Programmable thermostat for gas water heaters??

17 years ago

Are there any programmable thermostats available that can be used for the gas water heaters?? Does anybody have this in their homes? Where can we buy them? How do you install them?, since the water heater is not connected to any electrical outlet?

Please advice.

thanks in advance.

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Comments (10)

blacknumber1
17 years ago
A standard water heaater does not connect to any electricity. It would be very difficult to adapt a thermostat to control it. Why do you need such accurete control for a water heater?
User
17 years ago
There used to be a setback thermostat for gas fired
water heaters but I don't think it's manufactured any
longer. It had a small motor that dialed back to pilot
setting then returned to previous setting when the
timer sent an "on" signal.

HTH
Chris
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The intended purpose of the app is to turn down the temperature when you go for an extended vacation. It can also alert you if you have leak. You may be able to set up a timer with the Rheem app. You basically would tell it you are going on vacation everyday. It would need to have an hourly time resolution for it to work. How much money do you spend on heating water now? How much money do you think you will save by changing the water temperature everyday? In my opinion the savings will be very small. Set the temperature to 120 degrees and leave it there. If you want to save water install low flow shower heads. You can also buy a Rheem hot water heater with a damper for better efficiency. The other option is a tankless hot water heater. The pay back is 7-10 years depending if you are going to do the installation yourself or pay to have it installed. I personally like the basic tank type water heater since it provides hot water during a power outage. Gas has become so cheap that it is difficult to get a reasonable return on investment on anything beyond the basic hot water heater.
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razl
17 years ago
As stated, most do not use electricity of any kind. Basically, the pilot light is on 24/7 but in today's efficient units, this basically is enough to keep the water at temp, so adding a timer would not save you money.

Another option is to turn the heater down from 140F to 120F. If it's an older water heater, an insulated blanket would be good to use too.
blacknumber1
17 years ago
A blanket on a gas heater must be installed carefully as to not block the burner intake or controls in any way. Also, you should not use a top part of the insulation blanket because it will obstruct the draft hood and be too close to the hot flue pipe. Most manufacturers don't recommend blankets on gas water heaters but they can be put on safely if done right.
lnprasumi
Original Author
17 years ago
I am looking for a proframmable thermostat because we have a older water heater and we like the water to be pretty hot in the mornings and in the evenings(for an hour when we take a shower). All the time in between the water heater can be set to low. This could actually save us money in the long run.
Right??
jcthorne
17 years ago
A water heater setting of 125 or so is far hotter than most folks can stand in a shower and already a pretty conservative setting. There is no need to 'turn up' the water heater for taking a shower. Now if you run out of hot water, then you need a larger water heater, not hotter water. Well, hotter water will band-aid the problem but is not a correct solution.

This idea will not save you any money and that is why they do not exist.
fsq4cw
17 years ago
This is always a very bad idea. Turning down the temperature or turning off the tank can promote the growth of bacteria and mould in your tank! WhatÂs your familyÂs health worth?

If you want to save money on hot water, take shorter showers Â or shower with a neighbor!

SR

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydro Quebec
Chantal Mcguire
8 years ago
There used to be a device called Qwaterback that would turn your gas water heater up and down as desired. We used this at Lanla office. With a well insulated tank, standby losses do go down somewhat. What are you trying to do?
Andre Bustamante
last year
https://www.amazon.com/Aquanta-Digital-Water-Heater-Timer/dp/B07F5V8KQ9/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=57634379962&gclid=CjwKCAiAioifBhAXEiwApzCzthxNTGJpAYCQNquCaMaGXQGaqEmoElzfe0WMsNOJY7u9QuJYuE3OIhoC3ggQAvD_BwE&hvadid=274711085189&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9007284&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13790787918811029039&hvtargid=kwd-393454475008&hydadcr=13934_9748749&keywords=digital%2Bthermostat%2Bfor%2Bwater%2Bheater&qid=1675811944&sr=8-1-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFQQ0MxTzRENUZHUkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1NTE3MDYxTzQ5SjZGS01WSUM2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5OTE0MzIzQUdMMFg1RjZESlJQJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1
Stax
last year
There are at least a few possible units.

Google on gas water heater programmable thermostat

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Programmable thermostat for gas water heaters??

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blacknumber1

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Programmable thermostat for gas water heaters??

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