Electric water heater Luke warm mornings

[jrlv2av8]

So for 3 days now, and after replacing both Elements and Thermostats, I will have hot water through the late day and evening but Luke warm water in the mornings. I believe I have determined part of the problem is that my Heat Pump HVAC uses a humidifier attached to Hot water line and it's been extremely cold lately and the HVAC runs hard in the mornings to bring house back from night setting. The EWH is 11 yers old State 80 gal unit 4500kw. All components have been tested and seem to function correctly. Seems that the EWH is not keeping up with hot water usage with only the humidifier pulling from it. What am I missing beside maybe a bad dip tube, or is it just time for a new unit? The water line in/out are soldered fittings so before cutting the cold line I thought I'd ask a pro. Thx

 

[Jadnashua]

People have reported similar problems previously. It may be related to the small draw from the humidifier. The replacement cold water can cause some stratification and trick the thermostats. Use more flow, the water mixes, and the thermostats begin seeing 'normal' conditions. While that might work better with hot, I've found in my own place that it works just as well with cold. That may depend on the brand and method it uses for humidification.

One way to test that would be to shut off the humidifier and see if things then work normally. If it does, you might try a hot water recirculation system or replumb the humidifier to the cold supply. A recirculation system would generally have enough flow to keep things working properly. Isn't a huge energy hog if you're pipes are insulated, and can save water in the process...plus, it's a nice convenience.

 

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[hj]

"Stratification" causes EXCESSIVE temperature, NOT less. There is some other problem but it can only be fixed by someone at the site making the proper evaluation.

 

[jrlv2av8]

After turning off the Humidifier the Heater seems to be working normal. However something must have changed in the tank or humidifier as I had previously had no issues with the unit with the humidifier running very winter for the last 10 years. Interestingly there seemed a rather large stream of water out of the Humidifier drain tube before turning off. Seems it used to be a small trickle.