ot timer

[ken in texas]

Has anyone used a timer on a 240 volt water heater? We have an all electric house with two water heaters and trying to cut our high electric bill.Do these timers help or just a waste of time and money. Thanks......................

 

[Sunspot]

I’ve done quite a bit of reading on how to save money on an electric water heater. The bottom line I came to is use a lot of insulation. If you are well insulated you won’t lose enough heat to make a timer worth while.
I hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Have you thought of a tankless water heater? They only heat the water when its on. More expensive to start with, but save a lot of money in the long run.

 

[Walt Davies]

get a bigger hot water heater 80 Gallons or up. You loose less heat when it is used. I have a 50 gallon and we both take long baths and still have hot water. won't fill my two man hot tub though.
Walt

 

[Anonymous-0]

Because we are on a " time of use" plan electricity during the day is expensive and at night it is much cheaper. We have a timer in lines going to the heater that turns the heater on during the lower cost times. I believe we got it through the local ACE Hardware Store and have used it for over 20 years. The only problem is remembering to reset the timer after power failures.
I hope this helps you.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have a 240 volt 2 pole timer with a spring backup for use during power failures. I think it has 30 amp contacts. I had it on a water heater for several years to get a better electrical rate. Worked real good. I got it an an electrical distributor.

 

[DON TX]

Try your local electrical supply house. Elliots, Parrish-Hare, Johnson etc. @ DFW area. HTH
DON TX

 

[suptscottyb]

I've done some figurin' on this problem too. How about replacing the electric unit with a propane or gas H2O heater?