Gas tank water heater water usage when no one is at home

[Yang]

This is a really dump question.

Will gas tank water heater consumes a small amount of water even when no one is at home? Came up this question while reading some discussion about leaving gas heater on while on vacation.

Thanks.

 

[Reach4]

No, not for a properly working system.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dana]

Only if it has a leak would the water heater use water.

Turning off both the gas & water supply to the water heater (or the whole house) is still a good idea when going on vacation for an extended period.

The standby losses of gas fired tank water heaters are pretty high. The raw combustion efficiency of a non-condensing water heater is about 80%, but the EF is typically 0.60. That means on a typical day at typical water usage 20% of the source-fuel energy went up the flue, but another 20% is the standby loss. Even an Energy Star unit with an EF 0.70, which means about 10% of the total energy is standby losses. Even with zero hot water use the standby losses are still there, often 50,000 BTU or more per day (depending on the storage temperature, the room temperature where the water heater is located, and the water heater model.)

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

If you simply turn your water heater down to the "vacation setting" you are better off over shutting the unit totally down...
Many times when you totally shut down a Whirlpool gas heater, or other cheaper less quality brands, they simply will not fire
back up when you return..... then you are calling the plumber to make repairs and all the money you thought you saved goes out the door...

 

[Dana]

Mark: What are the range of issues that keep cheap water heaters from firing up after being off for a week?

 

[Dj2]

1. There are no "cheap" water heaters on the market anymore (as in cheap price). All WHs are expensive.

2. Quality? There are only lucky WHs (outlive their warranty period) and unlucky WHs (die too soon).

3. There are only 3 water heater makers in the USA.

4. All WH makers use similar parts, made by others.

5. Warranties are only for persistent customers who know that being a pest will get things done.

6. Yet, we can't do without these tank WHs.

 

[Dana]

OK, rephrasing the question, what are the issues with "...a Whirlpool gas heater, or other cheaper less quality brands..." that cause them not to fire up after being off for a few days or weeks?

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Keep the home fires burning..... have you ever heard this saying???
what do you think this means??

Its the same with a water heater.... If you have one that has worked great for
9 years or so and you shut it totally off, sometimes the thermocoupling just
quits...and wont hold the charge..... I have seen mostly issues with the thermocoupling...s ometimes the gas control high limit just gives up.... .

The whirlpools seemed to be very troublesome that way...including the re-set button on the fire wall going bad.... that can also happen on the Bradfords too....

I dont know what the newer thermopyle types are gonna do and what troubles the honeywell valves are gonna go through if you shut them totally off but they are far more fussy and prone to problems than the older style valves are....... The newer Honeywell and ICON valves are an absolute and total pain to light from the start up,, so why do you want to tempt fate this way??


that is why they have the vacation setting on the gas valve.... it just keeps things humming merrily along

on another note,,,,, it probably will cost you about 2 cents a day to keep the heater on vacation mode....
while you are on your 3 week vacation in Hawaii or Dubai ......

I dont think it will break the bank too badly