be a headache for you. A plumber once advised me to set the heater in the "pilot" position after taking a shower (after using it during several minutes), and once the "Calefon" is in pilot position to open the hot water tap in the kitchen, or any other tap below the heater height (not the shower tap), so that cold water can flow through the heater in order for the tartar not to be accumulated. If you do this, very hot water will flow for very few seconds (do not touch the water for a while) and the heater will be cold without tartar, I do this sometimes to prolong the life of the heater, but not always, what the plumber told me once was something that makes sense to me and I do sometimes, but not always as he recommended because it requires some effort. Definitely I would not turn it off and on every day, it is one of the biggest headaches when this stops working and a mess in your apartment if this needs to be replaced.

 

[ghost]

You set it at the temperature that you prefer and then leave it alone. The whole idea is to have hot water when you need it without allot of fuss. Treat it the same as an electric water heater.

 

[Rich One]

Not clear if it's a Termotanque or Calefon?

 

[Girino]

Leave it always on, turn it off if you go away for extend periods and in case of severe thunderstorm (it is an electric appliance, after all!).
Set the max temperature to the hottest temperature you are expected to use when taking a shower. Keeping it higher will only make it burn more gas.

 

[PhilipDT]

Just moved into a new place. It has a gas water heater, which I do not have experience with. When I do not need hot water immediately, should I turn it completely off or just keep it on the lowest setting with the pilot light on? What about when I leave the apartment? I did some online research and have seen different ideas as to which option would lower energy costs.

If it is a normal tank style water heater, lowering the thermostat WILL save quite a bit of energy but you must remember to turn it back up about 30-60 min before you want to take a shower.

If it is a tankless water heater, the savings from turning down the heat will be very minimal.

If you go out of town, turn the whole thing off.

That said, gas here is so cheap, I keep mine on max all the time, having >60C water coming out of the tap makes cleaning up in the kitchen a breeze and you get longer showers because you can mix less hot water in with the cold water in order to get the perfect temp.

 

[ghost]

Leave it always on, turn it off if you go away for extend periods and in case of severe thunderstorm (it is an electric appliance, after all!).
Set the max temperature to the hottest temperature you are expected to use when taking a shower. Keeping it higher will only make it burn more gas.

Not really there are some rules in thermodynamics that favor constants. Would you jack up you fridge just before preparing dinner? Then turn it down for the night.

 

[Girino]

Not really there are some rules in thermodynamics that favor constants.

To keep a certain quantity of water readily available at 60°C or at 30°C is not the same thing, hence you will end up in burning more gas if you set it too high. Anyway, here gas is so cheap that I think we could forget about this altogether.

Also, what would you do with water at 60°C? You can't even stand it!