How much HOT WATER is enough?

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We have a 50 gallon water tank. Usually adquate for our needs. One afternoon DH was doing dishes - not his normal time for doing dishes - and told me there was no hot water. It was Just barely after "hours" so it was premium rate. Called the plumber - it is a new tank! Plumber comes and looks at us as if we are idiots. No wonder there is no hot water - someone has turned the temp almost off. He sets to the "normal" level and we get a bill to choke a horse.
Water get HOT! I mean burn your hands hot. So we turn it down. Then turn it down. Then tun it down - to where it was when the plumber came in! That sucker makes the water so hot we have to keep it that low to keep people from scalding themselves.
We figure it out. Guests returned from their outing and we think one filled the claw-foot tub (BIG TUB) and the other took a nice long shower. Then when DH started the dishes, it was more than the poor tank could handle. The ONLY time we have ever run out of hot water.
 
We have two hot water on demand systems to support three guest rooms. We never have a problem except we need to tell guests that it takes a minute to get hot water. I think it is way more economical than a huge hot water tank.
 
I think I said it earlier the only time we have run out was 2 washing machines and 3 lots of people showering but it was fine in half an hour. just bad luck that particular man chose 4pm in the afternoon to shave! whatever!
 
We have one 40 gallon tank, and I can count on one hand the number of times we have run out of hot water in over seven years....and have never had a guest say they had no hot water.
 
We have a 50 gallon water tank. Usually adquate for our needs. One afternoon DH was doing dishes - not his normal time for doing dishes - and told me there was no hot water. It was Just barely after "hours" so it was premium rate. Called the plumber - it is a new tank! Plumber comes and looks at us as if we are idiots. No wonder there is no hot water - someone has turned the temp almost off. He sets to the "normal" level and we get a bill to choke a horse.
Water get HOT! I mean burn your hands hot. So we turn it down. Then turn it down. Then tun it down - to where it was when the plumber came in! That sucker makes the water so hot we have to keep it that low to keep people from scalding themselves.
We figure it out. Guests returned from their outing and we think one filled the claw-foot tub (BIG TUB) and the other took a nice long shower. Then when DH started the dishes, it was more than the poor tank could handle. The ONLY time we have ever run out of hot water..
gillumhouse said:
We figure it out. Guests returned from their outing and we think one filled the claw-foot tub (BIG TUB) and the other took a nice long shower. Then when DH started the dishes, it was more than the poor tank could handle. The ONLY time we have ever run out of hot water.
That you are awa re of! You only noticed it happened because DH was using water when he typically doesn't. This could happen more often that you are aware of but guests won't say anything. You might want to keep testing the water temp after guests use their tub/showers and see if it happens again. With your 3 rooms, surely folks have taken a tub bath and a shower or two in the same time frame.
 
InnBloom wrote:...... But in terms of tankless, just an observation. We don't have that for the inn, but we do for our separate owners quarters, and I can tell you, it takes FOREVER to get hot water out of it. Longer than you'd expect in the summer, and a real long time in the winter. So sure, we have pipes going a long way ...it's a long story...but be aware that tankless doesn't mean INSTANT. Perhaps you already know that. We didn't. I have read that it is best to have these tankless systems close to the sources of use. For the times when this can not be done or in the cases of the multi use system (several bathrooms) it is recommended to have a combination of the tankless system and a instant hot at each source. The instant heater works until the hot water (from the tankless system) reaches the open tap.
 
We have a 50 gallon water tank. Usually adquate for our needs. One afternoon DH was doing dishes - not his normal time for doing dishes - and told me there was no hot water. It was Just barely after "hours" so it was premium rate. Called the plumber - it is a new tank! Plumber comes and looks at us as if we are idiots. No wonder there is no hot water - someone has turned the temp almost off. He sets to the "normal" level and we get a bill to choke a horse.
Water get HOT! I mean burn your hands hot. So we turn it down. Then turn it down. Then tun it down - to where it was when the plumber came in! That sucker makes the water so hot we have to keep it that low to keep people from scalding themselves.
We figure it out. Guests returned from their outing and we think one filled the claw-foot tub (BIG TUB) and the other took a nice long shower. Then when DH started the dishes, it was more than the poor tank could handle. The ONLY time we have ever run out of hot water..
gillumhouse said:
We figure it out. Guests returned from their outing and we think one filled the claw-foot tub (BIG TUB) and the other took a nice long shower. Then when DH started the dishes, it was more than the poor tank could handle. The ONLY time we have ever run out of hot water.
That you are awa re of! You only noticed it happened because DH was using water when he typically doesn't. This could happen more often that you are aware of but guests won't say anything. You might want to keep testing the water temp after guests use their tub/showers and see if it happens again. With your 3 rooms, surely folks have taken a tub bath and a shower or two in the same time frame.
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I am in the kitchen from time to time all day and this was the first time ever that there was no hot water. I bake bread or make pretzels at all hours. I use hot water from the tap for that. I really doubt if it has happened before.
Our claw-foot tub is huge - 2 people could easily fit. If it was filled to the chin.... and a long hot shower taken.... Yep that would drain the tank. Guests usually do not take showers at the same time. They all have different schedules. Plus, this particular time it was not a bath that was done, it was a 20th century version of a hot tub - a soak!
 
For the B&B we have two combi heaters that run on natural gas. These are for heating both the space (radiator/water) and for the heating the hot water tank (I guess 50 gallons). The hot water has priority and when both heaters are working together they keep the water in the tank hot no matter how much you use. Works fine in summer, in winter the rooms may get colder if everyone showers for hours, I let you know.
 
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