My house has 3 Rinnai propane tankless heaters that flow into a small, 30-gallon electric heater, and then hot water goes from there into the house. The electric heater is there to maintain a small amount of hot water moving through a recirculation loop.
Normally, the bottom element of an electric heater will do most of the heating, as cold water comes into thru the dip tube and causes the bottom thermostat to kick on and energize the bottom element. In my case, the "cold" water coming in has already been heated by the tankless heaters, so my lower element almost never kicks in.
The heater needs new elements now, and its typical arrangement is to have an HWD element up top and an LWD element down low. I'm wondering if I ought to maybe switch the HWD and LWD because the upper element is the one doing almost all the work. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!
Normally, the bottom element of an electric heater will do most of the heating, as cold water comes into thru the dip tube and causes the bottom thermostat to kick on and energize the bottom element. In my case, the "cold" water coming in has already been heated by the tankless heaters, so my lower element almost never kicks in.
The heater needs new elements now, and its typical arrangement is to have an HWD element up top and an LWD element down low. I'm wondering if I ought to maybe switch the HWD and LWD because the upper element is the one doing almost all the work. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!